Cloud computing to be used by 20% of businesses by 2012

Gartner vice president David Cearley said at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo in Cannes this week that 20% of businesses will be using cloud computing as part of IT processes by 2012.
Cearley said this was an underwhelming figure, and also warned that many businesses may be disappointed by not entering the cloud.

“Cloud computing is one of the most hyped terms in the industry right now,” Cearley said. “In many ways it’s overhyped. In the next 12-18 months, it’s going to crash into the trough of disillusionment. But we do think cloud computing is going to be a very important long-term phenomena.”

“You hear a lot about cloud computing today, and we do think we’re going to see rapid growth over the next few years. By 2012, about 20% of user organisations will rely on the cloud model for significant parts of their IT environment. Even a few years from now, it’s not necessarily going to be the dominant form of comp in your environment. It’s going to be a broad, long-term phenomenon.”