Forbes.com says it best: “Cloud computing will soon make data centers even busier places than ever.”

In Forbes’ review of the Global Cloud Index just released by Cisco, it’s clear that the sky is not the limit with Cloud. It will accelerate at an unprecedented pace.

According to Cisco:

• Global data center traffic — cloud and non-cloud — will grow 4x from 2010 to 2015 and reach 4.8 zettabytes annually by 2015, growing at a rate of 402 exabytes per month by that time.
• The cloud computing segment of this will grow 12x over the same period, representing more than one-third of all data center traffic by 2015.
• Global cloud traffic will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 66%, reaching 1.6 zettabytes by the end of 2015 – a rate of 133 exabytes per month.
• By 2014, the workloads processed in cloud data centers (51%) will surpass those processed in traditional data centers (49%) for the first time. A year later, cloud computing will constitute 57% of data center workloads.

Given the pressure this growth is going to put on the physical layer, one thing is clear. Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) couldn’t have come ay a better time for data center owners and operators. DCIM lets you manage the physical infrastructure that is driving all of this cloud traffic – the billions of dollars of IT and Facilities systems that let the Cloud do its thing.

Let’s face it. You can have the greatest Cloud strategy in the world, but without a highly-efficient, finely-tuned physical infrastructure to support it, you essentially have nothing. The logical depends on the physical – today more than ever before. Or the Cloud won’t fly.

According to Ovum, the global public cloud services market is projected to reach $18 billion by the end of 2011 and will more than triple in size over the next five years – hitting revenue of $66 billion by 2016. Ovum says the market will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 29%.

Nice round numbers, aren’t they …

Meanwhile, Techaisle’s SMB Managed Services Report explains where a chunk of this demand for public cloud services is coming from – the SMB market. As reported by eWeek.com, the Techaisle report confirms that the SMB spend on public cloud services will grow in double-digits for the next several years. SMBs are projected to invest $7 billion on public cloud services in 2011, with future growth increments of $1 billion-plus annually. The research is based on a survey of 2,000 SMBs and 600 channel partners in the U.S.

This is a huge opportunity for the Managed Services Providers (MSPs). Especially the MSPs who can handle the growth in user demand that is coming their way. Today’s smart MSPs are using Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) to manage their physical infrastructure for optimum efficiency and resource utilization – and prepare for the growth on the horizon.

High-quality public cloud services, superior customer service, and a stronger bottom line will best be achieved by MSPs who are using enterprise-class DCIM to ensure maximum efficiency (and profitability) in how their infrastructure is managed.

May the best MSPs win.

So how important could cloud computing be to the future of the data center industry and its seemingly insatiable appetite for energy?

VERY, according to a recent report from Pike Research, Cloud Computing Energy Efficiency, as reported by datacentres.com.

Pike forecasts that the continued adoption of cloud computing will lead to a reduction of data center energy consumption of 31% from 2010 to 2020.

“Cloud computing revenue will grow strongly over the next decade, with a CAGR of almost 29%,” explains senior analyst Eric Woods. “But the reduction in energy consumption will be even more significant. Massive investments in new data center technologies and computing clouds are leading to unprecedented efficiencies.”

Clouds are less expensive to run, they consume less amounts of energy, and it’s clear they run at a greater efficiency (higher rate of asset utilization) than conventional data centers.

For those of us at the forefront of Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM), Pike’s research validates what we already know.

We also know this – DCIM with Interactive 3D Visualization is instrumental in helping data centers make the transition to cloud. Because you can have the greatest cloud strategy in the world, but if you don’t have a highly-efficient physical infrastructure to support it, you essentially have nothing.

DCIM with Interactive 3D Visualization and cloud are both about efficiency – and efficiency drives everything.