Platform-as-a-Service is where the most complex work in the cloud is happening. Increasingly mission-critical applications are being ported to the cloud. This is bringing the emphasis back to the basic principles of computer science and software engineering. In many cases, operators may only be interested in getting the application up and running, but it is important to realize that any shortcuts taken in the early stages will cause major problems if the application is to expand later.

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Platform-as-a-Service is considered part of the core foundation of the software industry and is likely to evolve into a major component of the overall cloud computing market.

The IT world has responded to the needs of the market as PaaS and Big Data-related start-ups have started to emerge.

GMO Cloud teams from US and Japan had a great time at Cloud Expo 2011! We enjoyed a wide range of session topics and met with Cloud partners and vendors.

Every year before the Cloud Expo, Cloud Computing Journal asks a handful of experts what they see as the major trends for cloud computing in the next year.

The Insurance Industry sees real opportunities for efficiency by moving some aspects of their business to the cloud using SaaS and PaaS vendors.

Cloud is not just an operations model – it is an application-centric operations model. I.T. is moving slowly away from an old server-centric model towards application-centric operations.