This week, Gartner Inc. announced its list of the top 10 strategic technologies for 2012—and the Cloud was on the list for the fourth year in a row. Not only does this affirm the fact that the Cloud is here to stay, but it also emphasizes the fact that it is not slowing down.
Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major dollar investment, or the risk of being late to adopt.
The Cloud has quickly moved from being viewed as a new “model in which providers deliver a variety of IT-enabled capabilities to consumers” when it first made the list for 2009, to an accepted method of delivery for a wide variety of applications in 2010, a potential business venture for managed service providers going into 2011, and now looking toward 2012, a genuine business strategy for major players such as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and SAP. The simple fact that Cloud computing remains on Gartner’s strategic technologies list is a testament to the near limitless possibilities it offers. This can even be seen when looking to the other nine technologies on Gartner’s list. Many would not be possible without the Cloud. Gartner’s top 10 strategic technologies for 2012:
As Gartner stated, “the market remains in its early stages in 2011 and 2012,” however, many companies have already seen the benefit and value that fully outsourced, cloud-based IT can provide. From small businesses on limited budgets, to large enterprises with IT departments stretched too thin, the Cloud offers a predictable, flexible and reliable alternative to traditional IT services. By utilizing a comprehensive cloud computing solution, businesses can better plan their expenses and offer convenient, mobile solutions to their employees, while IT departments can focus on projects that will strategically benefit the enterprise instead of spending all their time on maintenance and putting out fires. In reality, the Cloud is more peace of mind than a disruption to businesses.