Cloud Computing Priorities

CNet has an interesting write-up of a Goldman Sachs report looking into the shift to software as a service – Goldman Sachs: Shift toward cloud unstoppable.

The report includes a chart showing which applications are the main priorities for moving to being delivered as an online service via cloud computing. Web conferencing tops the list with 66% although I was surprised to see Email only make it to 4th place with 44%. Given the cost and effort spent on maintaining in-house email systems, often running without encryption and with no difference in management of purely internal email versus email sent across the Internet, shifting Email servers online seems a logical priority to save costs and improve service. Instead, salesforce automation (64%) and accounting/billing (49%) have both jumped above email and collaboration is just behind it at 43%.

Also interesting to see the vendor choice for online services – 67% of survey respondents using Amazon.com and 77% using Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud service (EC2) with VMWare dominating internal virtualisation, used by 83% of respondents.