CompTIA's latest survey reports cloud computing will generate "significant revenue streams" for IT channel companies planning to boost their 2012 cloud investments.
The organisation says 46% of cloud-offering channel companies derive 50% or more of their annual revenue from cloud-related products and services in the last 12 months.
85% also expect cloud sales to grow within the next 12 months.
Current revenue-generating cloud solutions include the in demand (yet simple to implement) "low-hanging fruit" of cloud-based email, storage, backup/recovery and business productivity applications, as well as collaboration and analytic services.
In fact, CompTIA describes such more sophisticated services as "lucrative opportunity areas."
However 6 out of 10 channel companies report security concerns as the "main roadblock" to a cloud sale-- one consistent among customers of all size-- likely as a result of the cloud's relative immaturity.
As more cloud implementations come to bear, security issue apprehension should lesson, CompTIA says.
More foundational work is also needed-- 1 out of 5 channel firms says they either have a partial cloud roadmap or no roadmap at all.
