Gartner warns business leaders not to ignore iPad

Analyst firm Gartner has issued a sharp warning to chief executives to grab the opportunities offered by the iPad with both hands and to discuss the device's "disruptive" capabilities with their chief information officers.

According to Gartner, chief executives do not normally get involved in specific technology device decisions. But in a research note issued today, the analyst firm said company boses should make an exception for the iPad.

Key to Gartner's message is the idea that the iPad is not just "the latest consumer gadget", but actually a disruptive force that would redefine markets — as the iPhone did before it. "Media 'gurus' and forecasters struggled to categorise this device at the time of launch — and some made the mistake of assuming that, like all tablet-format devices before it, it would remain a niche product for a limited market," the analyst firm said.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Firms ignore the iPad at their peril: Gartner on ZDNet Australia.