Does cloud computing deliver the promised benefits for IT industry?

Cloud computing has captured the attention of both the researchers and practitioners alike. Companies and other cloud users are expecting to receive significant benefits from the new cloud based technologies. To what extent these benefits materialize for enterprise IT is not clearly understood. In this paper, we examine the perceived benefits of cloud computing from the cloud users' perspectives. Cloud users include users of SaaS/PaaS/IaaS, ranging from end-users, to service developers and system administrators. Using content analysis techniques, we examine one of the major discussion forums of cloud computing. Rather than offering a yes/no answer to the question posed, we offer five empirically drawn insights on the perceived benefits of cloud computing. It is proposed that the empirical insights gained are valuable to both researchers and practitioners. The value lies in a more holistic view on the promised benefits' landscape.