What do you guys think? Does your IT department embrace and encourage employees to build their own applications? Do they have strict rules or policies in place to prevent or police you? Do they empower you to do your job better? Share your thoughts!

According to a Gartner study, 25 percent of new business applications are expected to be delivered by citizen developers in 2014. Providing employees the capability to add IT applications autonomously is a benefit for those who need added web applications to fulfill their business responsibilities more efficiently.

Another added benefit of citizen development is that it reduces the amount of IT time and development. Many IT departments are focused on larger infrastructure builds with less time to work with employees on individual applications. Empowering employees to implement IT applications individually reduces the time and strain of development for IT departments.

For companies that support citizen development, building a thorough support program to manage the activity of citizen developers is important. When building a citizen developer support program there are a few key things to keep in mind. Creating policies that outline best practices for security and performance is at the top of the list. Additionally, procedures for tracking reproduced applications and application life cycles can be important. Delineating delegation of responsibility procedures for failed projects can also help ensure proper application development and infrastructure management.

Building a thorough citizen development support program around these key areas will help companies manage citizen development while still allowing employees the freedom to implement and build citizen applications that improve company and personal performance.

1. Building a customized cloud database solution can allow the company to incorporate its enterprise business processes into the system. Companies can anticipate their technology and processing needs and create a system that provides efficient results. This is a benefit over many retail systems that don't provide direct solutions and require inconvenient workarounds to achieve processing goals.

2. Building customized systems allows companies to control the design and feel of inputs and outputs. As the cloud application builder, the company can choose the system's organizational structure and the layout that matches its particular style and processes. This can greatly enhance the system's usability because users are familiar with the structure that has been implemented and they recognize the architectural design based on their company's style.

3. Customized applications require less training. Since the system is internally built, employees are involved in the development process and aware of how the system is organized. They can grow with the system and learn as the system is implemented. Additionally, customized solutions are more intuitive for users, further eliminating the need for training.

4. A major benefit for cloud databases is that they are accessible from anywhere through the internet. They also provide for mobile device access as well, which is a convenience for many employees. Web accessibility can set a company apart and provide an advantage in many ways. Companies with cloud databases can provide more timely responses. They can also access company information more easily for client meetings and presentations.

5. Cloud applications can provide businesses with cost savings. Cloud computing storage is often less expensive than traditional storage methods. Cloud computing works on a pay-as-you-grow basis, which allows businesses to pay only for the services they need and plan for expanded growth in the future. Additionally, applications hosted on the cloud typically experience less downtime, resulting in fewer disruptions and losses to the business.

6. Companies love the flexibility that cloud computing provides. When they need more bandwidth, it can be instantly added because of the capacity available on the cloud. Companies can also plan for future expansions and enhancements and easily integrate new services as dictated by business demand.

7. Cloud databases allow for easier server maintenance. Security and system updates can be done automatically, requiring less time and resources.

These benefits explain why cloud computing has grown at such a fast pace over the past few years. Migration to the cloud is expected to grow as many companies continue to capitalize on these benefits. According to a Market Research Media study, the global cloud computing market is expected to grow at a 30 percent CAGR through 2020, eventually reaching $270 billion.

This projected growth is evidence that companies understand the benefits of cloud computing and see the rewards it can bring to their business.

In a New York Times article, Kotis Design, one Seattle-based custom apparel company sites using the cloud because of the sophistication and flexibility that cloud based solutions could provide. The news story further delineated the benefits that have caused businesses to migrate to the cloud with functionality and efficiency at the top of the list for most small businesses.  

The numbers come from a global survey of 3,645 IT decisions-makers in eight countries and shed light on why companies choose to deploy cloud databases and how companies are adapting to their cloud computing services.

Only 14 percent of companies downsized after adopting the cloud and 20 percent hired more cloud experts. Additionally, 65 percent of companies chose cloud subscriptions lasting one year or more. This implies companies are expanding and enhancing their cloud computing solutions.

