Quest Software Unveils 2011 Predictions for Cloud Computing, Virtualization and Identity Federation

SOURCE: Market Watch

Quest Software, Inc.  today unveiled 11 technology predictions for 2011 based on results of its annual survey conducted at The Experts Conference (TEC) U.S., hosted earlier this year by Quest. Survey results were analyzed by Quest experts to extract key insights and compelling trends. Based on analysis of this year’s TEC conference survey responses from in-the-trenches IT practitioners, as well as historical perspective gleaned from conducting annual surveys, Quest offers the following 11 predictions about key technology trends and practices. To download the complete description of the predictions or to view the full survey data, please visit http://www.theexpertsconference.com/us/2011/general-information/2010-us-survey-results.

1. Corporate IT will ascend to the cloud

Adoption in cloud computing has lagged behind media buzz, but survey results indicate growth in cloud deployments is likely to accelerate in the coming year.

2. But, half won’t commit for five years

While genuine interest in the cloud is growing, nearly 40 percent of respondents indicated their organizations had no plans to use cloud services. As a result, the adoption curve for cloud computing will not follow the bell curve typical of most new technologies. After an initial surge of adoption, growth will slow until remaining companies see proof of success from early adopters. Once a critical mass of users establishes success, competitive pressures will force the remaining companies to adopt cloud services.

3. Cloud platform supremacy: the battle intensifies

Only three percent of respondents selected a primary cloud platform, with selections evenly split between Microsoft Azure Services Platform, Google App Engine and Amazon Web Services, indicating the competition for market dominance is still wide open and likely will intensify.

4. New support teams emerge to lasso the cloud

The survey found the first signs of organizational change with the emergence of new administrative teams dedicated to supporting cloud services. Leading-edge companies recognize that provisioning and support of cloud services will be fundamentally different than current application delivery models.

5. IT will adopt e-mail cloud services first

Survey results showed people are most interested in e-mail as a cloud service. Approximately 50 percent of the companies using, currently evaluating, or planning to deploy cloud services have or are considering e-mail. Enterprises are waiting for e-mail offerings to mature, however, with truly widespread adoption still likely years, rather than months, away.

6. “Best-of-breed” trumps standardization as more cloud decisions are made outside IT

The ease of use and scalability of many cloud solutions enables business area managers to choose their own platforms and applications rather than rely on centralized decisions by IT organizations. Survey respondents’ relatively low interest in customer relationship management (CRM) is inconsistent with the popularity of Salesforce.com and other cloud-delivered CRM services, indicating that IT organizations are not involved in, and may not even be aware of, all cloud services used within their enterprises.

7. Small cloud service contingency plans spell big trouble

Cost reduction is cited by 34 percent of survey respondents as the primary driver for considering cloud services. Yet, the newness of cloud service delivery models coupled with this strong focus on cost reduction means some IT organizations will underestimate the need for proper contingency planning for service outages.

8. Federation will become IT delivery standard

Use of federation to share identity information across domains and enable business users to access multiple systems and services has grown steadily over the past several years. Twenty-four percent of survey respondents already deploy federation, and another nine percent plan to deploy it within the next 12 months.

9. E-discovery, compliance and security will drive increased Exchange support spending

More than 40 percent of respondents reported their resource requirements for e-discovery support and security increased over the past year, perhaps due to increasing regulatory oversight, litigation levels, or pressure to protect corporate information. Thirty-one percent saw growth in resources needed for compliance reporting and supporting audit requirements, and 70 percent were less than satisfied with their e-mail compliance processes. E-discovery, compliance and security likely will be the primary drivers of increases in Exchange support spending in 2011.

10. Fight will continue on desktop and storage battlegrounds

Ninety-one percent of TEC respondents are already using virtualization in production, and most of the rest are either evaluating or planning to deploy within the next 12 months. Server virtualization is either in use or under evaluation by 94 percent of responding organizations, and the market has reached saturation. Desktop virtualization still has room for growth in adoption, with current use at 46 percent in responding organizations. Storage virtualization currently is used by only 24 percent of responding organizations.

11. Technology investment strategies will forego cost-cutting, embrace opportunity

While many companies and government organizations still tightly control spending, responses on the TEC survey show promising signs of economic improvement. Only nine percent of responding companies are still cutting back, while 54 percent are making at least targeted investments. As the economy continues to improve and companies seek to accelerate revenue growth, there will be an increasing shift from cost-cutting purchases to more opportunity-based technology investments.

Presented by Quest, TEC is the premier annual conference for users of Microsoft identity and access (IDA), Exchange and SharePoint technologies. Registration is open for TEC 2011, being held at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, April 17–20, 2011. For the first time in its history, TEC 2011 also will include a virtualization and cloud conference featuring cutting-edge knowledge transfer on both desktop and server virtualization, and cloud computing.

Quote:

Gil Kirkpatrick, Quest chief architect and conference founder

“Taken together, these predictions paint a picture of the key priorities of IT organizations and the technology market dynamics we can expect in 2011. We’re excited to share these insights on the complexities of adoption behind the cloud buzz, platform vendor battles and shifting technology investment strategies.”

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