There is no question that cloud computing was the top enterprise tech topic in 2010. Microsoft even succeeded in popularizing the term in its “Into the Cloud” ad campaign at the end of the year. Yet, most of the discussion and debate surrounding cloud computing in 2010 was focused on defining the term and its potential value.

Fortunately this debate didn’t prevent a diverse set of early adopters from capitalizing on the rapidly expanding assortment of cloud computing solutions being offered by a potpourri of emerging and established players. The growing number of cloud users are producing a compelling set of customer success stories and clear ‘use cases’ for employing cloud computing alternatives to legacy systems and on-premise applications.

THINKstrategies has been chronicling many of these success stories in our ongoing Awards programs — the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) and Cloud Computing Business Value (CCBV) Awards. These awards were created to bring attention to the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s SaaS and cloud computing solutions.

While there is still some lingering debate about how cloud computing should be defined and why it is worth considering, the growing number of success stories which THINKstrategies and others have highlighted clearly proves that IT and business decision-makers should be focusing their attention in 2011 on where and how to best employ today’s best cloud computing solutions to fully leverage its functional and financial benefits.

There are still plenty of risks associated with cloud computing, as there are with any technology or third-party service. But, the business benefits are quickly outpacing the real pitfalls.

Cloud computing is not only helping organizations save money and be more agile, these ‘on-demand’ solutions are also enabling organization to better support their employees, serve their customers and gain a competitive advantage.

As a result, adopting cloud computing alternatives is no longer an option…it is now an imperative.

In 2011, this new reality should impel every corporate decision-maker to carefully reassess their immediate and long-term requirements IT and business needs in light of the rapidly evolving cloud computing alternatives. They should evaluate how these SaaS and Cloud alternatives can address existing issues, and be employed to pursue new business opportunities.

cloud computing