Cloud computing has had a significant impact on the way modern day business is operated and run. It has produced a large, rapidly growing, and competitive market place. Here is a look at where it is headed…
Large Volumes of Data Storage on the Cloud
As more and more companies migrate into the cloud there will be a greater tendency to use the cloud for data storage purposes and that will allow access from multiple sources. Apart from the volumes expected to be involved, there will be greater demand for speed, reliability and security. This will facilitate businesses that provide cloud related products and services such as content, provision of data, cloud services brokerage and other cloud services and applications.
While Google, Amazon and Microsoft are all set to take advantage of cloud forces, some of the other emerging names that are creating the headwind in the cloud space are AppZero, Enomaly, Long Jump and Vaultscape, Flexiant, Workbooks, CloudSigma and Cloudmore, etc.
Emergence of the Managed Cloud
2012 will witness the emergence of the managed cloud. Compared to the public cloud, the perks of the managed cloud vis-à-vis the private cloud is its design around a high availability (N+1) architecture which gives it built in resiliency. Apart from this automatic failover and enterprise-level security options, it has greater appeal for IT managers who prefer hosting applications in a secure, managed cloud.
B2B Improved Agility
In a bid to boost business-to-customer (B2C) interactions companies are moving to social networking, mobile cloud and cloud services, a trend which enhances the agility on business-to-business applications. This also, propels the consumer-as-a-service (CaaS) platform as more businesses place greater emphasis on commerce APIs.
Greater Adoption of the Private Cloud
There is greater preference for private clouds among medium and large enterprises when it comes to cloud computing, security and compliance being major drivers for such preference. For enterprises that are moving more than a handful of physical servers to the cloud, private cloud computing by far is the most cost effective solution.
More Confusion About Cloud Computing
For all those who thought that a generally accepted definition of cloud computing would be available by the end of this year, it might be surprising to know that it is not so. If you thought greater adoption of the cloud and peaking interest in it will bring clarity, this has only further expanded the definition of cloud computing. With some claiming that cloud computing only represents the public cloud utility model and that private cloud computing doesn’t count for anything, others claim that the private cloud is most suited to most medium and large enterprises that seek to meet specific security and compliance requirements.
Security and Compliance Perceptions and Realities Remain Barriers
Security concerns are the top reason why many enterprises have not yet moved to the cloud. The private cloud addresses this issue through dedicated data and network security. For others to be more comfortable with the security options in the managed cloud world and the public clouds like Amazon there is still a long way to go as far as taking care of security concerns.
