Server revenue for public cloud computing is to grow to $718 million (483 million) in 2014, up from $582 million (391 million) in 2009, analyst firm IDC has predicted.
Furthermore, the larger server market for the private cloud will grow from $7.3 billion (5 billion) to $11.8 billion (7.9 billion) over the same period.
IDC suggested that it is unlikely the public cloud will be as widely adopted as private, while the former will be less enterprise-focused than the latter.
The analyst firm suggested the embryonic economic recovery, an ageing server installed base and a willingness from IT managers to simplify virtual and physical infrastructure have led to greater demand for both kinds of cloud computing.
"Now is a great time for many IT organisations to begin seriously considering this technology and employing public and private clouds in order to simplify sprawling IT environments," said Katherine Broderick, research analyst of enterprise platforms and datacenter trends at IDC, in a statement.
"Many vendors are strategically advancing into the private and public cloud spaces, and these players are widely varied and have differing levels of commitment."
A recent report from IDC, on behalf of EMC, claimed that cloud computing will generate over a trillion dollars of revenue through to 2014, while a third of all data will be in the cloud by 2020.
There are still barriers that are preventing companies from embracing the cloud, however. Broderick told IT PRO that with the public cloud, security issues are still a "top concern" for some firms.
Others are adopting a "wait and see" approach, she added.
