Experts are foreseeing big changes in Cloud computing in the coming months
IaaS has assumed a star role in the ongoing development of Cloud technologies for businesses, but growth appears to be having a widespread effect on consumer markets as well.
If you scan the headlines of major tech development firms, cloud computing companies and mainstream news organizations, you’ll quickly discover that each passing day brings exciting progress (for cloud computing as a whole) into the limelight. Simply put, it seems as if the speed of expansion and maturity of cloud technologies is poised to continue onward with its dramatic increase.
While businesses continue to latch onto cloud computing in the form of IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service), one of the largest potential markets for cloud products is in fact, the ordinary consumer market.
For example, Gartner asserts that:
“Consumers will spend $2.1 trillion worldwide on digital information and entertainment products and services in 2012….This amounts to a $114 billion global increase compared with 2011, and spending will continue to grow at a faster rate than in the past, at around $130 billion a year, to reach $2.7 trillion by the end of 2016.”
It’s not a stretch to see how these largely digital consumers can be better serviced by cloud computing, undoubtedly this will become a big focus for cloud vendors / providers.
This of course brings us to the topic of “personal clouds”, which seek to entirely replace our notions of conventional computing altogether. What is a personal cloud, you ask? In essence, personal clouds allow individuals to access their stored data on any and all devices they own at any given time. In other words, a personal cloud is sort of like a privately accessible drive that acts as a central repository which greatly simplifies an individual’s approach to their data. Basically, you’re removing the focus on storage away from “individual hard drives on devices” and transferring it all to one remotely positioned location. The next logical step in this development is going to be the transfer of additional components into the cloud framework, wouldn’t you agree? Once that occurs, we’ll have what could only be described as a full-blown “personal cloud computer” system. Afterwards, cloud providers and businesses will be jumping at the opportunity to integrate anything and everything into a cloud-friendly / compatible format.
While consumers are exploring the use of cloud technology to provide storage, entertainment, accessibility and specific applications, businesses seem to be turning to IaaS, PaaS and hybrid cloud infrastructures. Arguably, the biggest news in the cloud computing community are the ongoing predictions concerning the staggering amount of current and potential cloud growth. IaaS in particular, has been booming as more and more organizations are turning to it in an effort to construct very specific and idealized forms of IT infrastructure which are both unique and more cost effective than any other approach. In fact, it would seem that businesses are moving toward increasing investments in IT and cloud computing, seeing it as something that’s just as important as sales and the health of their entire organization.
For instance, look at this predictive trending snippet from Gartner and Forbes:
“Gartner and Forbes surveyed 175 board members in March and April of 2012 regarding their perceptions of the key business issues facing their organizations, and the contemporary aspect of their attitudes toward IT. The priorities of the board directors in this survey were directly centered on customers, building better ways to drive the business forward through better core competencies, working on sustaining competitive advantage, or innovation. Gartner analysts said all of these are proactive efforts to acquire, retain or develop customers and markets….Eighty-six percent of respondents said they believe that IT’s strategic contribution to the business will increase by 2014.”
The evidence is clear, IT itself is becoming increasingly important and new forms of IT like IaaS and PaaS (cloud computing) are among the most highly sought after IT solutions in existence. All of this adds up to one conclusion – businesses need to concentrate more heavily on cloud computing adoption and transition.
Naturally, if your enterprise isn’t prepared in terms of having personnel who are certified in cloud computing and / or IaaS, now is the time to begin exploring your options with regards to professional development. Quite simply, certification in these areas is affordable, convenient and provides an excellent hedge against risk as your organization moves forward into any cloud venture. Moreover, the time to begin exploring these educational options is right now, as instituting something as involved as IaaS will undoubtedly require qualified personnel with specific expertise.
Cloud computing seems to be poised for unprecedented growth in the coming months and years. This presents businesses, corporations and even individuals with a great opportunity to not only utilize these technologies, but also to take advantage of potential startups and investments. Those who are able to comprehend the gravity of the situation ahead of the big boon will be strategically positioned to do very well in the coming years and will likely destroy their competitors on every level.