• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 7, 2013

A survey of 59 CIOs finds that 57% plan to invest and deploy tablet computers across their respective organizations in 2013, compared with the prior year.

The equity and analyst investment firm Piper Jaffray believes enterprise tablet deployment will help drive continued growth in the full-sized iPad segment, given that larger iPads are better for content creation. The firm said the iPad holds more than 60% global tablet share, and likely a higher share among enterprises.

Piper analyst Troy Jensen suggests that the percentage of CIOs indicating their respective organizations would implement broader tablet deployments rose to 15% in 2013 versus 4% in 2012. The latest analysis suggests that deployments across enterprise companies will continue to rise during the next three to five years.

The survey also showed that 58% of CIOs expect to increase tablet investment in 2013, compared with 5% who plan to decrease investments. Then consider the 34% of CIOs who expect to increase PC investments versus 20% who expect to decrease investments.

Not surprisingly, overall tablet use in the U.S. will rise this year. eMarketer agrees that the iPad dominates the tablet market, with an estimated 60.5% market share -- about one-fifth of the U.S. population -- using an iPad monthly. Expect that percentage to fall to 57.8% this year as more brands introduce their version, the analyst firm estimates. 

eMarketer estimates that 34% of the U.S. population will use tablets at least monthly in 2013, up from more than 25% in 2012. By 2016, use should account for 47% of consumers, according to the analyst firm.

The uptick explains why startup engines like Blekko launch specific search tools for tablets. On Friday the company rolled out Izik (pronounced Isaac), with the intent to soon integrate Amazon text-image ads and build its own.

"Businessman at desk with Tablet photo from Shutterstock"