Cloud analytics is expected to keep growing and growing

It's no secret that cloud computing and data analytics are both rapidly growing areas of IT. Put them together, and you get a winning combination that's expected to grow by more than 26 percent annually over the next five years.

That's according to market-tracking firm Research and Markets, which on Friday released a new report on the global cloud analytics market.

Increased adoption of data analytics is one of the major drivers in this market, Research and Markets found. More specifically, many organizations are adopting data analytics in order to better understand consumption patterns, customer acquisition and various other factors believed to increase revenue, cut costs and boost customer loyalty.