Continuing our series, we hear now from Steve Jin (pictured), Top 50 blogger on Cloud Computing at DoubleCloud.org, Author of VMware VI & vSphere SDK (Prentice Hall), and Founder of the open source VI Java API:

1. The focus of cloud computing will gradually shift from IaaS to PaaS which becomes key differentiator in competition. Developer enablement becomes more important than ever in ecosystem evangelism, full software lifecycle integration, IDE support, API and framework, and etc.

2. Many more mergers and acquisitions will take place in the cloud space for companies to build stronger cloud portfolio. For big players, it should include dual vertically complete stacks both as services and products. Whoever gets there first will gain enormous advantages over its competitors.

3. Virtualization will continue to play a pivotal role in transforming the IT infrastructure toward cloud computing. 2011 will see more enterprises 100% virtualized and get onto private cloud journey as a natural next step. Automation will be critical for operational efficiency for both private cloud and cloud service providers. Big enterprises will push for diversification of hypervisors in their cloud datacenters for tier hybrid cloud where different types of workloads run on different platforms.

4. Cloud and mobile computing will cross-empower each other, and therefore generate a new wave of innovations and start-ups. The cloud will be the ultimate powerhouse for mobile devices. And mobile devices will make the cloud more accessible and user friendly.

5. Customers will demand cloud interoperability and portability, and therefore drive more adoption of open source software and open standards. I expect key standard organizations will release important standards on API, security, communication, and so on.