Nearly every day, I read something predicting the exponential growth of cloud computing. Just last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on a Forrester Research study predicting that the global market for cloud computing will reach $41 billion in 2011 to $241 billion in 2020. Additionally, a survey released by Sand Hill Group predicts that cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will drive the largest amount of spending in the software industry over the next 12 months.
There is no doubt that the market for cloud computing is growing and growing at an accelerated pace. The reason why? I hear from our customers nearly every day that cloud computing is a top priority for driving efficiency in their businesses and providing tech-savvy workers with the fast access to applications and information to which they have grown accustomed in their everyday lives.
Dell has been active in the cloud market for quite some time, offering open, capable and affordable solutions across hardware and services. Our cloud hardware solutions help business speed deployment, lower total cost of ownership and reduce the environmental impact of clouds. Our Data Center Solutions team has developed more than 19 different hardware platforms, which already are used by some of the largest cloud computing providers in the world. A few weeks ago, we saw a great example of our work here as Facebook unveiled it’s Open Compute Project. In addition, Dell Service deploys cloud capabilities for customers. We are partnering with VMware and Microsoft on cloud platforms, and we have worked with customers to advance the Open Stack cloud initiative. Most recently, we announced that we are investing in new technology solutions and services – as well as new data centers – to help our customers take advantage of new compute models like virtualization and cloud.
Today, we are announcing that we are extending our cloud portfolio even further. One of the newest additions to the Dell team, Dell Boomi, announced AtomSphere Spring 11, the latest version of their cloud integration technology, that is designed to help enterprises take advantage of cloud computing and SaaS to achieve greater enterprise efficiency, while leveraging existing IT investments. This is an exciting technology because it ensures that their existing technologies fit seamlessly into future strategies.
Just like I said to you earlier this year, our customers have stated that they want solutions that will allow them to quickly scale and move to next-generation technologies like cloud and SaaS. With the addition of Boomi to the Dell family, we’ll continue to champion an open platform that allows for flexibility, innovation and efficiency that allows organizations to do more with their businesses.