Mobile Cloud Will Consume 9,400 Petabytes Of Storage By 2015

London, 13 July 2011 - The proliferation of powerful mobile devices, increasing mobile bandwidth and new form factors is creating demand for services that allow users to access personal data and content from any device, anywhere and at any time. Mobile cloud services are emerging that synchronise data across multiple mobile devices with centralised storage.

London based research firm ARCchart estimates that by the end of 2011 there will be 1.2 billion connected devices capable of leveraging mobile cloud storage services. The firm also forecasts that 9,400 PB (petabytes) of mobile created content will be stored in the cloud by 2015.
ARCchart believes that demand for mobile cloud storage will grow as user adoption increases and the volume of mobile content users accumulates and grows exponentially. Photos and video captured on mobile devices will overwhelmingly carry the greatest cloud storage demand and the average size of these media files will grow substantially as camera pixel resolution continues to increase. The mobile cloud will be primarily accessed by two categories of portable devices – mobile phones and tablets.

In a report titled The Mobile Cloud: Market Analysts and Forecasts, ARCchart examines the innovative business models which mobile cloud storage providers are leveraging to generate revenue: either through user fees, advertising or a combination of the two. The very nature of the documents, media and data being stored, allows service providers to accurately profile their users’ interests and tastes, and these personal profiles can be leveraged to target promotions to users. “The challenge of advertising-based models is weighing the privacy demands of users versus the need to generate revenue,” said Peter Crocker the lead analyst on the report.

A number of innovative companies are harnessing the capabilities of the cloud to provide compelling mobile services in a number of areas and the report provides detailed case studies of selected companies, including Private Planet, Real Networks, Eye-Fi, Spring Partners, Rovio Mobile, SugarSync and Funambol. These firms are providing a mix of white-label and direct-to-consumer cloud offerings for synchronising and storing media, picture, file, gaming and PIM content, developing a range of market strategies.

The mobile cloud market presents new opportunities for both existing players in the mobile ecosystem as well as new entrants. The report presents a competitive analysis matrix for major technology players, start-ups and carriers. No single player is positioned to dominate the cloud space, although the mobile OS providers – Apple, Google, HP, Microsoft and RIM – will be able to integrate key services within their platforms, as Apple is doing with the iCloud.

Mobile operators are well-positioned to provide their customers with mobile cloud services, building upon the more basic phone back-up & restore solutions some carriers already offer. With trusted brands and existing billing relationships, carriers can leverage the cloud to lock customers to their service, hence, reducing churn.

For more info:
http://www.arcchart.com/reports/mobile-cloud-report.asp?ref=pr

Selma Liemborg
Press Manager
Tel: + 44 33 00 88 1355
Fax: + 44 33 00 88 1350
Email: s_liemborg@arcchart.com
www.arcchart.com

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Selma Liemborg

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ARCchart

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