Cloud Computing Continues to Stay Strong

With one of our previous blog posts back in 2011, that anticipated the ten facts that proved cloud computing is here to stay, we have even more reasons now to show you that cloud computing continues to stay stronger in 2013 and for many more years to come.

Shared needs are pushing organizations to a more collaborative approach. Advances in technologies are symbiotic in nature and advances in one pushes the adoption of the other as well. CRM, e-commerce, business intelligence, mobile, office productivity tools, application development, and ERP systems are all bound for online / cloud delivery.

Cloud-based solutions continue to offer significant resolutions for organizations of all types and sizes, and Analysts/leaders predict that the global demand for hosted IT services will push cloud computing’s rapid growth. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) adoption is rapidly going main stream across more and more markets.As more and more businesses grasp the value of cloud infrastructure and measured more explicitly, the adoption rate would increase. SaaS usage is expanding within organizations and increasingly crosses business process and functional boundaries.The so-called disconnect between business decision-makers' demand for SaaS solutions and IT's interest in maintaining control of technology assets is narrowing down.

Cloud computing is simple in concept. Simplicity of operation, deployment and licensing are its most appealing factors. In the recent times organizations are seeing business enablement factors at a higher level than financial factors including reliability, availability of services, Scalability, Business Agility and quality of service.

Cloud computing just isn’t as scary as it once was to companies and their CIOs. The % of companies that find cloud application risky or immature is dramatically reducing year-on-year. The adoption is also seen more evidently, as cloud is simply becoming the way we do things. A significant percentage of all net new software are SaaS-based. Companies have significantly stepped up spending on SaaS delivered applications at a rate six times that of software purchase overall. Surely, cloud is finding its way into day-to-day business.

While security remains the primary inhibitor to adoption in the burgeoning cloud marketplace,the security concerns for organizations using cloud based services are slowing getting dispelled as companies make security a priority. As a matter of fact, Cloud computing solutions are now being used for improved enterprise security. Besides, moving to the cloud may offer an opportunity to align security with corporate goals in a more permanent way by formalizing the risk-assessment function in a security committee. As seen in a report from Alert Logic, the environments hosted in the cloud are not less secure than others and may in fact be better protect against malware and web application attacks.

The other larger issue with cloud based applications is on the regulatory compliance – and today both IT and legal experts offer CIOs advice on how to stay in compliance even when their application is on the cloud;ISO 27001 and SAS 70 are helpful but they're point-in-time, as mentioned by Forrester. Companies are by themselves now building sound practices and strategies for user identity and access management, data protection and incident response. Bringing visibility to users is fast gaining importance, and companies are developing standardized auditing frameworks to facilitate communication between users and cloud vendors. Companies also take care of the SLA from the cloud companies;

Cloud computing may pose some risks, but these are diminishing as security innovations are fast catching up. The security issues are not worrying most organizations, and are only a minor irritant for cloud adoption.