Cloud Software, Management Sales Near $12 Billion by 2014, The 451 Group 
Clouds don’t just have silver lining. In the software world, clouds are practically made of solid gold. The market for cloud software will hit $11.6B by 2014, up almost 300% from last year’s $4.5B. according to the market forecasting unit of The 451 Group.
Clouds don’t just have silver lining. In the software world, clouds are practically made of solid gold, a recent report suggested.
The market for cloud computing software will grow to more than $11.6B by 2014, up from $4.5B in 2010, according to a new report from 451 Market Monitor, a market sizing and forecasting service from research firm The 451 Group.
Key drivers for cloud software’s skyrocketing growth will come from adoption of server virtualization, migrations to private clouds, proliferations of SaaS and other cloud application and management software.
“We are entering a period of rapid growth in cloud computing infrastructure,” said Greg Zwakman, Research Director of The 451 Group's Market Monitor service, in a statement.
The report tracked 14 cloud-enabling technology segments, several of which are on the verge of breakout growth including cloud on-ramps and brokers because the vendors are simplifying the process of deploying services in private and hybrid cloud environments, according to Swapna Subramani, a 451 Market Monitor analyst and lead author of the report.
Revenues from server virtualization and management, which are important for private cloud services, will also see increase globally and across multiple vertical markets, he said.
Other segments expected to grow are: backup and high availability; security; I/O virtualization; and a half-dozen components of the management stack, including automation and capacity planning, according to the 451 Group’s report.
In related news, The 451 Group, in conjunction with North Bridge Venture Partners, in partnership with GigaOM, are conducting a Future of Cloud Computing Survey. The survey intends to capture current perceptions, sentiments and future expectations of cloud computing from industry experts, users and vendors of cloud software, support and services. More of the cloud survey here.
Survey participation is open to the public through April 29. The survey results will be presented at the GigaOM Structure 2011 event in June.
“Through this survey we are creating a benchmark on the state of the cloud computing industry today that we’ll be able to measure against in the future,” said ~ Michael Skok, general partner, North Bridge Venture Partners in a statement.
“The impact of cloud computing on the industry has been immense. The Future of Cloud Computing Survey will serve as a key indicator of where that impact is taking us,” added The 451 Group senior analyst Jay Lyman.
