The latest report by market research firm Forrester Research predicts that the market for cloud computing is set to grow by leaps and bounds as companies rush to move their networks onto cloud platforms. The global cloud computing market is expected to grow from $40.7 billion to $240 billion by 2020. The report takes into consideration three basic forms of cloud computing: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), virtualisation and Software as a Service (SaaS).

According the research firm, the IaaS market, pioneered by companies like Amazon Web Services and Rackspace, will reach its peak of $5.9 billion by 2014, after which, it will be plagued by commoditisation, price deterioration, and margin pressure. The company also expects the SaaS market, which currently is worth $21.2 billion in total revenue, to grow for the next five years to reach a market value of $92.8 billion by 2016. From 2016 to 2020, the market is expected to reach a saturation point with no significant growth.