Cloud has always been considered the next big thing that would put businesses on their quest to digital transformation. Courtesy of the COVID pandemic and year-long lockdown, all that talk turned into action. Businesses were left with no choice but to switch to cloud services to accommodate remote working, which became the need of the hour. Businesses accelerated their cloud journey to support the new ways of working, with a focus on building enterprise resilience for the future.
Cloud adoption trends have been ongoing with full force since 2020. But, to facilitate the rapid transformation, enterprises needed a more holistic approach to strategy-building to accommodate enterprise-wide migration to the cloud. And that entails keeping a watchful eye on emerging cloud adoption trends in the market.
It’s true, cloud computing boomed in 2020, but a full-scale shift to the cloud is still an ongoing practice as enterprises are exploring ways to accommodate the transition. As more and more companies come under the cloud umbrella, global spending on cloud services will increase, touching the figure of $1 Trillion by 2024, as per experts.
But, there’s no end to what technology can do and how it can surprise us. Hence, businesses must stay abreast of cloud computing trends to stay ahead in the market.
Below are a few that are likely to make a major impact on businesses adopting cloud platform as a service –
1. Robust Cloud Security
Security should be the top-most priority to consider when we speak about cloud services. Recent cloud security trends show that even the most secured cloud platforms like AWS are vulnerable to cyber thefts. Meaning, user data is not safe, as was perceived earlier. The 2019 Capital One breach impacting over 100 million customers show that AWS was vulnerable to server-side request forgery attacks. Hence, a cloud platform as a service is not 100% safe and secure. But, that doesn’t mean cloud servers can’t be fortified. This rising concern has shaped Secure Access Service Edge and Cloud-based disaster recovery practices.
Remote working allows employees to access more company data from personal devices outside their organizations’ IT networks. That leaves company data vulnerable to plausible cyber theft. Hence, businesses should reconsider before providing access to their cloud services to employees and other concerned parties. On the other hand, recovery practices maintain a backup of company data on an external server. Businesses frequently resort to cloud-based disaster recovery for critical servers and applications like huge databases and ERP systems.
Nevertheless, the hunt should continue to build robust and fortified cloud storage for businesses to counter the intelligent cyber miscreants.
2. Cloud Services are More Intelligent
The need of the hour – cloud services has evolved more than just a platform for data storage. High-end technology is implemented to extract insights from the available data stored in the cloud. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence boost cloud services efficiency with best automation practices.
Automation is the key driver of cloud adoption. Companies looking for ways to automate many internal procedures can do so by shifting their data and processes to a centralized cloud storage system. Many are already expanding their cloud footprints by fostering a seamless flow of data between diverse suppliers on the cloud.
Also, cloud computing plays a critical role in delivering AI services. Machine Learning platforms require huge processing power and enough data to process, with huge cloud datacenters to make data available to anyone. Many everyday AI use cases that we see, right from Google Search to Insta filters, lives in the cloud, and technology routing traffic data centres to our devices is built on Machine Learning. Generative machine learning creating anything from art to training more and language modelling require cloud computing to deliver these services to users and build the infrastructure to deliver them.
Hence, a cloud platform as a service will no longer restrict itself to storing user data. It is deemed for something greater.
3. Blurring Differences between Private and Public Cloud
Private cloud is needed for regulatory and security reasons. But, initially, companies moving into the cloud had two options to select – Private cloud and Public cloud.
Today, big tech giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon are rolling out a hybrid cloud platform as a service to give users a taste of both worlds. Now, it is entirely up to the users how they use this hybrid model. Theoretically speaking, public cloud space is good enough to store data that customers need quick and frequent access. On the other hand, private cloud services are harnessed to store more sensitive data to monitor and process access. This hybrid approach reduces the complexity for companies who initially found themselves amidst a multi-cloud environment, using cloud services from several suppliers.
4. Serverless Experience
Cloud service providers have developed serverless models to counter many cloud teething troubles like speed, cost control, and server management. To deploy a cloud platform as a service, the typical practice was to write a code, provision a physical server or virtual machine, and prep that environment before running the code. There were serious problems with this old, and expenses added up because the code runs continuously.
Contrarily, a serverless cloud allows developers to encapsulate all that code and, when triggered, execute it automatically. Developers can deploy and scale cloud services rapidly, minus more servers. Moreover, businesses can access IT infrastructure on demand without investing in infrastructure or managing it. Hence, companies can use higher computing power without paying the adjacent high price and easily launch new digital services without burdening their already overburdened IT personnel.
5. Controlled Cloud Costs
It’s true, cloud services reduce data storage and computing costs, but overspending is possible if usage isn’t managed properly. Data, analytics, and AI can help businesses identify where, when, and how costs are occurring and how they can be optimized. Moreover, these insights help businesses continuously control and cut costs wherever possible.
However, the whole picture can only be realized if business leaders pay more than a casual interest in finding the right tool or partner for the right job.
In 2022, we expect more businesses to show proactiveness in controlling cloud services’ costs.
6. Sustainability is Driving Cloud Innovation
Approaching sustainability business practices puts industries pan world under pressure to approach environment-friendly practices. Cloud computing has also fallen under the same radar. Even though services run on the cloud, powerful computing engines support those servers. Data centres running these servers consume substantial energy, which negatively impacts the environment. Hence, tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are investing heavily in green cloud computing to reduce their carbon footprints. Microsoft’s underwater datacenters are a strategic step towards it. And, many are shifting to sustainable energy sources to power these data centres. For example, Amazon has 206 sustainable energy projects running worldwide, generating around 8.5GW per year. It is also the world’s biggest buyer of renewable energy.
7. The Edge-Game
Edge computing is another terminology that has been gaining traction recently. Edge computing is a form of computing done on-site or near a data source. This minimizes the need for data processing from a remote data centre. It is supposed to improve response time.
The end goal is to bring data storage, processing and analytics close to the end-user for improved privacy, robust security, speed and efficiency. As per experts, by 2024, more cloud services will execute via edge computing or a cross between edge and hybrid. However, it remains to see how businesses embrace the new trend in 2022 and later.
8. A boom in Cloud Gaming
The gaming industry has spiralled, especially during the covid pandemic. But, many things are happening in the gaming realm. For instance, cloud-based mobile platforms are sprouting up to give users a seamless gaming experience at no cost and zero downloading on the cloud itself. Moreover, Cloud Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality has contributed to bringing down the prices of headsets, making them more affordable than earlier. Platforms like Google’s Stadia and Amazon’s Luna are already redefining the cloud gaming realm. A cloud gaming platform as a service will be a thing to consider in 2022.
Conclusion
It’s true, cloud platform as a service has evolved and gone beyond a mere data storage box. The advent of new technologies has contributed to its massive transformation in recent years. As more enterprises shift their businesses to the cloud, more innovative tech-driven trends are likely to follow. We are standing at the crux of the cloud computing revolution, with the trends mentioned above are just the building blocks for a bright future. Rest, it all depends on how businesses perceive the trends and leverage the benefits of cloud services trends in the coming days.
