In 2014, PC will stay at the heart of an ecosystem of tablets, smartphones, smart TVs

The world is undergoing a “PC Plus evolution”. This means the PC remains at the heart of an ecosystem of tablets, smartphones and smart TVs. PC remains central to the digital lives of millions of people and businesses, Rahul Agarwal, Executive Director, Commercial Business Segment, Lenovo India, says.

Here's a summary of Lenovo's perspectives for PC Plus trends in 2014 and beyond:

Room for innovation on the PC platform

An IDC survey conducted in April, 2013 showed that 91.3 percent of respondents do not consider tablets as replacements for PCs. The same survey also found that 58.5 percent of respondents bought a tablet to be used in addition to a laptop, and not as a replacement.

While some tablets may be closing the performance gap with PCs in terms of hardware, and office productivity software becomes available on mobile devices, the creation of content still demands a PC’s form factor for better input accuracy. The PC industry represents a US$200 billion market and offers substantial opportunity for profitable growth. There continues to be room for innovation for the PC platform to make it even more relevant and desirable than before; convertible PCs, like table PCs, are an example of this continued innovation. This growth potential will be driven by declining production costs for key components such as processors, storage and touch technologies.

While the PC continues to be relevant in the technology industry, PC refresh cycles are expected to extend as people and businesses seek to balance budgets between the purchases of PCs and other mobile devices in the PC Plus space. As a result, there will be greater emphasis on product reliability, particularly for businesses, as their PCs need to be durable enough to meet the demands of longer operating lifespans.

All-day computing: The holy grail in mobile era

A device that is out of battery has zero features. With this unforgiving reality in mind, battery life should be one of the top considerations for end-users – and therefore manufacturers as well – as consumers become increasingly mobile. Lenovo expects products that enable all-day computing will be one of the focuses in 2014, as users seek to rid themselves of the reliance on additional power sources while on the move and become truly mobile.

Bring Your Own Device mantra

The commercial segment is expected to expand to a fifth of the tablet market by 2017 as companies are increasingly picking up tablets for various use cases, such as equipping their mobile sales force, retail employees, field operations staff and basic productivity purposes for employees to stay connected and augment their productivity.

In the second half of 2014, the overall tablet market is expected to grow as hybrid, detachable tablets and the next wave of tablet innovations fuel a new wave of growth for the category. In line with businesses’ growing adoption of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), there is also an opportunity for consumer-oriented tablets to be used in the commercial space, as long as they meet the requirements of the business. For businesses with an existing cloud service, IT managers can ensure the tablets are secured via cloud-based software for these products.

CYOD as the new business mobility trend

As the adoption of BYOD continues in Asia Pacific, we expect a new trend to emerge in line with IDC’s predictions, whereby eligible employees are provided a choice of devices they can use for work. Termed “Choose Your Own Device” (CYOD), this model offers the benefits of management and security which can be standardized and guaranteed, and business processes can be mobilized.

Manufacturers that can offer a portfolio of computing tools will become more attractive options during the procurement process. Having a strong portfolio of products that meet different end-user requirements, while making it easier for IT administrators to manage the fleet of mobile computing devices, will result in a win-win situation for both businesses and employees.

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