About 42 per cent of the Indian companies surveyed have said they have no immediate plans of investing in cloud technologies, according to research firm Gartner.

Gartner, which interviewed 148 Indian companies as part of a global research, found 42 per cent respondents saying they had not invested in cloud computing and had no plans or were unsure of investing in the technology throughout 2011.

Globally, 45 per cent of the 1,004 respondents said they were either unsure or had no plans of setting up cloud infrastructure.

Cloud computing, which is Internet-based, facilitates sharing of technological resources, software and digital information. The emerging field functions on a pay-per-use model, helping technology companies to bring down cost.

"Despite the benefits of cloud computing, lack of technology maturity has emerged as the top inhibitor to adoption of cloud technology," Gartner Senior Research Analyst Sid Deshpande told PTI.

The study was conducted across the US, the UK, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

However, 21 per cent respondents in India said cloud computing is "one of the top three" highest-priority investment through 2011.

"The top drivers for cloud investments are -- business agility, capital expenditure savings, and investing in cloud models as a part of the overall enterprise data center transformation strategy," he said.

Cost saving is one of the primary drivers for adoption of cloud technology, he added. Globally, about 25 per cent respondents considered cloud among the "top three" priority by the end of 2011.

According to Zinnov Consulting, Indian cloud computing market is expected to grow to USD one billion over the next five years.