Companies are seeing real results in their cloud adoption strategies. Ninety-three percent of companies reported at least one area of improvement within their IT department. Fifty-two percent reported increased data efficiency and utilization. Forty-seven percent said they witnessed lower operating costs after implementing cloud computing. Eighty percent experienced improvements within six months.

The survey also suggests that employees are happy with the cloud computing infrastructures that have been implemented. Seventy-four percent of small businesses said that no one in the company resisted moving to the cloud.

Additionally, companies are not overly concerned about security in the cloud. Only 25 percent of companies expressed more concern about data security after adopting cloud services.

Finally, U.S. federal government agencies are following the cloud trend as well. Forty-eight percent of U.S. government agencies moved at least one workflow to the cloud; and the U.S. federal government's call for a cloud-first policy is expected to follow with further government cloud integration.

Discussions on the federal government migration to cloud computing were undertaken at the recent Cloud Computing Brainstorm, where government officials met to discuss the past and future uses of cloud computing based around a recent survey by MeriTalk entitled "Cloudy with a Chance of Savings."  MeriTalk is a leading voice for government IT and has consistently produced valuable research for the government sector to utilize in IT budgeting decisions. The survey polled 108 federal government CIOs and IT managers and found many valuable results on expenditure and future estimates.

"By consolidating federal data centers and moving the government to lighter, cheaper technologies, such as the cloud, we can provide better results for less money to the American people,” said Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware.

“What this survey shows us is that cloud computing is on track to enable a faster, smarter government,” said Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown.

Two key areas in discussion for future migration to the cloud database include administrative apps and conferencing software.

“Open, honest debates like the brainstorm encourage us to work together to make better decisions.  The federal government should be one of the leaders of this pack.”

Many speculators are curious about why cloud computing has grown in relevance. Dell finds that the big data needs and explosive data growth in the industry call for a scalable solution. Cloud computing provides that solution at a cheaper rate of service and allows for easy expansion of storage capacity that companies can leverage when planning for their business needs. Cloud computing also alleviates the expense of data storage centers, which can be difficult to lease and expensive to maintain. In today's technologically evolving world, companies have a greater need for data and information that can be accessed from a web database. Cloud computing provides for this demand and makes accessing information from any mobile device quick and easy.

As more businesses move to the cloud now, the future growth of the cloud is expected to continue. The cloud market is expected to reach $61 billion by 2012. Sixty percent of server workloads are expected to be cloud-enabled by 2014. Cloud computing apps are also expected to see increased demand. By the end of 2012, cloud customers will already be using more than 10 different cloud apps on average.

Cloud security has also raised a concern for many users. However, most experts agree that data in the cloud is just as secure as that stored on premise, and applications run from the user's PC can provide an enhanced layer of security.

As businesses continue to migrate their business processes to cloud computing, the industry is expected to expand. However, with the explosive growth that has already occurred, many speculators see the industry maturing in 2012. This means the growth in the industry is likely to come from companies expanding their services instead of a new entrance of small business migrating to the cloud.

One of the greatest benefits for cloud users is that it allows businesses to pace their growth. They can use a pay-as-you-go service, which allows them to start small and enhance their cloud storage capabilities as their business grows.

Another feature of having a cloud database is that it allows businesses to connect with cloud software partners to grow their business capabilities and efficiencies. Some cloud software systems that small businesses have found most effective are Dropbox, Google Drive and Fresh Books.

Dropbox is a free service that allows for storage of videos, photos and documents in one centralized place on the web. Users can access the shared files from anywhere and the benefits of multi-tenant use make it easy for groups to collaborate on projects and presentations.

Google's recent announced Google Drive is also another centralized service that allows businesses to utilize shared documents on the cloud database, providing greater efficiency.

