Consulting and research firm IDC estimates 10 per cent of the world’s IT spending will be cloud-related by the year 2012, making it a topic and an opportunity that tech community types, IT managers and other affected parties in Canadian (and worldwide) end-user organizations can’t ignore.

Even the conservative Economist magazine, in a recent special report on the topic, said cloud computing “itself is here to stay and to grow.”

Yet it’s difficult to ascertain the direction cloud computing, let alone a specific type of it, is going to play out. After all, the term became a buzzword in the IT vernacular about a year ago. IDC can help attendees of the conference, which will be held at the Toronto Board of Trade beginning at 7:30AM, better understand the topic and the prospects for it moving forward through fact-based analysis.

There will be a variety of analyst presentations, case studies as well as a moderated discussion by the CIO Association of Canada on the topic of cloud computing to help attendees.

A wide variety of business people should benefit from the panel discussions and presentations including chief information officers as well as vice-presidents and directors of IT infrastructure, operations as well as strategy and planning.

There are a limited number of spots which are disappearing quickly – sign-ups have picked up in recent weeks. Space is at a premium so interested potential attendees should act quickly. Some registrants may gain access for free to the conference.

To register for free, enter the code IDCF in the special promotion field. Register by phone at 1-888-432-2812 or 416-673-2299 or email at tabramova@idc.com.

However, the IT industry will rebound in 2010, for example, along with the economy. Tech companies though will grow slowly – most likely 1% – in 2010, IDC Canada managing director Vito Mabrucco predicted.

The hardware category will grow fastest next year by virtue of the steep expected decline this year; it has more room to grow off a lower base, Mabrucco noted.

Overall, the global IT market will grow somewhere in the 3 to 5% year range over IDC’s forecast period (2009-2013). But the Canadian IT market won’t grow in terms of absolute dollars until 2012, Mabrucco added.

Nevertheless, IT is behind only sales and manufacturing in terms of importance to top Canadian executives, according to a study done by IDC earlier this year. The strategic value of IT continues to increase for executives because it drives productivity and sales, said Mabrucco citing a study of Canada’s top executives IDC conducted earlier this year.

Other speakers during the half-day session such as Danielle Levitas, group v-p consumer broadband digital marketplace research, detailed emerging opportunities for the tech industry during the downturn. One of the notable growth opportunities, Levitas told the crowd of 140 attendees, even during a recession are social networks that can help reduce work inefficiencies in the workplace (e.g. ineffective searches, version control).

IDC conducted three breakout sessions including one on client computing, specifically emerging opportunities around personal productivity and client devices. It was an exchange between the audience and IDC hardcopy and peripherals analyst Evan Hardie, desktop and PC expert Tim Brunt, as well as yours truly. The panel discussion was moderated by veteran analyst George Bulat.

One topic of particular interest to attendees of the was the convergence of client computing devices such as cell phones and mini-notebooks. As development cycles accelerate, the functionality of cell phones resembles that of mini-notebooks and vice-versa.

Those interested in receiving future updates from IDC can follow the company on its Twitter page.

Technology can help lead companies out of the recession. Amid the carnage that is the global economy, there are opportunities to be had, IDC contends.

IDC, my employer, will help attendees spot opportunities with interactive presentations and breakout sessions complimented by our array of demand-side research, at the conference (entitled ICT on the Road to Recovery) on June 3rd at the Toronto Board of Trade.

Danielle Levitas, group vice-president of IDC’s worldwide, consumer, broadband and digital marketplace practice, will deliver the keynote presentation entitled: Harnessing the Power of the Marketplace. She’ll be preceded by IDC Canada’s managing director Vito Mabrucco who’ll give a brief Canadian market update to the audience.

Yours truly will be part of two such sessions on Wednesday. I’m first going to moderate/take part in a panel session on emerging firms with my colleague Krista Napier that we’ve dubbed Rising Stars.

Krista has recruited a variety of young Canadian social networking and mobility companies including CellWand, FileMobile, MedShare and Viigo (currently the most downloaded application from Research In Motion’s BlackBerry App World) to discuss their businesses and the issues early-stage companies encounter, such as available financing & access to mentors, among other topics.

In the latter part of the morning, I’m going to take part in a panel discussion that’ll focus on emerging opportunities around personal productivity and client devices, more commonly thought of as cell phones or personal computers. It’ll be a two-way exchange between the audience and IDC hardcopy and peripherals analyst Evan Hardie, desktop and PC expert Tim Brunt, as well as mobility analyst yours truly. The dialog will be moderated by 18-year IDC veteran analyst George Bulat,

The conference, which runs from 8:00AM to noon, is open to IDC subscribers.

For those that can’t attend, look for regular tweets and updates from the conference on IDC Canada’s Twitter page or by following the #idccanada hashtag.