Cloud 'pioneers' report industry growth

Market research on the first wave of cloud adoption is finally becoming available and the findings are good.

According to a new study by WaveLength Market Analytics, companies with a head start on cloud computing initiatives are beginning to display positive returns on investment and, in some cases, are pouring even more business capital into the virtual market. Additionally, the report states that the earliest group of businesses to adopt the software, dubbed the "cloud pioneers," have since implemented the IT solution for business-critical functions.

The enterprise operations expected to benefit from the remotely-accessed information include "supply chain, Tier-1 storage and unified communications," stated the report. Furthermore, pioneering companies will likely migrate a large portion of their processing demands for these services to the cloud within the next two years.

"Penetration of cloud computing into IT is only at the beginning of a very rapid, high-growth phase,” said Natalie Robb of WaveLength Market Analytics.

Applications offerings may be the biggest factor determining the cloud's growth. According to AMI Research, a large number of businesses seek to use cloud tools and may enter into bundling agreements to achieve this end at reduced costs.