Flash drives also give us encryption and security options that you can get from an optical disk, notes Joshi.

New device form factors such as tablets, slates and netbooks are getting people used to the idea of not needing an optical drive. Operating system files are on a separate partition on the hard drive on most new computers, and new applications are purchased and downloaded over the Web through the ever-expanding app store model.

With more and more vendors making their applications available for purchase online, and with more and more users getting used to this model, Joshi notes the use cases justifying the need for an optical drive are being ticked-off one by one. Even online movie services such as Netflix are removing the need for a DVD drive to play a movie on your laptop.

Lenovo is beginning to look at shifting away from optical drives in future product sets, said Joshi. Slates and tablets, the hottest form factors, are already optical drive free, and with ultrathin and mobile the trend in laptops, most purchasers there are opting to ditch the optical drive. The trend is slower on the desktop side but it is there, said Joshi. Lenovo's newest consumer desktop all-in-one, the IdeaCenter A310, has no optical drive.

"We're starting to see a dramatic decrease in the use of optical drives today, and in the next couple of years it will fade-out completely," said Joshi, noting the last hold-out will likely be the enterprise space, which is more resistant to change and has the need to support legacy processes.