5 Reasons Why Over Half of IT Spending is about to be Cloud-based

IDC predicts that by 2018, at least half of IT spending will be Cloud-based, reaching 60–70% of all Software, Services, and Technology Spending by 2020.

In the not too distant past cloud computing was relegated to email and other front office applications. Now IT Directors and CIOs are planning their budgets on cloud projects that are mission critical. Here are the 5 factors that are driving that change.

1. Cost Cloud-based services typically require much lower upfront capital. The pay-as-you-go pricing model allows businesses to pay a small monthly fee compared to an exponential larger fee of buying outright. Also, with cloud computing on-premise hardware, facilities, utilities and other operational expenses are all but eliminated.

2. Operational Agility Businesses with unpredictable or fluctuating demands are ideal candidates for going to the cloud. Flexibility to quickly and easily scale based on business needs is built-in, plus there is less risk involved in the event of a recession or changing marketplace.

3. Focus on Business Operations Going to the cloud allows businesses to focus on what they are in business to do. Because there is no on-premise hardware required and set-up, management and ongoing support is handled by the cloud vendor, an expensive IT department or outsourced IT services are not needed. This allows in-house staff to focus on operational goals.

4. Automatic Updates The latest versions of cloud-based applications are made available to customers as soon as they’re released. Immediate upgrades put the latest enhancements, features and security updates into users’ hands to make them more productive. In contrast, purchased software typically has one major new release per year and can take significant in-house resources to roll out.

5. Work from Anywhere Data and applications are available to employees no matter where they are. Workers are not restricted to a pc in a office, they can take their work anywhere via mobile devices. Employees can be productive from their homes or offices, working in the field or at a plant, anywhere in the world.

Considering taking the leap? Talk to current and potential vendors regarding their cloud offerings, the pros and cons for your industry and application, and weigh the effect on your capital versus operational budgets.

For more trends in cloud computing check out Forbes’ Round-up of Cloud Computing Forecasts, published in April this year.