Top Trends In Enterprise Cloud Computing

By Author: John Mark
Total Articles: 136
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The adoption of cloud enabled application is accelerating among enterprises of all sizes. Forward-thinking business leaders, in these unprecedented times, are leveraging the benefits offered by cloud computing, such as resource sharing, scalability, agility, cost effectiveness and many more. According to Gartner, a leading research firm, cloud computing has won a position among the top three technology areas an IT firm should concentrate on in 2010. IBM, in its recent acquisition announcement, stated that they expect the global cloud computing market, including SaaS (Software as a Service), to reach $126 billion by 2012, up from $47 billion in 2008. The primary reason is the convergence of various IT drivers combined with cost effective solutions for critical business requirements.

We know what Information Technology always looks for--a robust infrastructure with maximum capacity and capabilities. Cloud computing extends IT's existing capabilities in restrained investment. Other trends observed in enterprise cloud computing space which play an important role in compounding its value are:

Enterprises move further ...
... after experimentation - Organizations have already dipped their feet in the water and cloud computing has proven its worth. Enterprises will be taking the next step by implementing production cloud stacks with thousands of VMs (Virtual Managers). They will use these stacks as a resource for handling both production and pre-production workflows. Additionally, they will test other aspects of cloud computing such as the benefits of managing internal data centers, variable chargeback and accounting capabilities.

Private clouds environments increase - Private clouds have seen a stupendous rise in number with their adoption from organizations of all sizes. As stated above, the perception that public clouds haven't yet fully reached the maturity phase with floating security issues leaves private clouds as a good option for enterprise customers. In addition, private clouds are becoming increasingly popular because of open source technologies like Eucalyptus and the integration of such technologies into Ubuntu.

Management software within cloud computing is increasing - The concept of Virtual Data Center (VDC) is gaining popularity as infrastructure evolves with increasingly dynamic and virtualized technology. There will be a need for the creation of new management platforms for new enterprises to adapt within the cloud environment. Without new management platforms, it will be difficult for organizations to adapt to the new cloud environment.

Public Clouds - Cloud computing wasn't considered a favorable idea by corporations until they saw the success of public cloud computing providers such as Amazon. Amazon has continued to struggle hard in the public cloud segment by offering innovative cloud enabled applications. Other companies are quickly entering the space with Microsoft announcing Azure as their public cloud last year, and IBM and EMC will soon follow. In addition, companies such as Terremark and hosting.com have launched public clouds based on vCloud technology for public clouds.

US government encouraging cloud adoption - The US government has encouraged cloud computing as a reliable technology, serving even the intelligence and defense departments. Notwithstanding the infrastructure factor, the US government is encouraging cloud-based applications for various departments. The government has recommended new guidelines for the effective and safe use of cloud computing.

Unlike when cloud computing was initially introduced, the landscape has changed drastically and will continue to evolve significantly in the future. Apart from the above trends, new technologies will be added by new cloud computing companies entering the arena. It is no surprise that predictions like the ones stated above by IBM and Gartner will continue to keep coming true.