It seems that despite the past disasters that have compromised the cloud, this new industry is still leaving its mark on the competition. In this article from Network World, statistics show that an increased spending in favor of the cloud is outrunning spending on IT overall:
“Cloud computing is expected to grow 19% in 2012, becoming a $109 billion industry compared to a $91 billion market last year. By 2016, it’s expected to be a $207 billion industry, according to Anderson’s latest findings. That compares to the 3% growth expected in the overall global IT market. While it’s true that the $109 billion cloud market represents just a 3% chunk of the overall $3.6 trillion spent on IT globally, Anderson says it’s still responsible, in part, for a slowdown in growth for traditional on-premise hardware and software sales. ”
Now whether you’re offering a cloud-based version of your enterprise software solution or are still banking your sales on continued on-premise delivery model, this recent update should give everyone a reason to speed up their lead generation services.
Cloud-based Software
This increase in spending is an indication that the market is growing more promising for cloud-based software services. Regardless, you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the challenges that are currently being faced by cloud-based software companies. Aside from the vulnerability of the infrastructure (due to storms and power outages), an even bigger threat is cyber crime. Given that there are major breaches even for web giants like Yahoo!, hackers and online criminals remain a popular cause of hesitation among software prospects. Be prepared to inform your clients (as well as potential clients) about the current status of your cloud-based system. Set appointments or use outsourced telemarketing to send out advisories that will recommend courses of action they can take in case of downtime or serious breaches in security. The market might have more potential in yielding cloud computing leads but don’t underestimate the opposition.
On-premise Software
All is not lost. While cloud-based software is gaining, the report also indicates that it’s merely 3% of total spending on IT. However, you shouldn’t waste any more time. You can either start developing cloud-based alternatives to your own software or you could also use the challenges as a basis to develop entirely new solutions (e.g. like a means to back up data lost on the cloud or additional security features). You still have a chance to catch up. Stay in tune for any updates on the cloud computing industry and use the information gained for your lead generation and marketing campaigns.
Either way, it’s clear that cloud computing is driving a change in the IT industry. As far as marketing is concerned at least, this is something everyone should have a stake in. As a matter of fact, despite how promising the market is for cloud-based companies, they still have to compete with each other. Furthermore, on-premise software companies are either shifting to the cloud themselves or are looking to cover for the current vulnerabilities in the cloud. The race is still on and change like this can only mean more reason for everyone to keep up!