Cloudy Days are Here to Stay...

As we have stated before, cloud computing has been around for quite a while but it is still considered to be “new technology” by many.  Just within the last two years, cloud computing has been increasingly demystified and its adoption rate within businesses and organizations all over the world has grown astronomically.  Still, cloud computing is one area of technology that seems to attract much debate.  Is cloud computing a fad? Is it safe? Is it reliable? Is it cost effective?

One way to answer some of these questions and determine the longevity of cloud computing is to look at expert forecasts.  Earlier this month, Louis Columbus published an article on Forbes online that discussed some of the predictions for cloud computing for the upcoming year.  In this thought-provoking article, Columbus gathers cloud forecasting facts and statistics from several trusted industry experts and today we are sharing several of the highlights below.

Cisco is forecasting cloud spending in small and medium businesses (SMB) will reach $16B in 2015 growing from just under $5B in 2010.  The company has published two studies on SMB cloud adoption that are worth reading.   Source: SMB Public Cloud Adoption: Opening a Hidden Market Source: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/sp/IBSG_RE_SMB-Public-Cloud-Adoption.pdf Sequel: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/re/IBSG-RE_SMB_Cloud-Adoption_Sequel.pdf

SaaS and cloud-based business application services revenue will grow from $13.5 billion in 2011 to$32.8 billion in 2016, achieving a five-year CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 19.5%. Source:  Gartner’s Forecast Analysis: Enterprise Application Software, Worldwide, 2011-2016, 4Q12 Update Published: 31 January 2013

By 2014, IT organizations in 30% of Global 1000 companies will broker (aggregate, integrate and customize) two or more cloud services for internal and external users, up from 5% today.   Source:  Predicts 2013: Cloud Computing Becomes an Integral Part of IT Published: 4 December 2012 ID:G00230929.

In 2012, 36% of CRM applications in the CRM software market were delivered on software as a service (SaaS) infrastructure. Gartner forecasts that SaaS use will increase to 40% in 2013, and that the crossover point to more than 50% SaaS in the CRM market will be reached during 2016.  Source: Predicts 2013: CRM Goes More Cloud, Becomes an App, Has a New Leader and Changes Nam Published: 4 December 2012. 

Gartner predicts worldwide spending on Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) will grow from $1.58B in 2013 to $3.05B in 2016, attaining a 17.9% CAGR.   Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will grow from $19.8B in 2013 to $32.8B in 2016, attaining a 13.4% CAGR.  Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) will grow from $9B in 2013 to $24.2B in 2016, attaining a 28.02% CAGR.  Gartner’s latest public cloud computing forecast is provided below. . Source: Public Cloud Services End-User Spending by Segment for Region, 2010-2016 (Millions of Dollars)  Source: Gartner (December 2012)  

IDC is predicting Cloud Services and enablement spending will hit $60 billion, growing at 26% through the year and that over 80% of new apps will be distributed and deployed on cloud platforms.  Their predictions also are saying that 2.5% of legacy packaged enterprise apps will start migrating to clouds.  Source: Top 10 Predictions, IDC Predictions 2012: Competing for 2020 by Frank Gens. You can download a copy of the IDC Predictions here: http://cdn.idc.com/research/Predictions12/Main/downloads/IDCTOP10Predictions2012.pdf

If you are considering moving your organization to the cloud, some of the articles linked above would be a great source of supplemental information to base your decision on.  When you feel like your organization is ready for a solution, contact The Vested Group.  The Vested Group is a consulting firm located near Dallas, TX that specializes in NetSuite, Cloud Computing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions specific to small to medium sized businesses.  Get in touch with us today to set up a demo!