The Personal Cloud: A Strategic Imperative for Operators - Competitive Market Trends, Forecasts and Operator Business Models

Summary
The 'Personal Cloud: A Strategic Imperative for Operators' report by Pyramid Research provides an overview of operators and cloud computing, an analysis of the personal cloud market, the results of an operator online survey about their views on personal cloud and a detailed assessment of how operators are positioning their personal cloud services.

Key Findings
- The number of global personal cloud accounts has increased 60% over the past two years, and Pyramid Research expects it to grow a CAGR of 25% from 2013 to 2018.
- Apple, Dropbox, Google and Microsoft dominate the market, together having over 85% of personal cloud accounts.
- By the end of 2014, over half of all operators around the world will have launched a personal cloud service.
- Personal cloud services offer many benefits and opportunities for operators that are well positioned to differentiate their services.

Synopsis
This report offers detailed analysis of the global personal cloud market, with market size forecasts covering the next five years. The report also provides an overview of the current status of the personal cloud market and how operators are positioning themselves within it.
In particular, it provides:
- An overview of cloud computing with respect to network operators and the different ways in which they can benefit from it
- Market size, growth and market shares by number of accounts, as well as a revenue forecast.
- An analysis of the positioning of the major players, of the various business models and of conversion rates.
- An analysis of why we believe the personal cloud opportunity is strategically important for network operators.
- An analysis of the evolution and development of personal cloud services.
- An analysis of the different business models available to operators including churn reduction, premium services, advertising and content distribution.
- An in-depth case study of KDDI.
- An analysis of the different ways in which operators can differentiate their personal cloud services, in particular integrating with other services and growth opportunities.
- The results of an online survey of network operators about their views on personal cloud.

Reasons?To?Buy
- This report will highlight to the reader the importance of the personal cloud market, and why we believe operators need to look at the opportunity as a strategic imperative.
- This report provides the reader with an understanding of how cloud computing impacts operators after which it provides a deep understanding of the personal cloud market.
- The reader will gain an understanding of the competitive landscape, how the major players position themselves compared to the operators.
- The analysts have placed a significant emphasis on the business models available to operators, providing examples from around the world which demonstrate different approaches and ways to position these services.
- The analysts have furthermore placed a lot of emphasis on showing how operators can differentiate their services and why they are uniquely positioned to make the most of this opportunity. This includes looking at three related services which can be integrated with personal clouds which further highlight their strategic importance and the potential for increasing loyalty in high value segments.
- Section 4 provides the results of an online survey of network operators' views and expectations of personal cloud services from around the world.

Section 1: Cloud computing market context and definitions
Cloud computing: Models, service types, features and value proposition
Cloud computing proposition for network operators
Operators and the cloud: Internal systems and service enablement
Operators and the cloud: Consumer and business cloud services
Personal cloud definition and overview

Section 2: Personal cloud market trends, players and opportunity
Personal cloud market development
Expanding device ecosystem for personal cloud services
Evolution of personal cloud services
Positioning of personal cloud services by provider type
Comparative review of major personal cloud providers
Examination of the freemium business model and conversion rates
Personal cloud adoption forecast
Personal cloud market shares
Personal cloud revenue forecast

Section 3: Personal cloud opportunity and positioning strategies for network operators
Positioning cloud computing for network operators
Strategic value of personal cloud for network operators
Operator personal cloud service deployment status
Personal cloud business models for network operators
Business model case study: KDDI's au Smart Pass and ID
Operator positioning for personal cloud services
Operator positioning for personal cloud services: Lowering churn
Operator positioning for personal cloud services: Upselling
Operator positioning for personal cloud services: Premium revenue
Operator pricing strategies for personal cloud services
The operator personal cloud as a content channel
Operator differentiation in personal clouds (security; identification additional devices/M2M)
Bottom line: Adoption trends of operators' personal storage cloud services
Bottom line: personal cloud has strong long term potential for operators

Section 4: Operator survey results
Operator survey scope and methodology
Personal cloud service deployment status
Personal cloud versus primary device
Perceived benefits of personal cloud services and Impact on ARPU
Main customer segments for personal cloud services
Competitor rankings and competitive positioning strategies
Best practices for driving adoption of personal cloud services
Operator timeline for the integration of devices and services into the personal cloud
Appendixes
Companies mentioned
Sources and related research
About Pyramid Research