IDC: Future of tech looks cloudy

Framingham, Mass. – The future of technology looks cloudy, and IT professionals should be pleased. In a new study, International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts the number of new cloud-based solutions will triple in the next four to five years.



According to “Cloud Computing: The Essential Foundation of Industry Digital Transformation — Worldwide and U.S. Cloud Forecast by Vertical, 2015–2019,” public cloud computing will reach almost $70 billion in 2015 worldwide, with the top five verticals (discrete manufacturing, banking, professional services, process manufacturing, and retail) accounting for approximately 45% of the total spend for the market.



The major opportunities for cloud within verticals come from the development of intelligent industry solutions, which are built on top of a new platform that includes cloud as well as big data and analytics, mobile, and social. Those IT suppliers that showcase the long-term benefits and the true value of the cloud as a platform in a given vertical will be most successful.



The study also indicates that ease of purchasing cloud-based solutions has helped transfer buying power from IT to functional lines of business like marketing, finance, and operations. Security and regulatory remains the biggest barrier for cloud adoption across industries like government and financial services, while loss of perceived control over IT assets and massive legacy systems are also stumbling blocks for using cloud.



As the cloud market enters an "innovation stage," IDC predicts there will be an explosion of new solutions and value creation on top of the cloud. IDC predicts that there will be more industry-specific cloud services platforms and marketplaces run by leaders in each industry seeking to attract communities of thousands of innovators to create valuable new services.