As many as 200 million IT workers may be holding out for the right Windows 8 tablet, Forrester says. A war is brewing between Apple and Microsoft in the tablet space, but if you've read the initial reviews of Surface Pro, you might think it's a one-sided fight. Most reviewers agree that Surface Pro is too expensive, suffers from a short battery life, and is a niche product. However, there may be hundreds of millions of IT workers who are interested in what Surface Pro brings to the tablet. Market research firm Forrester polled nearly 10,000 IT workers, and out of those surveyed, more showed an interest in a Windows 8 tablet than an iPad, ReadWrite.com reports. Only 2 percent said they already own a Windows 8 tablet, but 32 percent said they wanted one. As for the iPad, 26 percent polled said they'd like to own one (and 12 percent pointed to Android). "For CIOs, there are three mandates that arise from this data," Forrester said. "No. 1, Apple and Android will be major suppliers to the enterprise. No. 2, Microsoft has a fighting chance in tablets. No. 3, the workplace of the future is multi-platform." Forrester sees a growing trend where workers are increasingly bringing their own devices to work, and more are paying for them, too. How Forrester made the leap to 200 million IT workers wanting a Windows 8 tablet, we're not really sure. But if that's even remotely accurate, it obviously bodes well for Microsoft and its hardware partners. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Face
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