The popular topic of Cloud Computing was high on the agenda at the CSO Interchange Event in London in early December, especially amongst the Chief Security Officers attending the conference.

41 per cent of attendees said that the current economic downturn is seen as the greatest risk to organisations today.

Against this backdrop Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) facilities and Cloud Computing were seen as opportunities that would grow significantly over the next five years.

Philippe Courtot, Qualys' CEO, said that he expects the software-as-a-Service model - aka Cloud Computing - to take off in 2009.

87 per cent of those surveyed believe that SaaS facilities will replace enterprise software for mission critical applications within the next five years with 16 per cent even believing this will happen within one year.

Interestingly, 63 per cent said they had already conducted an initial assessment of the value of Cloud Computing, whilst the rest were now planning to do so.

The event's conclusions come as Amazon has launched its Elastic Computing (EC2) Cloud Computing system in Europe, under which firms can either rent a virtual machine instance (which Amazon calls an AMI) or copies one from a library of AMIs custom-built to perform specific tasks.

In essence, this gives EC2 users a virtual server which can run most software applications remotely. Access is via a standard broadband connection and a web browser.

By Steve Gold, News Editor 

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<p>The popular topic of Cloud Computing was high on the agenda at the <a href="http://www.csointerchange.org/events/london-12-2008" target="_blank">CSO Interchange Event</a> in London in early December, especially amongst the Chief Security Officers attending the conference.<br /><br />41 per cent of attendees said that the current economic downturn is seen as the greatest risk to organisations today.<br /><br />Against this backdrop Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) facilities and Cloud Computing were seen as opportunities that would grow significantly over the next five years.<br /><br />Philippe Courtot, Qualys' CEO, said that he expects the software-as-a-Service model - aka Cloud Computing - to take off in 2009.<br /><br />87 per cent of those surveyed believe that SaaS facilities will replace enterprise software for mission critical applications within the next five years with 16 per cent even believing this will happen within one year.<br /><br />Interestingly, 63 per cent said they had already conducted an initial assessment of the value of Cloud Computing, whilst the rest were now planning to do so.<br /><br />The event's conclusions come as Amazon has launched its <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/" target="_blank">Elastic Computing</a> (EC2) Cloud Computing system in Europe, under which firms can either rent a virtual machine instance (which Amazon calls an AMI) or copies one from a library of AMIs custom-built to perform specific tasks.<br /><br />In essence, this gives EC2 users a virtual server which can run most software applications remotely. Access is via a standard broadband connection and a web browser.</p><p>By <a href="http://www.businessitguide.com/page/about-steve-gold/" target="_blank">Steve Gold</a>, News Editor&nbsp; </p> <p>Original Source:<br /> The Business IT Guide (<a href="http://www.businessitguide.com" title="www.businessitguide.com">www.businessitguide.com</a>) – A free, online resource helping small companies exploit technology for business benefit.</p> <img src="http://scotland.businessitguide.com/uploads/120x90.jpg" alt="Logo" />

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The popular topic of Cloud Computing was high on the agenda at the [CSO Interchange Event][1] in London in early December, especially amongst the Chief Security Officers attending the conference. 41 per cent of attendees said that the current economic downturn is seen as the greatest risk to organisations today. Against this backdrop Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) facilities and Cloud Computing were seen as opportunities that would grow significantly over the next five years. Philippe Courtot, Qualys' CEO, said that he expects the software-as-a-Service model - aka Cloud Computing - to take off in 2009. 87 per cent of those surveyed believe that SaaS facilities will replace enterprise software for mission critical applications within the next five years with 16 per cent even believing this will happen within one year. Interestingly, 63 per cent said they had already conducted an initial assessment of the value of Cloud Computing, whilst the rest were now planning to do so. The event's conclusions come as Amazon has launched its [Elastic Computing][2] (EC2) Cloud Computing system in Europe, under which firms can either rent a virtual machine instance (which Amazon calls an AMI) or copies one from a library of AMIs custom-built to perform specific tasks. In essence, this gives EC2 users a virtual server which can run most software applications remotely. Access is via a standard broadband connection and a web browser. [1]: http://www.csointerchange.org/events/london-12-2008 [2]: http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/ By [Steve Gold][3], News Editor [3]: http://www.businessitguide.com/page/about-steve-gold/