Cloud computing market ‘set to mature in 2011’

The cloud computing market will mature during next year, becoming integrated with other emerging technologies such as social networking and smartphones.

This is according to a new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), which forecasts cloud services will make the move from early-adopter status to mainstream adoption over the course of the year.

Frank Gens, senior vice president and chief analyst at IDC, said: "What really distinguishes the year ahead is that these disruptive technologies are finally being integrated with each other – cloud with mobile, mobile with social networking, social networking with ‘big data’ and real-time analytics."

Spending on public cloud computing services is expected to grow at five times the rate of the rest of the IT industry during 2011, as more businesses take advantage of the services on offer.

A separate study by Frost & Sullivan recently found 61 per cent of the organisations it questioned are planning to increase their use of the cloud during next year.