Personal cloud will replace PC by 2014: Gartner

**Bangalore:**The reign of the personalcomputer as the sole corporate access device is coming to aclose, and by 2014, the personal cloud will replace the
personal computer at the centre of users’ digital lives,according to technology researcher Gartner, Inc.

Gartner analysts said the personal cloud will begin a new era that will provide users with a new level of flexibilitywith the devices they use for daily activities, whileleveraging the strengths of each device, ultimately enabling
new levels of user satisfaction and productivity.However, it will require enterprises to fundamentallyrethink how they deliver applications and services to users,a Gartner statement said.

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“Major trends in client computing have shifted the marketaway from a focus on personal computers to a broader deviceperspective that includes smartphones, tablets and otherconsumer devices,” said Steve Kleynhans, research vice-president at Gartner. “Emerging cloud services will become theglue that connects the web of devices that users choose toaccess during the different aspects of their daily life.”

The past two years have been a whirlwind in the clientcomputing space, leaving many enterprises asking what comesnext and what the environment will look like in five years,it said.

“Many call this era the post-PC era, but it isn’t reallyabout being ‘after’ the PC, but rather about a new style ofpersonal computing that frees individuals to use computing infundamentally new ways to improve multiple aspects of their
work and personal lives,” Kleynhans said.

Several driving forces are combining to create this newera. These megatrends have roots that extend back through thepast decade but are aligning in a new way, Gartner added.

PTI