We’re only at day 10 in 2012, so I’d like to know what’s in store for the next 356. What can we predict about the cloud in the new year? Are there any guarantees for 2012?I’ve noticed a trend with some predictions being mentioned in several articles, blogs, videos etc about cloud computing predictions in 2012. Here are the five most popular:1. Cost of the cloud vs cost of paper. Smaller organizations may begin to find that the cloud can be more of a benefit than a risk. According to an Information Weekly article,
We criticize the cloud, but we don’t compare apples to apples. We don’t really understand the costs of paper medical records, evidence stored on analog tape, student information saved in a single spreadsheet. In 2012, we’ll start to do a real comparison of on- and off-cloud solutions, and realize that, for many businesses, the real question is what can’t be better done in a cloud.
2. The Hybrid Cloud. 2011 has been all about public versus private cloud. 2012 will be about a combination of the two- the hybrid cloud. Why not take the best of both worlds? You can have the security of the on-premise private clouds mixed while enjoying the range and features of the public cloud.3. Cloud Computing Conglomerates and/or Partnerships. Many hardware and cloud companies merged or partnered up in 2ooo’s- Dell and Salesforce, Verizon and CloudSwitch, Oracle and Amazon, etc. This is predicted to increase in 2012.4. Increase of Risk and Hackers. According to CRN, “surveys and reports indicate that major cloud-related data breaches [could] strike in 2012.” Hate to say it but it’s been seen already in 2011 with Amazon, 2o12 is predicted to have some stormier clouds with spam targeting mostly mobile devices and Fortune 500 cloud companies.5. Cloud Job Demand Grows. I’d like to end my cloud predictions on a positive note, and what could be nicer than more jobs being created in this tough economy? With the market for more cloud computing jobs, more training and education will be needed as well. Don’t worry, many companies like HP are now offering their services.What do you think? Spot-on or way off? Anything to add here? Check out some of my sources here:Information WeekCRN
