The development of cloud computing is likely to change the way next generation networks are paid for, it has been claimed.
David Keene, vice president of large enterprises at business software provider SAP, said cloud applications will remain in competition with on-premise platforms, and become more increasingly available in the near future.
He added: "What you are likely to see is the way we pay for IT is going to change … paying on consumption rather than paying by CPU [Central Processing Unit], so a blur in the chain of how these platforms fit together."
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Mr Keane went on to say the development of standardisation technologies will make it easier to combine cloud computing platforms with custom built solutions from system integrators created by internet service providers.
Last month, studies carried out by Forrester Research suggested global IT services and outsourcing expenditure will decline over 2009, with governments and businesses buying $484 billion (£339 billion) of IT consulting, systems integration, and outsourcing services, three per cent less than in 2008.
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