Cloud spending has recently broken the US$4 billion mark in the EMEA, according to a new study from the International Data Corporation (IDC) released on July 17.

The report found that cloud is a major disruption factor within the EMEA market, and is having similar effects to those seen in other countries around the world. New cloud technologies are accounting for a growing portion of hardware spending and influencing vendor strategies.

It's highly important that businesses understand the value of the cloud, especially given the benefits to operations.

Following adoption of a cloud document storage system, for example, data is kept safely offsite, and can be accessed from a variety of devices where and when required. Other systems include cloud-based video calling and collaborative document editing.

The IDC report explored exactly how the cloud is changing businesses, and what implementation can offer. The radical departure from previous systems certainly can be difficult to understand, but adequate training is a useful solution.

"Along with Big Data, social, and mobility, cloud represents one of the four pillars of IDC's 3rd Platform vision – the new paradigm of IT usage that is revolutionising the way technology is adopted in commercial and consumer environments," said Giorgio Nebuloni, a research manager at the IDC.

He went on to explain that hybrid cloud will likely become the system of choice for businesses, given the flexibility this solutions offers over a fully public or private approach.

"Hybrid cloud allows customers to retain sensitive data behind a corporate firewall while still taking advantage of cloud-related lower costs," he said.

IT project management training is highly useful when it comes to education about the benefits of the cloud, as all required levels of the organisation can gain an appreciation for what the technologies offer.

As cloud hardware and software continue to be a disrupting force, it's essential to understand the importance of education.