Loading...Cloud Storage Services and Private Clouds are really two different things with two related but different sets of influencing factors, but in general both are affected by three main factors.
1) The current economic challenges, compelling companies to search for greater efficiency, cost cutting opportunities and increased operational and financial agility.
2) Technological developments – making cloud infrastructure and services increasingly cost effective, more secure, more scalable, more fault tolerant and easier to use and manage.
3) And possibly the most significant: Fast growing data storage needs – compelling companies and consumers to take steps to manage their data more effectively.
Private clouds or virtual private clouds are only likely to be deployed by companies when the need to do so out ways their natural technological conservatism. Therefore although economic and technical advantages may be significant – they may not prove persuasive until the amount of data being stored is so great as to break whatever system they were previously using to cope with it.
On the other hand Cloud Storage Services (as distinct from private cloud storage) is often considered a logical next step for companies like Software as a Service providers, Web2.0 companies and of course for consumers. Less averse to change, less invested in legacy infrastructure and more trusting of new technologies – young technology companies and consumers are generally the biggest proponents of public cloud storage.
In the future it is likely that prevailing culture will become a significant influence also. In the consumer space particularly, adoption of cloud storage services is likely to quickly become the norm rather than the exception. As individuals within companies continue to use their preferred Saas and Staas services in the work place we will continue to see this consumer culture trickling though to corporate culture. Given that corporate resistance to cloud services and cloud storage adoption is at least as much to do with job security as data security, and is influenced by corporate culture as much as technical requirements – this trickle down change in culture and perspective may just be a necessary progression.