With more and more businesses of all kinds putting their computing efforts into the cloud, analysts have recently predicted that the market for cloud computing will jump to $12.6 billion (£8.5 billion) by 2014.

The analyst firm has foreseen a growth from $582 million (£393 million) in 2009 to $718 million (£485 million) in 2014 in server revenue for public cloud computing. However, the server revenue for private cloud ventures is expected to balloon from $7.3 billion (£4.9 billion) to $11.8 billion (£8 billion) over the same time frame, representing a larger increase in revenues for the technology.

Speaking to the Register, Katherine Broderick laid out IDC's definition of cloud computing, which requires a system to make use of converged networks for storage, as well as being virtualised and automated. The infrastructure must also have the means of tracking resources, billing users like a utility for their use of applications.

These systems allow businesses to move away from in-house hosted servers, which can be difficult and expensive to maintain. Instead, information can be hosted off-site through a third-party provider.

The technology, according to some experts, can provide a simpler IT experience for many different types of businesses, and with the growing interest in the sector, Broderick agrees it is a good time to investigate the technology.

"Now is a great time for many IT organizations to begin seriously considering this technology and employing public and private clouds in order to simplify sprawling IT environments," she said.

Written by Jason Morton

Cloud computing sales to hit £8.5bn by 2014