Use the cloud
The number and quality of public, commercially available cloud-based service offerings are growing fast. Using the cloud is a great option for start-ups, research projects, Web 2.0 developers, or niche players who want to "load and go."

Enterprises can use the cloud for:
* Offloading overburdened IT infrastructure (temporarily or permanently)
* Accommodating peak load, batch processing jobs, or spikes in demand for services
* Experimenting with new software tools without having to purchase them

Build the cloud
Options include building a private cloud for internal use, building a public cloud that can become a new source of revenue, or building a hybrid cloud that combines the two. There would be a huge growth in the deployment of private clouds. Many large enterprises understand the economic benefits of cloud computing but want to ensure strict enforcement of security policies, compliance with regulations, or other constraints that make public clouds impractical at this point in time.

The momentum behind public and hybrid cloud construction is also growing as enterprises and service providers gain experience with the cloud model. The high growth rates of public cloud offerings available today will no doubt accelerate that momentum.

Be the cloud
Organizations can become a cloud computing service provider or "cloud aggregator," offering multiple types of cloud services. After all, the list of services enabled by cloud computing does not begin and end with SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Specialized cloud forms include payment as a service, security as a service, backup as a service, collaboration as a service, the list goes on.

What’s on the horizon
So cloud computing is here and it is for real. In the near term there will be a growing trend of businesses taking advantage of cloud computing, tapping the resources of a remote, third-party infrastructure as they need it and being able to dynamically increase their compute capacity to match their fluctuating IT demands. While people will grow more confident in the security of cloud Analysts at Gartner and TABB Group, a research and advisory firm that focuses on financial markets, agree that the current economic downturn is already sparking interest in cloud computing both on Wall Street and elsewhere. "We expect examinations of various cloud services to accelerate," says Gartner fellow and vice president Ken McGee. "There will be a flight toward looking for lower-cost options."

Analysts at Gartner and TABB Group, a research and advisory firm that focuses on financial markets, agree that the current economic downturn is already sparking interest in cloud computing across the globe. As per Gartner examinations of various cloud services will accelerate and there will be a flight toward looking for lower-cost options. We will continue to see the build-out of services in the cloud that are more enterprise-ready. We already see this in areas such as CRM, ERP, HR and others. As this market continues to grow the number and depth of clouds will grow as well. As this happens, IT will have to work with the business differently. Gearing up for greater demand the biggest IT vendors and cloud providers appear to be gearing up to take advantage of enterprise interest moving forward.

The author is Senior Director, Cloud Developer Platform, Sun Microsystems Inc. He is also a key speaker at the Sun Tech Days 2009, Sun’s Annual Developer Conference to be held in Hyderabad from February 18-20, 2009.