Goodbye, PC

Apr 26 2012 By in Cloud Computing , iPad/Apple , Mobile , Web/Tech

Funny_horse_car_22Another report has the PC on the endangered species list, especially with consumers. Forrester’s take, “Tablets Will Rule The Future Personal Computing Landscape,” sees PC squeezed out by beefier tablets more robust cloud services, and a new class of device called “frames.”

The numbers alone are similar to previous studies that document the stunning growth of tablets: sales are expected to go from 56 million sold in 2011 to 375 million in 2016, a 46% compound annual growth rate. (Source: Frank Gillett, Tablets Will Rule The Future Personal Computing Landscape, Forrester Research, April 23, 2012)

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More than 716 million tablets will be in use globally by 2016. Here’s a breakdown of some of the other notable numbers:

  • 24% of global information workers use tablets at work, including 44% of execs and 30% of salespeople
  • 27% of North American companies actively support the iPad
  • 52% global information workers use three or more devices, including PCs and mobile. 33% are non-Microsoft
  • Microsoft share of the overall  OS market (including tablets and mobile) will fall below 50% by 2016

Other important enterprise changes:

  • Not just for hipsters: one in five enterprise workers uses an Apple device.
  • Apple users tend to be more senior, higher in rank, and younger than their peers.
  • Majority of IT orgs support or are interested in Apple products.
  • One-third of tablet purchase in 2016 will con from businesses, versus
  • Apple, and proprietary Android will rack up impressive numbers; Microsoft will be a player in tablets, but a minor one:

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Tablets are changing, so tablet use is changing. Tablets are beefing up, adding sensors, more processing power and better wireless.

  • Extensive use of cloud services helps federate data across devices.
  • Tablets are changing from “lean back” content consumption to content creation
  • Design makes them more natural to use (even standing up) and makes it easier to share information
  • Tablets typically have longer battery lives than laptops or mobile devices

Another big change that Forrester predicts is the rise of frames: “These frames will combine display capabilities, sensor arrays, wireless connectivity, and processing power into powerful PCs and accessories that work seamlessly with tablets, laptops, and smartphones to amplify their capabilities for stationary work.”

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And this is how Forrester sees everything working together linked by the cloud:

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Goodbye PC. It was a nice 15 years.