Cloud Technology in 2013 – Would it be Widely Acceptable in Enterprise?

The expectations with cloud computing are sky high in 2013. According to Gartner, there is going to be a 5.6% increase in technology spending this year, and much of that is going to happen in the domain of cloud computing. As can be imagined, this is great news for everybody who backed cloud computing to be a ‘big thing’ in 2013.

Two Huge Cloud Trends in 2013

Gartner has come up with its list of the top technology trends for 2013 and has identified the Personal Cloud and Hybrid IT and Cloud Computing as the trends that will capture the imagination of the public and tech companies through this year.

The Personal Cloud is largely expected to replace the PC as far as storing personal content, access of IT services and just about anything and everything else that is a part of a person’s digital environment, is concerned. Gone are the days when a PC was enough to take a person through a normal work day. Today, there are a number of devices that a person uses, for e.g. I have an iMac, an iPhone and an iPad and I use it for different purposes through the day to check my archived milestone in web app development, for both personal and professional reasons. For me, at a certain level, cloud computing is the glue that connects all my devices.

I am already using the cloud as my very own personal space, but 2013, is the year of the Personal Cloud. Here, no single vendor, device or technology will dominate the proceedings.  The cloud can be your very own personal place, which can be customized to suit your needs and requirements.

Let’s Go Hybrid

You got the hybrid car, the hybrid tabs and well the hybrid whatnot’s, so now in 2013, the IT departments of organizations will be expected to go hybrid even in web development firm. Yes, there are already indications that multiple responsibilities will be the order of the day, and this is where cloud services will be god sent for the internal users of the company also Cloud Services Brokerage (CSB) will play a stellar role in ensuring that organizations can effectively manage the cloud computing services from different vendors.

Enterprise level requirements will become very challenging with the focus on a hybrid IT environment and CSB will emerge as the bulwark to face all challenges to help along the seamless adoption of cloud computing services.

Acceptability in Enterprises

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind or in that of cloud computing experts that businesses will be putting great stock in the cloud as a means of improving their business services and at the same time bringing down their operating costs. More and more organizations are going to deploy their big data applications in the cloud and very soon, you are going to have a situation wherein enterprises will be depending on cloud technologies to deliver business value to their customers.

Forget about doubting enterprises accepting cloud technology, the marketplace for cloud computing is all set to reach a mammoth figures of $16 billion, this according to a survey carried out by 451 Market Monitor. By 2018, the market for cloud computing is all set to reach a gigantic $46.8 billion.

So let’s take a closer look at enterprise level adoption of cloud technology in 2012.

Enterprise level Adoption will Accelerate

No doubt, there are still many reservations in the minds of enterprise clients about the security and also the seamless availability of cloud technology. But 2013 is the time when these concerns will dissipate, seen from the prism of a more agile enterprise and cost –effective processes through the adoption of cloud technology.

Better control over the Cloud

Enterprise acceptability of the Cloud will get a boost as they gain more and more control over the cloud. One of the major reasons why they were circumspect about its use is because of the loss of control, but there is a perceptible tightening of the screws as far as compliance mandates is concerned and this is what will make enterprises more receptive of cloud technology in 2013. Let’s face it, major organizations, I am not even talking about the small or medium sized ones still have no clearly defined policies regarding the use of cloud services by their employees or departments.  This policy vacuum is slowly but surely being filled and a systematic attempt is already being made to form clearly defined policies for the use of cloud based solutions.

As can be imagined, well defined policies, make for better control, which in turn will lead to more acceptance for cloud services in enterprises. The idea here is to lay down security policies for cloud usage so that the people who want to access it can do so without any fear of unauthorized access.

There is absolutely no doubt that this year, it’s all going to be about the cloud. Yes, there are still some operational, and security concerns remaining to be sorted out, but as the year goes along, you will find more and more enterprises accepting the use of cloud technology.