22 Mar 2010

Budget cuts 'cause cloud boom'

Many IT managers are being forced to evaluate their IT infrastructure costs as the global economic downturn has caused many firms to cut spending.

Patrick Thibodeau wrote in a piece for Computer World that as a result, many companies are embracing cloud computing due to its cost-saving benefits.

Indeed, companies now have a growing awareness of the cloud and the productivity boost it can provide in terms of access to data and backup and recovery.

However, he noted: "How cloud technologies will fare against Microsoft's offerings, IBM's Lotus Notes and other companies' cloud-based versions of widely used collaboration tools remains to be seen."

Elsewhere, Rob Lovell, chief executive officer at ThinkGrid, recently said individuals working in business IT departments are demonstrating a better understanding of cloud computing than ever before.

He noted adoption of the technology has increased six-fold in comparison to the uptake of more traditional IT infrastructure and this has allowed more people to gain an insight into the benefits it can offer.