Much of the news regarding the IT industry recently has centered around cloud computing and big data analytics. A recent report by Ovum Senior Analyst Laurent Lachal highlighted how both will evolve in 2013. According to Lachal, data will be the “oil” for cloud computing this year as cloud platforms and mobile and social applications generate a ton of information. This development paired with the internet of things, consumerization of IT, big data and open government data are all impacting one another.
Up until this point, the big data banner has involved mostly technological issues, but this stance will change in 2013, according to Lachal. Instead, businesses and vendors will focus more on how they can manage information and benefit monetarily from this useful data.
“Some vendors played the cloud data card early, but the cloud data production, brokerage and consumption ecosystem is still in the making and will continue to evolve over the next five years,” said Lachal.
Big data fueling cloud storage industry
Big data and cloud computing are connected in more than ways than one. A recent MarketsandMarkets report predicted that the global public and private cloud storage market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 40.2 percent between 2012 and 2018, totaling roughly $47 billion.
A recent Redwood Software survey found that U.S. companies are more supportive and knowledgeable of cloud computing compared to U.K. firms. Marketsand Markets indicated that North America will account for nearly $22 billion worth of the global cloud storage industry by 2018, suggesting that more U.S. organizations will implement hosted environments for storage purposes than in other countries.
Cloud computing, big data also strategic technologies
Any IT solution can be a flash in the pan, but those named to Gartner’s prestigious top 10 strategic technologies have become an industry staple. According to the research firm, both big data analytics and cloud computing made its 2013 list.
“We have identified the top 10 technologies that will be strategic for most organizations, and that IT leaders should factor into their strategic planning processes over the next two years,” noted Gartner Vice President and fellow David Cearley.
Big data and cloud computing may be still maturing, but their impact is hard to ignore. This year will be a test to determine if both have true staying power for years to come.
