Recent research from market watcher, Gartner states that within the next two years there will be a shift, which will see the PC replaced by personal Cloud services, as the digital device of choice.

According to James Henigan, product and IT services director at hosted services provider Rise, the move to personal Cloud services is one of natural progression given the developments in smart device technology and the consumerisation of IT, however, not everyone will be willing to do away with existing IT infrastructures.

“The research from Gartner was unsurprising – the idea that we are moving to a ‘post-PC’ era is nothing new and as more smart devices come available we’ll likely see the lines between corporate and personal devices becoming even more blurred, said Henigan.

“Enterprises are aware of this, and where once-upon-a-time employees were confined to a PC at a desk, we are now free to take our work with us through Cloud based services.

“For a lot of firms, Cloud based services represent an opportunity to completely revolutionise their IT infrastructure, with huge benefits to be seen across a business including scalability, cost and agility. While the benefits are obvious, a lot of enterprises are still apprehensive when it comes to moving to the Cloud.

“Concerns exist around security, risk migration and privacy of data. Also with so much investment already made in existing legacy systems, organisations are not in a position to suddenly do away with their current IT infrastructure and instead are looking for some middle ground.

“A hybrid Cloud approach offers greater flexibility to meet changing data needs. When using the hybrid Cloud, enterprises can select which data and applications will go into the Cloud and which stay in the physical on-site infrastructure. This allows a certain safety net to be in place, gaining the benefits of migrating to the Cloud, whilst reassuring executives about the security of their most sensitive data and the cost implication of a wholesale change in their infrastructure. They also have the ability to use both public and private Cloud environments, giving them the flexibility to migrate data that suits one particular solution.

“For a lot of businesses, the hybrid approach represents a sensible option that allows them to develop a Cloud offering on their terms. As a result, hybrid Clouds will play an important role in making Cloud computing more accessible and valuable for businesses, as we move into this ‘post-PC’ era.”