Despite Changing Device Preferences, Cloud App Trend is Key

With all the attention now paid to changing device preferences, it sometimes is hard to remember that “client” device preferences only emphasize the growing shift to cloud-based apps and behavior.

Apps related to use of maps provide one example, but only one. Though sales of dedicated global positioning satellite units are growing slowly, use of web-based maps and “directions” are up about 20 percentage points since 2010 according to an Accenture study.

Almost half (47 percent) of consumers Accenture surveyed use global positioning in a typical week.

Some 69 percent use a PC, 48 percent use a mobile device or smart phone and 13 percent use a tablet;

Some 35 percent have a factory-installed GPS device in their car and 43 percent would like to have a GPS device installed in their next car, the study suggests.

The point is that, while the GPS device is highly popular, its preferred form is now in a software app on amulti-function device.   

But similar shifts are occurring around use of other apps as well. A significant increase in use of online services has occurred in just one year, the study suggests.

In fact, usage of cloud apps increased for all eight of the online services Accenture researchers asked about, including online email services, games, photo storage, movie streaming, data backup, music streaming,calendaring and document creation.