New research from IDC predicts that cloud computing will create nearly 14 million new jobs by 2015, with revenues related to innovation in the field reaching more than $1 trillion per year. This paints a very positive picture for global citizens, although Westerners should note that about half of those new jobs will go to China and India.
Company size didn’t matter significantly, according to the study, which was funded by Microsoft. What did matter was the business sector. Professional services will spend the most and government the least, when the cloud is viewed as a percentage of overall IT expenditures.
Communications and media currently accounts for 20 percent of spending on public cloud storage in the United States. IDC forecasts it will run below the overall average in terms of spending on cloud services as a percentage of IT spending, but will be a large and rapidly growing sector when it comes to jobs. IDC said it expects the media segment to be one of the main users of storage on demand as a service to enable continuous service for content-heavy customer offerings.
Additionally, there are savings to be made from migrating to the cloud. IDC estimates that 75 percent of worldwide IT spending is tied up with maintenance of legacy systems and routine upgrades, which IDC refers to as “legacy drag.” Moving some of that to its cloud counterpart frees up budget to invest in innovation.
“For most organizations, cloud computing should be a no-brainer, given its ability to increase IT innovation and flexibility, lower capital costs, and help generate revenues that are multiples of spending,” said John F. Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice president at IDC. “A common misperception is cloud computing is a job eliminator, but in truth it will be a job creator — a major one. And job growth will occur across continents and throughout organizations of all sizes because emerging markets, small cities and small businesses have the same access to cloud benefits as large enterprises or developed nations.”
Related links:
IDC – Cloud Computing’s Role in Job Creation [download PDF here]
Image by Flickr user BasicGov, used under Creative Commons license
For a larger version of IDC’s nifty Cloud Computing infographic, click here.