Finally, the Fresh Books service provides small businesses with billing and record keeping capabilities through the cloud. Fresh Books prides itself on safe and secure data storage. The system can provide quick and efficient invoices, bills and other accounting communications quickly and easily.

Using Google Analytics in the cloud has also been a great success for companies. Google Analytics provides companies with data on their content, mobile devices, conversion, social and advertizing. Google analytics users can get insightful reports on each of these areas to help understand how outside users are viewing and utilizing their content.

Cloud computing is well known for its app making software benefits, and this advantage is expected to play a key role in the growing acceptance of the public model. Golden asserted that in the past year, IT management has identified public cloud computing as more than just a short-term fix.

"Apps are now in production and cannot be disrupted by transferring them to an internal cloud. Moreover, business units are impressed with what they're offered by public clouds – no lengthy lead times for resource availability, no need for upfront capital investment and the list goes on," Golden wrote.

The CIO writer suggested that while most organizations will implement a private cloud, every business will also have to establish a public cloud model to be successful. Companies will most likely have a mix of the two technologies and, in most cases, will leverage the power of Amazon's Web Services.

However, this industry transition to public cloud computing is not without issues. Golden noted that the technology is so beneficial because companies can support rapidly changing applications.

"As business initiatives increasingly move to online offerings, the need to modify applications quickly to reflect offering updates, campaigns, new partnerships and other initiatives becomes crucial," Golden wrote. "The pace of application versioning must be much quicker than in the past and must support deployment choice."

Cloud customization key to application development

Research firm Gartner has suggested that cloud computing is expected to undergo many changes in the near future. Rather than private or public models, hybrid cloud computing will be more popular moving forward.

Also, cloud-based applications will be especially important. According to Gartner, the technology is so beneficial because companies can lower their operating costs, improve their agility and reduce computing complexity.

To be successful with cloud-based applications, Gartner asserted that organizations must develop apps that maximize the technology's unique traits, as well as its limitations. Businesses are also encouraged not to simply focus on migrating enterprise workloads to the cloud, but to take advantage of its customization capabilities.

This summer's Cloud Expo in New York will be held June 11 through 14 and will run alongside the Big Data Expo, as well as the Cloud Computing Bootcamp.

The Cloud Expo will open with keynote speaker Henry Fastert, chief technologist and managing partner for SHI. Leading the company's SHI Enterprise Solution Services Group, he provides strategic and operational direction in the areas of infrastructure design, data center consolidation and technology consolidation. Fastert's opening keynote session will focus on the evolution of cloud computing, centered around mission-critical application security, availability and service quality. The speech will conclude with how to leverage the newest cloud designs in an expanding cloud service environment.

The Big Data Expo will focus on the role of big data solutions in the enterprise IT mainstream. Day one of the conference will feature speaker Tom Leydon, director of alliances and marketing at Amplidata, a company that focuses on object storage data. Leyden has 15 years of experience working with emerging IT companies and will speak on "Best Practices for Big Unstructured Data Storage." His session will cover the definition of big unstructured data and the building of scalable infrastructures specifically for large volumes of data storage.

The Cloud Computing Bootcamp will be led by Larry Carvalho, director of Robust Cloud LLC, an advisory service for ecosystem clients seeking to utilize cloud computing. The bootcamp will span four days and cover over 200 topics.

SYS-CON's November conference in Santa Clara will be similar to the June conference in that it will include the Cloud Expo, Big Data Expo and Cloud Computing Bootcamp. It will also have similar topic threads to the June conference but the session scheduling will not be finalized until after the Call for Papers deadline on July 15. The Call for Papers encourages attendees to submit speaking proposal suggestions and allows for a dynamic new agenda at each conference.

SYS-CON Media's success in the internet-technology event business is likely to gain increased momentum following its 2012 Cloud Expo events. The company's technology magazines, newsletters and news reports on cloud databases and cloud application builders are highly recognized, and the success of its 2012 conferences will likely add to its esteem as an industry-recognized news provider.