“There has been a lot of hype around Cloud computing with companies predicting the creation of two million jobs in India by 2015. Forrester Research has predicted that the global Cloud computing market will grow from $40.7 billion in 2011 to $241 billion by 2020. With so many technology companies around, what matters is the support that comes with it,” said Aggarwal.
With the Cloud, one can expect cost efficiency, asset optimization, lower upfront investment, flexibility of deployment, scalability and ease of maintenance. With increasing awareness, flexibility is cited as a bigger reason than cost. Also, with the adoption of the Cloud, companies can focus more on business and the administrative side of it and switch from a CAPEX to an OPEX model, paying only for what they use.
“The Cloud helps in cost savings, both from the supply as well as the demand side. It helps save on the cost of licensing and implementation,” said Aggarwal.
However, there are a few challenges preventing widespread adoption. Security and privacy are the primary challenge, followed by financial management, vendor management, regulatory compliance, operational difficulties and issues in cases of international sovereignty.
To ensure the proper use of this technology, a few steps can be followed such as conducting a proper risk assessment before moving to Cloud, storing only non-private data and ensuring data encryption. Also, responsibilities should be allocated with who is responsible for what document.