Think cloud computing is just the latest IT fad? Think again.

Forrester predicts the global cloud computing market will grow from $35 billion in 2011 to around $150 billion by 2020 as it becomes key to many organizations' IT infrastructures.

According to an article on ZDNet, by 2020 cloud is going to be a major - and permanent - part of the enterprise computing infrastructure.

By 2020, a generational shift will have occurred in organizations. A new generation of CIOs will be in charge that have grown up using cloud-based tools, making them far more willing to adopt cloud on an enterprise scale.

With these developments in mind, here are 10 ways in which the cloud of 2020 will look radically different to the way it does today, according to ZDNet.

Rackspace Open Cloud Offers Easily Scalable Computing
Rackspace has announced the unlimited availability of cloud databases and cloud servers powered by OpenStack, along with a powerful and streamlined new control panel.

These solutions further expand Rackspace's broad cloud hosting portfolio, used today by more than 180,000 customers worldwide.

These products mark the first time a company deployed a large-scale, open source public cloud powered by OpenStack. Customers can now select from private, public or hybrid offerings and have the flexibility to deploy their solutions in a Rackspace data center or in another data center of their choice.

Rackspace's open cloud products also give application developers and IT organizations in businesses large and small the ability to build, test and deploy applications in the cloud for the first time without being locked-in.

The new Cloud Servers powered by OpenStack deliver increased efficiency, scalability and agility to customers, who can launch as many as 200 reliable cloud servers in 20 minutes.

Rackspace recently announced a celebration of the second anniversary of the OpenStack open source cloud computing platform for building public or private clouds, as eWEEK reported.

Move to Cloud Requires New, Different Thinking
The effort to utilize cloud computing in the federal government has officially begun. In June, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) reached its initial operating capabilities to certify businesses that meet federal cloud services standards - moving government closer to using the cloud to reduce costs and more effectively serve citizens.

But, according an an article on FederalTimes.com, more commitment is needed to make the cloud vision a reality. Federal decision-makers need to pick up plans for an overarching federal IT strategy. A comprehensive guide would eliminate redundancy and provide agencies with clear guidance on how to prioritize initiatives. It would go a long way toward reducing the cost of government and improving the delivery of services to citizens.

According to author Michael Hettinger, "Cloud computing is transformational, and the government has put the building blocks in place to effectively transform its IT infrastructure, but some core issues must be addressed for federal IT reform to reach its full potential."

Box, Dropbox Come of Age in Cloud Computing
Two of the buzziest competitors in cloud computing are settling into coexistence - and maybe figuring out ways to take on the giant in the market, Amazon.com, according to a blog post on The New York Times.

Like its competitor Dropbox, Box offers a little bit of data storage free, then charges for additional amounts. Both companies make money from a relatively small number of paying customers who need large amounts of storage, according to The Times.

Both companies are finding ways to put into their online storage more features and user-friendly services than are found in Amazon's Simple Storage Service, or S3, one of the first big public cloud computing initiatives.

By putting easy-to-use apps on smartphones, Box and Dropbox appear to be exploiting the dissatisfaction some customers have experienced with Amazon.

According to The Times, some Amazon customers still find the service highly technical to use, and complain about a lack of customer service.