Google Drive showcases move toward mobility

Google recently announced its entrance to the cloud computing storage market with the introduction of Google Drive. Perhaps more than anything, the move demonstrates the company's and the overall industry's shift toward both hosted services and mobility.

With Drive and similar services, users can store content in the cloud regardless of which device it was created on. The thinking is that users of tablet computers and other mobile devices will still have access to their files, documents and other content no matter where they are located.

In an interview with CIO magazine, Gartner's Michael Gartenberg says computer users' habits are shifting away from the desktop and are focusing more on mobile capabilities.

"Personal cloud is far more than just storage; it's synchronization, it's streaming, it's sharing files," he says. "Those ultimately become more important to the consumer than things like the personal computer."

Research by Gartner released in March 2012 paints a similar picture. It says 90 percent of mobile devices will contain some sort of personal cloud service by the end of next year.