This IDC study forecasts revenue growth for public IT cloud services through 2016, segmented by five functional categories within eight regions/countries. The forecast data, driven by IDC's key forecast assumptions for public IT cloud services development and adoption, leads to the study's key conclusions regarding cloud offerings' revenue and growth impacts on the IT industry, customer adoption shifts among the five IT cloud services categories, and shifting adoption patterns among the eight regions/countries.

According to IDC Chief Analyst Frank Gens, "This cloud forecast, our fifth annual since 2008, marks the start of a new stage of growth and maturity in the world of cloud services. As spending approaches the $100 billion milestone in 2016, emerging markets will emerge as the epicenter of cloud innovation and growth. Cloud investment priorities will shift from simply improving IT operations to delivering business innovation. SMBs will rise as a critical customer segment — providing the scale needed to bridge IT vendors from old financial models to the new. And platform as a service, which has had a slower-than-expected start in 2011 and 2012, will emerge as the strategic foundation for the cloud services marketplace."