Some people are still arguing the viability of cloud technology even though the adoption rate by businesses large and small is moving full steam ahead. In an article written by Simon Withers on business2community.com titled, "Why the Cloud Battle is Already Won", he states "business are no longer asking "Why cloud?" but "How do I get there?" That statement, more than any other, highlights the state of cloud technology in today's environment. Organizations have accepted this technology as a viable solution for increasing efficiency without the capital expenditure of traditional IT infrastructure, and to the vast majority the cloud is the next evolution in IT.

Unlike past technologies that were reserved for large enterprises with enormous capital, cloud makes itself accessible to the masses. Whether it is individual applications used by students or Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), it is now possible to access tremendously powerful IT solutions without having to mortgage the farm. These are extremely important points that encourage adoption by the population at large, which validates the title of Withers' article.

The validation of cloud technology can also be witnessed by the move traditional IT hardware manufacturers are making. Last week IBM (News - Alert) sold its x86 server business to Lenovo for $2.3 billion, which clearly echoes the sentiment of the market regarding powerful network machines.

Many organizations no longer see the need for having large servers as part of their operations. The resources devoted to maintain the hardware and the software to run them is discouraging. An army of people is required to install, configure, test, run, secure and update the system. Cloud makes this point unnecessary unless it is absolutely vital for a company to have on-premise IT solutions.

If there is one issue in which cloud technology might encounter some problems, it is regarding security. With Edward Snowden coming with new allegations every other week, cloud service providers in the U.S. are experiencing challenges when it comes to foreign businesses. Over the weekend Mr. Snowden conducted an interview on German television stating the NSA engages in industrial espionage. These allegations only exacerbate the state of U.S.-based IT service providers around the world. Even though they might not be involved in any way, being based in the United States means there is a possibility their data might be compromised.