Cloud Computing: Cloud, Mobile Apps, Public Storage Are Top IT Trends for 2012 and Beyond: Gartner

IT research firm Gartner revealed its top predictions for IT organizations and users for 2012 and beyond. The analysts said that the predictions herald changes in control for IT organizations as budgets, technologies and costs become more fluid and distributed. They also said that going into 2012, there is an increase in the amount of information available to organizations, but it's a challenge for them to understand it. Given the shifts in control of systems that IT organizations are facing, the loss of the ability to guarantee consistency and effectiveness of data will leave many struggling to prevent their organizations from missing key opportunities or from using questionable information for strategic decisions, the analyst firm warned. "The IT organization of the future must coordinate those who have the money, those who deliver the services, those who secure the data, and those consumers who demand to set their own pace for use of IT," said Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and Gartner fellow. "The continued trends toward consumerization and cloud computing highlight the movement of certain former IT responsibilities into the hands of others.