According to a forecast by Forrester (News - Alert) Research, the global cloud computing market is expected to reach $270 billion by 2020. Cloud services are introducing a new level of efficiency to businesses of all sizes and budgets by providing affordable solutions. Although the sector is experiencing a boom, a shortage of skilled technicians and security issues driven by the Edward Snowden fiasco and the NSA have been pointed out by many experts in the field regarding how fast the market will continue to grow.

A Microsoft (News - Alert)-sponsored IDC report revealed 1.7 million jobs could not be filled because IT managers said the applicants lacked the training and certification needed to work in a cloud related environment. The report concluded there is an urgent need because the market is growing at more than 25 percent annually creating more than seven million cloud-related jobs by 2015.

Regarding the issue with the NSA and PRISM, the Information Technology and Innovation Forum (ITIF) announced cloud computing related services could take a $36 billion loss by 2016, while Forrester Research (News - Alert) said it could be much higher, more in the order of $180 billion.

Regardless which poison you choose to swallow, the cloud computing industry is facing some challenges, but not enough to discourage a growing number of businesses and individuals from taking advantage of the benefits the technology provides.

Garry Sidaway, global director of security strategy at NTT (News - Alert) Com Security, wrote an article for The Guardian addressing the issue of the skill shortage in the industry as well as a piece for NTT regarding the confidence mature cloud adopters have in this technology.

In his piece for The Guardian Sidaway highlighted the struggle organizations are having with trying to come to terms with adopting cloud technology in the face of the skill shortage they have in-house as well as security concerns. This is primarily based with the lack of knowledge about cloud technology and the solutions it can deliver for businesses, especially SMBs.

On his piece for NTT Sidaway clearly explains mature organizations that understand the benefits of cloud technology have positive outlooks because of what the cloud is able to deliver.

"More than half of all respondents (55 percent), and 70 percent of advanced cloud adopters, now realize that the cloud offers greater agility than the data center, but only the more experienced adopters have learned to also value the security, cost and simplicity benefits of the cloud. Ultimately however, those companies assured enough to adopt the cloud for its agile deployment advantages, also benefit from the enhanced security of critical applications, lower operational costs and intuitive usability - it's a win-win situation," said Garry Sidaway, Global Director of Security Strategy at NTT Com Security.

Although the security related issues with the NSA can impact cloud services companies, especially those based in the US, the bigger impact will be the lack of qualified technicians in the industry globally.