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What to Watch for in 2013: Cloud Edition

It is difficult enough for most businesspeople to keep up with the latest technological advancements; predicting future developments can be even harder. Business owners already have a lot to deal with, and many do not have the time or the preexisting knowledge to forecast tomorrow’s IT trends. Rather than investigate or mull over these things themselves, however, they can simply take a  few moments to read one of the many 2013 IT previews put out this time of year by prominent journalists and analysts. The main arguments and predictions of these authors can be summarized as follows:

-Mobile devices and applications will continue to rely on the cloud computing’s cost-efficient and eminently available processing power, according to Forrester Research. The firm also predicts that the cloud’s ever-apparent security and reliability will convince more and more companies to adopt cloud-based disaster recovery systems.

-The research company IDC expects the externally-hosted private cloud to become more popular among businesses. It has the advantage over the public cloud of being more secure, reliable, and compliant. IDC also recommends the externally-hosted private cloud over the internal private cloud, which has been shown to result in “cost and time overruns.” In addition, the firm predicts that cloud computing—along with mobile, social, and big data technologies—will be responsible for 90% of IT growth from 2013-2020.

Ovum, a UK-based research firm, similarly reports that the private cloud “outpaces” public and hybrid clouds and remains “the cloud of choice.”

-Public sector organizations will adopt cloud-based infrastructures at double the rate of 2012, according to IDC Government. The research firm also expects them to implement 35-45% more mobile applications.

-The adoption of virtualization technologies by SMBs will increase, argues TechTarget. Virtualization’s savings in energy and hardware costs and its superior redundancy will entice many SMBs, though vendors will have to do a better job of making it easier to understand and adopt. The article also quotes one industry expert as tweeting, “Clearly the #VDI desktop has replaced conventional PC. Most large deployments going into the new year are VDI cloud desktops #VMware #Citrix.”

Businesses always have to be looking ahead. They cannot allow alterations in the marketplace to catch them flatfooted. By adjusting in advance, they can forgo abrupt changes and outmaneuver the competition. However, businesses still have to be careful not to be drawn in by every trend that comes along. The trick is to strike a balance between stability and innovativeness.

Businesses that select IronOrbit do not have to worry about adjusting their IT infrastructure according to current and future developments, however. That is because IronOrbit is a unique solution that combines both proven and cutting-edge technologies. On one hand, the cloud computing and virtualization technologies at its core have been utilized and trusted for many years. On the other hand, its patented Atomic Speed Technology, Orbital Security System, and innovative private cloud services make IronOrbit more powerful, secure, and reliable than any other cloud-based infrastructure available today. In addition, IronOrbit’s flexible architecture lets it adjust to new IT developments by adding new features. It recently added two-factor authentication and Windows 8 support, for example. IronOrbit is the IT infrastructure of the past, future, and today.