If you own an iPhone, chances are you will be one of the very many iOS 5 users to take advantage of Apple’s recently introduced iCloud service.
According to a survey conducted by RBC Capital Markets, 76% of iPhone users said they were very likely or somewhat likely to use Apple’s free iCloud platform, while 30% confirmed they were at least somewhat likely to pay $25 per year for the iTunes Match service.
Meanwhile, 73% said they were likely to switch to Apple’s iMessage service – which basically replaces standard text messaging between iOS 5 users.
“This high response rate affirms the growing interest in storing, syncing and sharing music, photos and documents across multiple devices [such as] smartphones, tablets, PCs and TVs,” RBC analyst Mike Abramsky said in a note to clients obtained by the Financial Post.
“Because it stores user data, iCloud along with iTunes is expected to enhance loyalty and stickiness of Apple’s customers, helping defend against threats from Android, helping grow a defensible install base of users who continually upgrade to next generation Macs, iPhones, iPads and iPods.”
Meanwhile, Box.net CEO Aaron Levie said he believes iCloud will have nothing less than a “transformative impact” on the enterprise.
“It will force individuals to acknowledge the pains of a world tethered to file servers, desktops, and on-premise software. At its core, cloud storage is about liberating data, devices and applications,” he explained.
“Every IT manager, business executive and knowledge worker will now ask: why can’t I get to my business content whenever and wherever I need it? Why can’t I share with anyone, easily? The cloud, not just iCloud, is the solution.”
