The report  states that the global market for enterprise cloud-based services will grow from $12.1bn (€9.4bn) in 2010 to $35.6bn (€7.5bn) in 2015.

“The business model behind cloud services is similar to that behind established communications network services," says report author (right) and Principal Analyst Steve Hilton. "A service provider amortises its upfront data-centre-related capital investment over a period of months, coinciding with the monthly fees charged to end-user enterprises for the use of the infrastructure."

“For a service provider, this model should be very comfortable.” But he adds. “Less comfortable is the unregulated nature of the business – there is no guaranteed return on investment – and the non-telecoms-centric services they will be required to market and sell.”

According to the report, the year-on-year growth rate will be 43% in 2011,  but will dip to 13% over the next five years. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) will account for 70% of revenue in 2010, while the share taken by infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) will increase from 30% to 40% over the next five years.

By 2015, registered IT and application partners – as agents, systems integrators, dealers and direct market resellers – will account for 39% of this revenue. IT and application vendors will take 36%, while telecoms and cable TV operators will secure a 23% share.

Key findings from the report include:

• Operators should bundle cloud-based application and infrastructure solutions with core connectivity.
• Operators should focus on SME, rather than large businesses.
• Traditional IT and application partners must embrace cloud solutions to avoid missing out on more than $14 billion in revenue by 2015.
• IT and application vendors should seek out the particularly high revenue opportunities in the developed markets of the Asia–Pacific region, North America and Western Europe.

The report presents Analysys Mason’s worldwide revenue forecast for enterprise cloud­based, on-demand, hosted services – including SaaS and IaaS. The forecast is split into eight geographical regions, and also by enterprise size and sales channel. This approach allows operators and vendors to understand their unique positioning in the market and plan for future growth.