Will cloud computing be the new trend in 2011?

Post date: Mar 03, 2011 6:8:54 PM

After a brutal 2010 for the US economy, there are all sorts of forecasts and predictions for what the new year might bring. One perspective, offered by Gartner SVP Peter Sondergaard at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, is that information (which he described as “the oil of the 21stcentury”) will be a major factor driving the economy in 2011. According to Gartner Worldwide Enterprise, IT spending could reach $2.5 trillion in 2011, about a 3 percent increase from 2010 spending levels.

CIOs, who primarily control the purse strings for technological issues, are searching the clouds for answers on how to manage operating budgets and deliver technological breakthroughs. One trend supporting their vision is cloud computing, a concept different companies have been exploring for years, but a real buzzword heard everywhere these days, even in commercials. But what exactly is cloud computing? According to Wikipedia, cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand. Some of the formidable players in cloud computing include IBM, salesforce.com, and Red Hat.

A search through the Hoover’s database, using our Build-A-List tool, finds many companies already have executives heavily involved in cloud computing initiatives, including Cisco’sLew Tucker (CTO, Cloud Computing), IBM’s Erich Clementi (SVP, Global Technology Services), and EMC’s Howard Elias (President and COO, EMC Information Infrastructure and Cloud Services).

One name you will no longer find on our list, however, is that of cloud computing visionary Raymond Ozzie, who encouraged Microsoft to embrace cloud computing back in 2005 in a famous memo. Ozzie left Microsoft at the end of 2010, although that certainly doesn’t mean the computer software giant is taking its eye off cloud computing. In fact, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently stated that by March 2012, 90 percent of its engineers will be working on cloud-related initiatives. Microsoft believes about $10 billion in annual revenue will come from its cloud services, for which the company has signed up such customers as Lockheed Martin, 3M, and Toyota.

It remains to be seen what 2011 will bring, but if Sondergaard and other forecasters are right, it is looking cloudy with a high chance of “ka-ching.”

~http://www.bizmology.com/2011/01/25/will-cloud-computing-be-the-new-trend-in-2011/