The insurance industry is continuously looking for the simplest, most efficient method of providing consumers with the best service, while at the same time trying to reduce overall operating expenses. While insurance providers explore the right options for their businesses, one thing is certain: Cloud-based environments are low-risk solutions that enable applications to increase business value. Research has shown that running desktop applications in the cloud can be attractive because it reduces complexity and increases security.

Aside from the insurance industry, other financial services institutions struggle to find a business structure that provides the desired flexibility and market savings necessary to provide excellent customer service. However, with the help of cloud computing and unified communications, these challenges are being overcome. Due to recent success and proven low-risk functionality, insurers are gradually adopting cloud solutions to help guide business operations and initiatives. In fact, Gartner predicts that the cloud system infrastructure market will grow by 47.8% through 2015.

Cloud computing is changing the way organizations store and access large applications and data. Cloud capabilities provide a way to increase capacity or add capabilities quickly without having to invest in costly infrastructures or training new personnel. Cloud computing also extends an organization's existing IT capabilities by allowing for subscription or pay-per-use services.