Gartner Says It’s in the Cloud (IT, MSFT, ORCL, SAP, HPQ, DELL, AAPL)

Tech research firm Gartner Inc. (NYSE: IT) says the days of the PC are numbered, and by 2014, “the personal cloud will replace the personal computer at the center of users’ digital lives.” The shift is a function of the rapid adoption of both smartphones and tablets and the way corporate users are migrating to those devices to make themselves more productive.

Computer software makers like Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), SAP Inc. (NYSE: SAP) are all gearing more of their offerings to cloud computing. Hardware makers like Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) are struggling to keep pace with the mobile devices like the iPhone and the iPad pioneered by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Gartner identifies five megatrends that are driving cloud computing:

1. Consumerization – users are smarter and understand and like the capabilities of the new devices
2. Virtualization – low-power end-user devices with access to centrally-located processing power
3. “App-ification” – the popularity of small apps as compared with huge applications
4. Alway-available, self-service cloud – users are able to choose resources, apps as needed
5. Mobility shift – any device, anywhere, any time