Cloud dominates CeBIT

security of its featured technology - cloud computing - after some 150 000 Google e-mail accounts vanished, reports The Economic Times.

The theme of this year's CeBIT expo in Hanover, Germany, is 'Work and Life with the Cloud' and cloud computing, or the idea of storing data online rather than on individual machines, is the fair's undisputed buzzword.

"Cloud computing is the mega-trend in the high-tech sector. It is going to change the IT sector completely," says August-Wilhelm Scheer, president of Bitkom, which represents the technology sector in Germany.

Quoting analysts from the event, Xinhuanet says cloud computing's prominence at the expo reflects its market potential, adding that by 2014, its revenue would reach $148.8 billion.

Other hot topics during the CeBIT are glasses-less 3D technology, modular systems for disaster control and high-speed Internet.

On the other hand, V3.co.uk reports that cloud computing is unlikely to displace on-premise deployments anytime soon owing to ongoing regulatory and security concerns, according to leading vendors speaking at CeBIT.

Executives from IBM, Fujitsu, Intel and Google agreed that, while cloud computing is an evolutionary technology, hardware is key to maximising its benefits.

Andre Kiehne, vice-president of services at Fujitsu Technology Solutions, was adamant that companies and individuals will never be able to store 100% of their information in the cloud, and that technical and regulatory hurdles need to be overcome if the technology is to be a success.