Hipster bosses who love their iPads are a tech worker's worst nightmare. Almost...

WHAT'S worse than hipster bosses who want to work on their iPads? Bosses who own Android tablets.

Only 12 of Corporate Express's 600 staff use iPads, but their CIO expects the majority to have them within 12 months.

TECH chiefs are struggling with Apple's iPad as more and more senior managers turn up with the device at work.

Australian IT reports the problem is that the iPad was developed as a consumer gadget and not for corporate networks and their rigorous security and application protocols.

Nonetheless, when the boss lugs in an iPad and asks for a log-on to the corporate intranet, it's hard to say no.

"This is the first time a device has come in at the top of the food chain and been pushed down," Gartner analyst Robin Simpson said.

Speaking at the Gartner Symposium 2010 in Sydney yesterday, Mr Simpson said senior executives were "buying the things themselves and saying 'do it'".

"For the first time senior executives have finally found a computer they can use - the user interface is obvious - you turn it on and it works."

But there are problems with the so-called "magical device".

Gartner's Nick Jones believes enthusiasm with iPad deployments is often running ahead of corporate security requirements.

"The pressure to allow choice is so great people are getting ahead of themselves," he said and included the latest Google Android tablet PCs in the too-fast basket.

"Android is like the CIO's worst nightmare - it's fragmented, it's immature and it's popular - how bad can it get," he joked.

"We are going to see some interesting and alarming data losses with these devices which will push people to manage them better," said Mr Jones.

Despite the risks, two CIOs at the Symposium Event today were keen on the iPads and other tablets PCs appearing in their organisations.

Corporate Express CIO Garry Whatley said about a dozen staff so far had iPads but expected that within 12 months tablets could be in use with a majority of the firm's 600 sales staff.

Read more about hipster bosses and fragmented Androids at Australian IT