Report: Public cloud revenue to increase 21.6 percent by 2014

A recent report released by IDC found revenue for cloud computing in the U.S. will rise by 21.6 percent by 2014.

The global market intelligence firm's report, titled U.S. Public IT Cloud Services by Industry Sector: More Details on the Opportunity, predicted cloud revenue, currently estimated at $11 billion, will increase to $29.5 billion during the next several years.

IDC reports that the main areas to continue or expand their use of the managed IT service are the professional services sector, communications and media and the discrete and process manufacturing markets. The professional services story is estimated to grow due to its involvement with small and medium-sized businesses, who have become reliant upon Software-as-a-Service.

The services and distribution sector will generate the most revenue for cloud computing during the next several years, estimated to more than double its current intake of $3 billion, growing to $8.5 billion by 2014.

IDC also believes the healthcare industry could provide a major boost for the technology, as more institutions realize its benefits. In fact, IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate of almost 23 percent for this industry by 2014.

Another IDC report supports this latest information. The firm recently estimated the cloud market will grow to be worth $2.4 billion by 2015.