Forrester

Why Read This Report

With interest in and priority for investment in cloud rising, concern and challenges remain regarding what is (and isn't) a cloud computing service and which options are safe, mature choices. To help organizations avoid falling victim to marketing claims that all things web and Internet are now cloud, Forrester has identified a few key characteristics that differentiate a true cloud-based service from what has come before it. Forrester defines cloud computing as a standardized IT capability (services, software, or infrastructure) delivered via Internet standard technologies in a pay-per-use, self-service way. In this update to our original 2009 TechRadar, we have identified and updated 11 service categories that fall into three classes of cloud services: 1) software you rent; 2) application services and platforms — middleware components that help developers construct cloud-based applications; and 3) infrastructure services and platforms that are places to deploy cloud applications. We then mapped these cloud service categories according to their maturity and value to help you build your strategic road map of cloud services to add to your IT portfolio.