The most popular and comprehensive Open Source ECM platform
Let us know more
Cloud Computing: Big Benefits, But not Without Risks
After declining by 5.1 percent in 2009, the IT service market grew 3.1 percent in 2010. Total IT Service sales for 2010 came in at $793 billion. It is a huge market, and one that Gartner predicts will undergo big changes in the next few years. Gartner predicts that cloud services and outsourcing are two trends that are poised to hugely affect IT strategy.
Cloud computing moves organizational data outside company walls, making it even easier to outsource rather than use internal IT resources. Frank Ridder, VP of research at Gartner, said that “The hype around cloud computing services has increased interest as well as caution for CIOs trying to determine where, when and if cloud services can provide valuable outcomes for their businesses.”
While Cloud computing brings with it many potential benefits, there are also large risks. Gartner’s Ridder commented “Organisations need to understand these changes and develop realistic cloud sourcing strategies and contracts that can reduce risk.” But Ridder says that the risks are worth it — with proper planning, cloud computing can enable flexibility, agility and innovation in the design of cloud solutions.
“The life cycle is a critical area to plan and manage, regardless of whether organizations source their IT services through internal or external resources. Our forecasts indicate that organizations spend 53 percent of their IT services budget onexternal services, and that spending is growing 3.9 percent per year, while new categories of services are experiencing double-digit growth.”
