Cloud + Data Center = The New Enterprise

Grazed from I.T. Business Edge. Author: Arthor Cole.

The latest research into cloud computing confirms what most of us already knew: The cloud is quickly becoming the new normal in enterprise computing, portending dramatic changes in hardware, software and service markets in the coming decade. But even as cloud adoption kicks into high gear, it should be noted that not every application is suited for full cloud deployment and that in some cases the cloud could end up costing more than traditional data center infrastructure.

First, the numbers. Verizon reported this week that cloud utilization grew by 90 percent over the past year, a reflection of the technology’s transition from a largely test and development platform to a full production environment, even for mission-critical apps. The result is that organizations are on average increasing their cloud budgets by 45 percent per month…

And there is still plenty of room for growth. According to Gartner, only 38 percent of organizations report the use of cloud services today, with 80 percent planning on doing so over the next year. This may be music to cloud providers’ ears, but Gartner cautions that enterprises run a grave risk of misallocating their IT budgets if they continue to look at the cloud as the answer to today’s infrastructure challenges. The real prize, says Gartner researcher Gregor Petri, is finding ways for people to utilize the cloud in new and novel ways, resulting in productivity gains and even business opportunities that simply aren’t achievable with bricks and mortar data centers…

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