Investment in cloud computing is expected to skyrocket during 2012, according to Big Four consultancy KPMG.

According to the firm, 81 per cent of businesses are either planning, are in the early or advanced stages of experimentation, or already have full-on cloud implementations.

Almost one quarter of executives said their organisation already runs all core IT services on the cloud (ten per cent) or is in transition to do so (13 per cent).

Some 76 per cent of business leaders surveyed said economic factors were encouraging them to embrace cloud-based technology.

And 80 per cent said they were looking to improve processes, offering more agility across the enterprise.

Tudor Aw, KPMG's head of technology in the UK, commented that the cloud is becoming more of a business, and not just a technology, conversation.

"In these harsh economic times, cloud computing should be considered by all companies that strive to reduce costs," he claimed.

"Cloud adoption is quickly shifting from a competitive advantage to an operational necessity, enabling innovation that can create new business models and will impact the long-term growth opportunities and competitiveness of businesses."

Writing for Forbes this week, Joe McKendrick claimed that cloud computing can help businesses reduce their carbon footprint.

Posted by Alex Boardman

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