Cloud Tech News

As anyone with a vested interest in cloud computing will know, the perception of the data centre has evolved considerably, from isolated resource centres to more connected pools, helping maximise IT efficiency. Not surprisingly, with the potential available, the numbers are growing. 60% of server workloads are set to be virtualised by 2014, compared to only 12% in 2008, with total investment in data centre infrastructure growing 5% on average year on year.

There is currently quite a buzz around the concept of advanced analytics, as organisations look to predict future outcomes more effectively, based on a detailed understanding of what has actually happened in the past rather than testing theoretical hypotheses based on statistical analysis. Put simply, the better the analysis, the better-informed decisions will be around anticipating – and responding effectively to - future demand.

Cloud computing is one of the biggest trends facing enterprise IT departments today, according to a quarter of respondents in the latest NaviSite survey. Slashed budgets was the top trend according to 31% of those surveyed, with data explosion (25%) rounding off the top three.

A whitepaper from Melbourne’s Centre for Energy Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) has cast doubt on traditional thinking regarding the energy consumption of cloud computing. “Previous analysis and industry focus has missed the point,” blistered the Power of Wireless Cloud report to open its executive summary. “Access networks, not data centres, are the biggest threat to the sustainability of cloud services.”

Analyst firm Forrester predicts the CRM software market will reach more than $15 billion by 2014, nearly double what it was in 2007. The CRM market totaled about $11 billion in 2012. The reason for the growth? Companies are placing an emphasis on driving growth by attracting new customers and selling more to existing customers. Is your business keeping pace?

Half of those polled in the latest cloudy survey have said they will “definitely” look to expand their data centres in the coming year, with the vast majority of remaining respondents claiming they will expand in 2014. The survey, commissioned by data bods Digital Realty Trust and conducted by Campos Research and Analysis, spoke to 300 IT execs and concluded that this explosion in data centre usage was primarily down to the proliferation of private clouds.

Information as an asset to a business is more important than ever, but the term ‘big data’ is misleading: our data issues today don’t just relate to the vast quantities of data we generate, access and share. In 2013, big data is a competitive advantage. By 2018, I’d go as far as to say that those businesses without a clear data strategy in place will not be around.

If I was to suggest businesses move IT services to the cloud to improve security, there’s a strong possibility I would be laughed out of town. Despite businesses clearly seeing the benefits of migrating to the cloud, research shows that, for 61% of European CIOs, security is still the biggest concern when considering such a move.