Cloud computing is having a big impact on mergers and acquisitions.
A new report from Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) has demonstrated the extent to which cloud computing is affecting mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in companies of all shapes and sizes.
Its research discovered that software and internet-based deals represented 57 per cent of transaction values in 2012, Forbes reports, with software representing a third of all technology deals made last year.
This is despite overall spending growth on IT increasing by only 1.2 per cent over the course of the year and technology agreements in general dropping by almost 20 per cent.
It suggests company owners are becoming more and more aware of the benefits cloud computing can offer them for all kinds of business operations.
PwC said software as a service, mobile devices, analytics and Big Data will be the drivers of future M&A activity, with more deals on these technologies expected to go through in the coming years.
Mobile application development start-ups in particular were highlighted as key expansion areas, as they have significant amounts of intellectual property that needs to be shared.
It comes after recent research from the Manchester Business School published by Forbes showed that cloud computing could help even the most modest start-ups access gain to greater flexibility and security via online document storage and disaster recovery.
Indeed, new companies are now finding that cloud engagements are helping to keep costs low while boosting their chances for innovation.
However, many people may still be unaware of this, as Gordon Bell, principal researcher in the Microsoft Research Silicon Valley Laboratory, told the Gulf Times earlier this month that lots of companies are not even aware they are actually using cloud computing already.
He said further training in the idea would be "super important" in the short-term future.