Forrester

Why Read This Report

On the evening of July 7, 2009, Google created a tech media storm with the announcement of Chrome OS, an operating system for netbooks and personal computers (PCs) separate from Google's Android, which is designed for smartphones and was rumored to be destined for netbooks. So what does this mean for vendor strategists responsible for end user software and hardware offerings? It is another in a set of growing proof points that online services in the form of personal clouds will be the locus of control, not operating systems. The Chrome OS isn't aimed at imitating Windows — it is another building block toward the new information-centric model of individual computing that Forrester calls the personal cloud, which will replace the PC-centric model of today. To compete, vendor strategists must focus on either: 1) creating a personal cloud platform of online services and supporting technologies, or 2) building offerings to fit into the emerging personal cloud ecosystem.