95% of enterprise customers are choosing iPads over tablets running on Android, according to activation data released by Good Technology. Pretty startling numbers, considering how many competing tablets in the marketplace run on some version of an Android operating system.

Leading the way in this mass adoption of iPads is the financial services realm, but field service is definitely contributing to the huge swath of enterprise customers that are using the year’s favorite tech gadget not as a consumer plaything, but a mobile tool for business.

Good’s analysis describes how while in many businesses iPads aren’t being used to replace laptops and other devices but instead to complement them, but in field service they’re being used more and more as a worker’s dominant device.

There is increasing interest among our customers with significant retail and/or field operations to use tablets for a variety of “in store” and field service applications. This includes not only customers from the Wholesale & Retail sector, but also customers in Financial Services, Communications, and Energy & Utilities that have significant retail and/or field service operations. Based on feedback from our customers, we’re seeing a greater tendency for iPads to be purchased and deployed proactively on both a BYOD and company-owned basis. This contrasts with the overall deployment model for iPhones and Android smartphones, where BYOD is the more dominant approach overall.

Another interesting finding: while Android devices are gaining a foothold among consumer mobile devices, the demand for Android is actually fading in the Enterprise. Something Good didn’t mention was the progress Windows tablets are making in the enterprise, which is a subject with relevance to field service — especially because the majority of rugged tablets run on Windows, which remains a the preeminent operating system in many service organizations.

Read more about iPads on The SmartVan