Rather than cloud computing, it is Apple products that will drive the computer equipment market in 2012, according to a recent report from Forrester.
While analysts have been predicting that cloud computing will reshape the server and storage market, actual adoption remains limited, the report stated.
Plus, in leveraging financial woes, many companies have adopted policies that encourage employees to use their own devices, which are increasingly Apple products, as they are easy to use and set up. With more employees doing work on Apple products, companies will need to center their technology plans more around Apple than less pressing cloud computing infrastructure as a service needs.
Cloud computing may be the next big change, but its a huge one that companies may be slow to adapt. In the second quarter of 2011, only 14 percent of the companies surveyed by Forrester planned to implement cloud computing infrastructure into their ecosystems, and only three percent were making those changes in 2011. Forrester reasons the economy of 2012 will only place greater pressure on companies, forcing businesses to put less emphasis on implementing infrastructure as a service within the cloud.
Forrester estimated that Apple sold $6 billion in Macs as well as $6 billion in iPads to businesses in 2011, despite not targeting the corporate market. As an easy to use technology that requires less investment than a string of computers, the iPad can be a cost effective tool for businesses. Forrester predicts that Apple will continue to increase sales to the business sector over 2012, selling $9 billion in Macs as well as $10 billion in iPads to businesses and governments in 2012.
While the cloud is eventually coming, the iPad is creating greater change in the company boardroom.