Gartner urges firms to use cloud computing with caution in 2010

Analyst group Gartner has identified cloud computing as the top issue for CIOs this year.

The research group said that businesses will relinquish control over some parts of their IT estate in 2010 as the new technology takes hold, and that using analytics to look forward instead of back will be a major trend.

Steve Prentice, vice president of Gartner, said that technology is “not the silver bullet” that will pull the UK out of the recession, but by keeping customer needs in mind, the IT industry will thrive this year. He also advised caution and careful planning when using cloud computing rather than “throwing technology at things.”

Prentice predicts that 20% of businesses will get rid of their IT infrastructure, saying that “small and medium companies and start-ups” would not bother building a datacentre but instead “have access to someone else's." The change-over to cloud computing is not expected to be sudden, but 2010 is seen by many analysts as they year that attitudes towards the technology will shift significantly.

Houston Spencer, vice-president at Alcatel Lucent, said, "Enterprises always have to evolve their legacy applications. They cannot just decide to 'go cloud this year'. It will take a while, but the next couple of years will see a tipping point."