Organisations look set to take the leap from trial systems to more complex, comprehensive and permanent cloud systems over the coming year, according to IT trade association CompTIA.

The non-profit body today announced the results of its 'Second Annual Trends in Cloud Computing' study for which it surveyed 500 US IT and business professionals in June this year. Over half (56 per cent) said they were planning to increase their investment in cloud computing by 10 per cent or more in the next year.

Seth Robinson, director of technology analysis at CompTIA, said: “This additional investment will likely be accompanied by greater complexity in the overall cloud strategy, such as moving to a hybrid cloud model or adopting more advanced services beyond Software as a Service.

“Organisations may begin exploring options such as Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service, which will allow them to experiment with custom application development.”

Although the majority of the momentum that cloud computing is gathering is generated by IT departments, the report reveals that there are increasing numbers of other business departments who are pursuing their own cloud solutions. Of the companies surveyed, 21 per cent stated that “they have lines of business that pursue cloud solutions independently of the IT department.”

The other major finding was that as interest in the cloud grows, so too does the desire for greater education about the technology. Two thirds of those surveyed (66 per cent) said that they wanted a clearer definition of what exactly cloud computing was.

Nevertheless, the study yielded largely positive results for the cloud computing world. Overall, 72 per cent said that they feel more positive about cloud computing now than they did 12 months ago. “For those who feel more positively about the cloud than they did a year ago, the primary reasons are the technical benefits and the ability to achieve other business objectives,” Robinson said.

The Cloud Circle will be publishing its own Industry Trends Report , inclduing a UK-based survey, in the coming weeks. To find out more or to get your own copy of the report please contact assistant editor Dominic Pollard – dom.pollard@thecloudcircle.com