But there is still a steady, if more low key, move to virtualised environments, with recent deals for organisations such as Thames Water and Medway NHS Trust. Also, Forrester has recently predicted a rise in demand for data virtualisation technology.

As organisations consider which route to take they have to look closely at which is better to meet their business needs.

This can be difficult, not least because both are often described in language which bears little relation to business processes, but there are a number of factors that should be taken into account.

Cost is the most obvious. It will be higher for virtualisation as it involves a considerable amount of work in setting-up and customising, while the provider of a cloud service has already borne these costs.