Cloud affords productivity across multiple computing devices

Cloud computing has become one of the most talked-about developments in the modern IT department. The technology, which enables employees to access IT solutions from their PCs, tablet computers or smartphones, has been heralded as the next wave of enterprise IT and is getting more attention now than ever.

One of the most significant benefits of the cloud is its potential to increase productivity. Applications in the public cloud are hosted on third-party servers and typically accessed over the web. This means such applications are available virtually anywhere with an internet connection, allowing employees to work from home, the office or elsewhere.

This increases the capacity for flexibility. By giving anytime-anywhere access to corporate IT applications, schedules can often be relaxed, allowing employees to work at times that best suit them. Additionally, employees can work from the most convenient devices at their disposal, whether its a desktop or laptop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

As the number of devices in the workplace increases, so too will the use of the cloud. According to analyst firm Forrester Research, the cloud computing market will reach $241 billion by 2020, accounting for a substantial portion of enterprise IT spending.