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A Look Back to 2011 On Cloud Computing

Here we are, at that time of the year when we look back and analyze how things went, decide what should be improved and hoping for the best in the following year. Looking back to 2011, from a professional perspective, I find it easy to say that this was a good year for cloud computing. Let’s take a look to the highlights of 2011:

- I decided to begin with the news that, in my opinion, set the tone for the whole year: the Gartner study which proclaimed cloud computing as a Top Technology Priority for CIOs in 2011. This subject it’s further analyzed in one of my first articles: Why is Cloud Computing a Safe Bet for the Future?

- In 2011 the business benefits of a cloud computing model have been very well stated. A Cloud.com Survey revealed that hardware savings are the most popular reason for using cloud-based storage and using Platform-as-a Service. Also, 12% of IT professionals indicated their preference to run their infrastructure on public clouds. Here are some additional reads if you want to know more about cloud computing benefits: How Much You Can Save On Your Cloud Computing Implementation?, Cloud Computing: Business Model or Technology? and About Private or Shared Cloud and Everything in Between.

- From the same Cloud.com survey, in 2011 Chief Technical Officers indicated scalability (71%) as the most popular reason for adopting cloud computing, followed by elasticity (61%), or the need to adjust to fluctuations in resource demands (61%). In my article Evolution and Revolution with Cisco Data Centre Fabric. Í have talked about how Cisco rose to these challenges.

- This year, cloud computing technology offered us a sneak peak at the changes it produces for the IT world. Software development in Cloud is making the platforms more customizable, the need for IT support staff is reduced and new skills and specialties are in high demand. One of the highpoints of the year was the Chromebook being released in May 2011, the first computer that operates entirely in the cloud.

- The fears concerning security issues were the biggest challenge in 2011, especially because of the lack of trust companies have on an organization hosting their data. But I believe, this obstacle will be overcome and little by little, we will see IT professionals becoming more trustful concerning outsourcing data as they gain knowledge about cloud computing technology. The proof? Even if the biggest management challenge for cloud computing users was security (36%), most IT professionals prefer to deploy their infrastructure using virtualization (77%).

- Last, but not least, in 2011, a very important benefit of cloud computing began to get noticed. In a world that should be more eco-friendly, cloud computing proves great green credentials. So besides asking about financial advantages, we should also ask Why is Cloud Computing Green?

I hope this article offers you a broad look on how the cloud computing market developed in 2011 and demonstrates the gains and the obstacles that still need to be overcome. There are many other insights to add, so please feel free to comment on what you thought was important for cloud computing this past year.

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