The information technology (IT) question facing companies in 2009-2010 was about the cloud and whether it was the next revolutionary change for IT. But now, industry experts say the question has evolved from "Is the cloud revolution real?" to "How quickly can businesses join the cloud movement?"
Findings from a recent survey of IT executives show that a majority of companies had a cloud computing strategy in place in 2010 compared to 2009 when only a third did. In the same period, naysayers dwindled as less than 15 percent of respondents reported no future plans for cloud computing.
Yet despite growing interest and use of the cloud, hurdles remain and must be addressed.
Application requirements and security, the most frequently named obstacles in this year's survey are the focus of much industry attention. Initiatives underway on the vendor side will ease both challenges.
Microsoft is expanding its cloud offerings to be more symmetric with on-premise software that companies use today. And its Windows Azure solution allows customized solutions when the symmetry is not quite there yet.
As for security challenges, there is an emerging initiative specifically for companies that have strict data protection or regulatory issues: vendors and solutions providers are creating private clouds, which give organizations the same benefits without the worries.
Comment from Chris Kabat, Vice President of Connected Business Systems, MPS Partners: Last year, companies asked if the cloud was something they could use. Today we know that cloud computing is here to stay; it will revolutionize the IT function, and next year we'll see increased innovation in this area if companies continue jumping on board at the pace we saw in 2010. Driving the cloud revolution is cost, availability and understanding. The economic realities that companies faced this year and last led many IT executives to closely evaluate the cloud. In addition, Microsoft and other vendors solidified their cloud computing options making the solution a reality. Finally, customers have a better understanding of what cloud computing is and how they can benefit from it. It's the perfect storm for this revolution. There will always be organizations that are slower to adopt. But essentially, cloud computing is shifting responsibility for application maintenance, operations and disaster recovery development from the business user to the service provider. Companies not only find that an attractive business proposition, but they also see the potential for significant upside in terms of cost and new opportunities.
About the survey: The survey was conducted by MPS Partners in December 2010.
Contact: http://www.mpspartners.com
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