Gartner Says 50 Percent of C-Level Executives Will Perform 80 Percent of Their Work on a Non-Company Standard PC Through 2008.

Gartner Analysts Examine the Future Direction of the PC During Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, October 8-13, in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Most organizations still assume ownership and control of PCs used by employees, however that is being challenged by more employees who refuse the company standard-issue PC, according to Gartner, Inc. C-level executives are the most frequent offenders; 50 percent of C-level executives will perform 80 percent of their work on a non-company standard PC through 2008.

"This trend is set to continue, and for IT departments, it is bad news," said Brian Gammage, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "Budgets are under pressure and there are growing demands to contain user liberty. Security concerns are very real and demand tighter control of the company security perimeter, which for PCs translates to demanding tighter management of PC configurations."

Gartner analysts discussed the reality and future implications of client computing at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, which is taking place here through October 13.

"Each device accessing the system presents a target 'footprint', to which applications are delivered, and these footprints must be managed and secured," Mr. Gammage said. "Failure to do so risks business disruption and lost productivity."

Gartner recommends that IT departments set clear boundaries around their client computing footprints on devices in order to meet business objectives and work to tight budgets. Probably the most fundamental technology change, and the key to defining new rules on dealing with device footprints, will be virtualization.

"Virtualization support is now being embedded into PCs. By the end of 2007, most of the PCs sold will come with this capability," Mr. Gammage said. "The launch of hardware virtualization support marked the start of a period that will inevitably lead to the establishment of a critical new PC standard: the hypervisor."

A hypervisor is a simple program that is invisible to the operating system. It uses processor hardware to conceal itself from other software, and is capable of manipulating the way that hardware responds to software instructions. How a PC hypervisor standard is implemented will have a significant bearing on how PC software is installed, how software accesses system resources, and how software can subsequently be managed.

The changing workforce is also creating new dynamics for the PC industry. By 2015, workers will spend more than 80 percent of their time working collaboratively, but not necessarily face-to-face, meaning that remote teams, task forces and collaborative ventures will become the norms.

Because of this collaborative nature of working, the traveling user population is also increasing. Notebooks, as a percentage of the PCs used by workers, have increased steadily in recent years and will continue to grow. By 2009, over half of the PCs bought by businesses in developed economies will be notebooks.

"Changes in workforce demographics mean an increasing number of workers may rarely visit office locations," Mr. Gammage said. "Home working continues to grow, as does the use of non-permanent staff for non-core activities. Globalization and advances in communication technologies are allowing many organizations to access lower cost labor elsewhere in the world, through offshoring and outsourcing. Organizations must have a client computing strategy that can accommodate shifts in worker locations, employment status and access to corporate networks."

For many organizations, the cost and complexity of client computing has become inhibitive. Devices must be maintained and supported, which involves annual overhead that, for PCs, can be as much as five times the initial cost of the device.

"Hardware continues to evolve, so PC standards usually change at least once per year, and there's an increasing range of other devices to consider as well," said Mr. Gammage. "Managing the way processes and applications are used from these devices is key to ensuring productivity and maintaining a strong security perimeter."

About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference, providing business leaders with a look at the future of IT. For more than 14,000 IT professionals from the world's leading enterprises, Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of their annual planning efforts. Attendees rely on Gartner Symposium/ITxpo to gain insight into how their organizations can use technology to address business challenges and improve operational efficiency.

In Orlando, an integral part of the Gartner Symposium is the ITxpo showfloor, where more than 150 technology companies are showcasing the latest technology solutions. There are nine ITxpo marketplaces, including business applications and BPM, business intelligence and data warehousing, outsourcing and IT services and security. ITxpo marketplaces are focused areas designed to aggregate solution providers into a specific market and link conference topics to market solutions. Attendees can attend technology company presentations and schedule face to face meetings with exhibitors of their choice. Additional information is available at www.gartner.com/symposium/us.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. Gartner serves 10,000 organizations, including chief information officers and other senior IT executives in corporations and government agencies, as well as technology companies and the investment community. The Company consists of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 3,700 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 75 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.