Online backup, data recovery and storage are all set to be on the Cloud Expo Europe agenda.
The concept of online backup is due to gain more traction among British businesses this year if the issues highlighted by the 2012 Cloud Expo Europe are anything to go by.
Taking place on January 25th and 26th at the National Hall Olympia in London, the event will draw together organisations and industry figures from Europe to discuss high-growth areas of cloud technology, and how businesses can benefit from them.
Organiser Maggie Meer explained that a two-day seminar programme called the Cloud Industry Forum will also be running throughout the event to talk about and encourage transparency in the market.
"It has just completed a major research project, which has highlighted those trends in the market that are set to drive adoption in 2012," she commented.
"One key fact stands out from the research – over 50 per cent of organisations polled – in total 300 – are using the cloud in one form or another right now."
This demand is being driven by the flexibility and agility cloud-based apps deliver, she noted.
"And if that does not take you by surprise, 73 per cent of those already using cloud-based services are planning further deployments. In case you are wondering what the highest growth areas are – well that is email, data storage, data backup and recovery and collaboration services," Ms Meer added.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal blog has been making predictions of its own and believes healthcare is the next sector to be given the big data treatment.
With the UK providing a cradle to the grave health system in the form of the NHS, it has access to some of the most detailed patient information of any developed country – and if this data was made available, health services, laboratories and other organisations would receive a truer picture of the nature of illness and good health.
A Department of Health spokesperson told the news source: "We will consider how best to achieve an appropriate balance between the protection of patient information and the use and sharing of information to improve care."