As organizations worldwide continue to look for ways to stay ahead of a hyper-competitive business landscape, cloud computing is quickly coming to the fore as the de facto way companies quickly adjust to ever-changing requirements.

Gartner Research defines cloud computing as, “A style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service to customers using Internet technologies.” Gartner also adds that cloud computing applications must be service-based, scalable and elastic, shared, metered by use, and utilizing Internet technologies. The immediate draw to cloud computing is clear – total cost of ownership is vastly reduced, as there is no need for capital expenses for physical servers and other hardware. Less hardware means less space taken up in offices, and less for already overburdened IT administrators to maintain. However, business agility is also a key driver: A recent survey conducted by InformationWeek found more than 65 percent of respondents believe that “reacting quicker to business” is an important driver for cloud computing.

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