The Personal Cloud: Transforming Personal Computing, Mobile, And Web Markets

The personal computing experience for individuals is broken, ruptured by the fragmentation of personal information across PCs and mobile devices and the scattering of content across a multitude of online services. This report for vendor strategists describes the emerging personal cloud ecosystem, which will dramatically transform market opportunities for web properties, PC makers, OS providers, mobile device manufacturers, ISPs and telcos, and enterprise software vendors. We spell out the emerging set of personal cloud core and component services, the three leading players and a variety of contenders, and the range of information types handled by personal cloud services. We forecast the number of users and paying subscribers to personal cloud services through 2016, and break down the business models behind what will become a $12 billion market.