It is no secret that the overall cloud computing market is experiencing healthy growth, as multiple research firms are predicting worldwide momentum for the technology. In a summary of the cloud market and various delivery models, Forbes contributor Louis Columbus noted that global cloud spending is expected to achieve a 17.7 percent compound annual growth rate through 2017. However, not all cloud markets are the same. As business needs change, certain models are expected to perform better than others.
Columbus highlighted data from Gartner's latest public cloud services spending forecast, which noted infrastructure-as-a-service is the fastest growing cloud model. Analysts predicted the IaaS market to grow at a CAGR of 41.3 percent through 2016. Platform-as-a-service came in second for growth with a 27.6 percent CAGR.
Although it will not grow as quickly as other models, demand for software-as-a-service is expected to remain steady, growing at a 19.5 percent CAGR. Columbus also highlighted data related to the most in-demand cloud services. Office suites, database management systems and cloud storage were in the top 10.
"Enterprises are prioritizing how to get cloud platforms integrated with legacy systems to make use of the years of data they have accumulated," Columbus wrote. "From legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, integrating legacy systems of record to cloud-based platforms will accelerate through 2016."
As market conditions shift, vendors have responded by diversifying their offerings. For example, Oracle announced a subscription-based IaaS offering. Oracle IaaS with capacity on demand is designed to add to the company's portfolio of SaaS applications and gives customers the option to manage the infrastructure or opt into a managed services agreement.
