London, 5th January 2011. Gartner research is predicting that by 2015, at least one G20 nation's critical infrastructure will be disrupted and damaged by online sabotage. The biggest security concerns for the coming year will be cyber-sabotage and cyber-espionage, say industry experts citing the success of the Stuxnet worm in attacking industrial control systems as a prime example of what to expect in 2011. With the help of private cloud computing, these worries can be virtually eliminated and with the year ahead set to be the year of the cloud, mass business migration to sophisticated data centres will become inevitable. As well as improved security, cloud technologies will enable companies of all sizes to cut costs and drive efficiencies by renting their IT on a pay-per-use-basis, without the hassle of maintaining or managing their own data.
Gartner predicts that by 2012, 20% of all companies will no longer own their own IT assets. Furthermore, this research goes on to indicate that by 2015, information-smart businesses will increase recognised IT spending per head by 60 percent and consequently tools and automation will eliminate 25 percent of labour hours associated with IT services.
The emerging trend for businesses in the IT sector has been the building of data centres in response to companies who do not want to waste time and capital in building and maintaining their own. There is no longer a need for companies to create their own data centres when they can make better use of someone else’s investment and expertise. This trend is supported by a recent report from BroadGroup indicating that business adoption of the private cloud is set to accelerate rapidly over the next five years meaning so too will the demand for data centre outsourcing, particularly as confidence in the security of the cloud increases.
Node4 has been successfully running a series of data centres in Derby and Leeds for the past six years. The business turnover in the height of recession has been an impressive £11m and is set to rise further still. Its’ clients span across a wide range of sectors including their most recent £4m contract with financial services company, Provident Financial. As one of the specialist niche players in the industry, Node4 have been successfully competing against leading brands such as IBM and Siemens for business. Andrew Gilbert, Managing Director of Node4 attributes the success of his business to the vibrant, energetic approach he brings to the management of his company and also to his ability to see the potential for growth in the outsourcing market. With further growth in the industry forecast for the next five years, Node4 are opening a 41,000 sq foot data centre in the Northampton area early this year and continue to expand as demand increases.
As one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the IT industry, Gilbert said:
“The private cloud has addressed many of the concerns over security associated with cloud in the past. This has caused many enterprises to reconsider their choice not to convert from costly, on premise IT infrastructures. As a result of developments in the cloud we expect there to be an encouraging impact on the data centre industry."