Cloud 2012: What to Expect in the Latter Six Months
Don’t blink — it’s already mid-June. Indeed, 2012 has flown by, but not without cloud computing extending its reach and fame, both in the IT community and with the general public. The increased ease with which cloud is regarded by businesses and everyday folk from Boise to Ashtabula has led to a noticeable change in the trends and fashions emerging within the technology. Three of the most promising areas for change via cloud computing include ERPs, mobile technology, and optimization, each concept elucidated below.
For those not in the know, enterprise resource planning (or ERP) entails an IT system that manages the influx and outpouring of critical information throughout the entirety of an organization — a Big Concept Idea upon which Wikipedia thankfully elaborates with clarity. Suffice it to say that ERP systems are the current rage with IT-mindful businesses of every size, and cloud computing ensures that the concept reaches beyond just marketing strategy, influencing every department of a corporation, from finance to customer service and project management. The cloud’s seminal emphasis on simplicity and efficiency is just now beginning to be appreciated in the ERP conversation, and we can expect for its impact to be felt with increasing profundity as the year progresses.
Let’s face it — smartphones and tablets make the world go round, for better and for worse. Cloud computing is very likely to steer the mobile world’s influence toward the good, as the cloud will continue to seep into and even dictate the release pace and style of upcoming devices. Consumers are anticipating cloud connectivity more than ever from mobile technology, particularly those in the medical field (who arguably pioneered the wedding of the cloud with the mobile device, via electronic health management technology). Though cloud’s growing cloud in this sector is inevitable, areas of potentially difficulty in this growth could include accessibility of cloud applications across devices (a la Instagram), harmony of applications within a single mobile device, and (as always) data security.
There is no denying that the concept of storage space optimization has emerged as a significant factor in the cloud conversation thus far. But the topic should truly dominate right now, for as cloud computing’s visibility and popularity augment, so will the need for efficient methods of managing data in as little time, as with as little fuss, as possible. A subsequent uptick in service options themed on optimization should surface from the major cloud computing powers. But we can also expect for individual cloud users and businesses to concentrate more heavily on applications that will uphold the virtues of reduced cost and time when handling data. As IsUtility clarifies, cloud optimization will improve as a direct result of WAN optimization — a lofty concept that nevertheless should be heeded as the likely reality into the near future.
By Jeff Norman
