Widespread adoption of cloud computing could give the top five EU economies a 763bn-euro  boost over five years, new reports have announced.

According to the CEBR,it could be responsible for creating as many as  2.4m jobs. The technology gives remotely available software and computing power on demand over the net.

Some experts have warned however, that cloud computing can be very disruptive to business, and companies could end up "disillusioned".

"Nothing kills a new technology better than a poor user experience," said Damian Saunders of Citrix.

Proven benefits of cloud computing include decreased usage of power from office computers, as well as requiring much fewer computers to do the same amount of IT work.