Symantec upbeat on Indian cloud computing market

IT security firm Symantec Software Solutions today said the country's nascent cloud computing market, a platform where software applications and related resources can be shared online, is likely to bloom within a year.

"A cloud is a big wave in the global market, and India certainly is following the trends," Symantec Vice President Information Management Group, Vijay Mhaskar, told reporters here.

The revenue from Indian cloud market is likely to grow over $3 billion by 2015, from the current $534 million, he said, quoting the IDC report.

"Besides the actual numbers, there is a significant growth in cloud computing. It is certainly adopted globally, and India is following the same trend for adoption," Mhaskar said.

Cloud computing, which is Internet-based, facilitates sharing of technological resources, software and digital information. The emerging field would function on a pay-per-use model, helping technology companies to bring down cost.

The cloud computing platform is expected to mainly benefit enterprise SMB (small and medium business), SOHO (small office, home office) and consumer segments.

"Indian enterprises are discussing virtualisation and private/hybrid clouds. While agility and affordability are the main drivers, having fewer legacy systems is helping this transition," Mhaskar said, adding that the the transition brings in a new set of challenges related to security, scalability, and disaster preparedness.