I wrote earlier about the business case for a personal cloud (http://blog.tmcnet.com/thinking-out-cloud/2012/08/business-case-for-the-personal-cloud.html) in which I surmised that mobile operators stood to perhaps be the largest beneficiaries of personal cloud services by using them to retain subscribers which could bear significant financial advantage.

The purpose of this entry is not one of those 'I told you so' bragging blog posts but rather, to provide an update.

My company just conducted a new survey of 42,500 people about their views on personal clouds and in particular, whether they would use a personal cloud service from their mobile operator (i.e. carrier). We published a free report on the survey results today, which can be downloaded from the Funambol website at http://funambol.com/solutions/library.php with instant registration.

The survey report provides a lot of interesting information about consumer attitudes towards personal cloud services but what I found the most important were their responses to three questions, paraphrased below:

• Assuming you liked your mobile operator, would you use a personal cloud service from them? 74% said yes.

• If you used a personal cloud service from your mobile operator, do you think this might prevent you from switching operators? 77% said yes or maybe.

• If you used a family cloud service from your mobile operator, do you think this might prevent you from switching operators? 74% said yes or maybe.

To me, this data overwhelming supports the belief that mobile operators do indeed have a large opportunity to offer personal cloud services to subscribers. Beyond this, however, if those services are successful and if the survey results are to be believed, this means that operators are sitting on a gold -- make that platinum, titanium, or pick your favorite expensive hydrocarbon - opportunity to retain users and generate significant revenue and returns on their investment. In all of my (considerable) years of working with a wide range of software and solutions, I don't believe I have ever come across an opportunity of this magnitude.

Now as we all know, just because there is an opportunity, it doesn't mean companies will realize it. It takes good execution and a lot of hard work. But at least the good news is that there really may be a very large pot of gold, or platinum, titanium, at the end of the rainbow. This is quite different than many other opportunities that are hypercompetitive or speculative such that the potential reward is diminished. If I were the head of marketing or customer retention at a major mobile operator, consumer electronics company, device maker, content company, etc., I would run, not walk, to figure out how to deliver a compelling personal cloud service that captures our customers' data and content in our cloud, before someone else beats us to it. The gold (platinum, titanium, etc.) rush is on!

p.s. For those interested in learning more about the survey results as well as the future of the personal cloud, you are invited to attend our free webinar on Thursday, August 23rd, at 8am PT. Registration is at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/684115688.