Demand from public cloud service providers and private cloud adopters will drive strong growth for full range of storage solutions

FRAMINGHAM, USA: Cloud computing will be a key driver of net new IT spending over the next five years as public cloud service providers and the adopters of private cloud environments invest in the supporting infrastructure.

According to a new forecast from International Data Corp. (IDC), overall spending by public cloud service providers on storage hardware, software, and professional services will grow at a CAGR of 23.6 percent from 2010 to 2015, while enterprise spending on storage for the private cloud will experience a CAGR of 28.9 percent. By 2015, combined spending for public and private cloud storage will be $22.6 billion worldwide.

"Despite current economic uncertainties, IDC expects cloud service providers – both public and private – to be among the most expansive spenders on IT products and services as they continue to build out their facilities worldwide and expand their service options," said Richard Villars, VP, Storage Systems & Executive Strategies at IDC.

The most significant driver of storage consumption over the past three years has been the emergence of public cloud-based application and infrastructure providers. Many of these cloud-based service providers (e.g., iTunes, Netflix, YouTube, Facebook) act as content depots, which are primarily in the business of gathering, organizing, and providing access to large quantities of digital content.

Meanwhile, other cloud-based service providers have emerged with a focus on delivering IT infrastructure and applications in an "as a service" model (e.g., salesforce.com, WebEx Connect, Amazon Web Services, etc.). Over the past several years, these companies have undertaken massive storage buildouts as they have expanded their service offerings, entered new markets, and extended their geographic reach.

In parallel to the expansion of the public cloud, many organizations have started to deploy their own private clouds for application, compute, and content (archival) storage. Some of these private cloud deployments (e.g., government and research sites) are comparable in scope and complexity to public cloud environments, while others are more limited in scope.