The dynamic socio-economic environment witnessed in the last few years has significantly accelerated the pace of cloud adoption. The stay-at-home order enforced by the global pandemic compelled organizations around the world to quicken their pace of digital transformation. Cloud adaptation was already growing at a healthy pace, but the pandemic instilled a sense of urgency into the proceedings as organizations quickly shifted to cloud-based applications to help employees keep on working from home. Cloud computing services providers keeping in mind the market demand also started out rolling new cloud services to retain customers.
As we reach the end of 2022, digital transformation initiatives refuse to show even the slightest signs of slowing down. And going by the current trends, 2023 cloud computing trends will continue to move in the fast lane.
Gartner, Inc. forecasts that in 2023, worldwide public cloud spending will witness a jump of nearly 21% to reach close to $592 billion, up from $490.3 billion in 2022. This should not come as a surprise as moving to the cloud has moved beyond the realm of optionality to become a necessity, as it continues to play a vital role in helping organizations keep pace with the ever-changing market dynamics.
Here are some of the top cloud computing trends to lookout for in 2023
Taking the help of cloud to power hybrid workers
The pandemic has receded, offices have opened to a large extent, but the workers are not exactly flocking back. The remote and hybrid work models that became the norm rather than an exception during the peak of the pandemic for all intents and purposes is here to stay, and the cloud is lending support to keep these flexible work environments going. Organizations will keep taking the help of cloud-based productivity technologies for digital transformation to help build virtual workplaces to facilitate smooth working of remote employees.
Cloud sustainability
In 2023, experts believe more and more organizations will leverage the efficiency of the cloud to meet their sustainability goals.
According to an IDC survey, close to 85% of respondents rated sustainability their top criteria when it came to IT buying decisions. This should not come as a surprise as it is believed that in the next couple of years, over 85% of organizations will witness 35% jump in sustainable efficiencies through cloud-based infrastructures. Running applications or workload in the cloud will allow enterprises to become more sustainable in the circular economy.
AI-Adaptation
Reports suggest that nearly two-thirds of companies plan to invest more in AI. This should not come as a surprise as adoption of artificial intelligence helps enterprises augment operational efficiency and drive innovation, which significantly increases the ROI on their AI investments. And majority of the organizations use public cloud to leverage more AI capabilities, as public cloud offers huge data storage and sophisticated computing capabilities.
As per the reports, nearly 75% of the organizations surveyed made their intentions clear of planning to spend more in AI through 2023.
Larger investment in cloud security
Migrating to the cloud brings numerous benefits, including cost-saving, operational efficiencies, and convenience to name a few, but it also leaves the door wide open for organizations to encounter a slew of cybersecurity threats. On top of this, increasing rules and regulations pertaining to how organizations can store and use personal data exposes organizations to fines, and worse loss of customer trust.
As a result, spending on cyber security to prevent data theft and financial loss will become even more of a priority during the coming year. This means organizations will make greater use of AI and predictive technology designed to stop preempt threats before the snowball into something major.
Multi-cloud is likely to gain further momentum
The current year has been that of the hybrid cloud. The coming year is likely to be of spreading the services across a number of cloud providers, a strategy known as a multi-cloud approach. This strategy offers distinct advantages like improved flexibility and efficiency, as organizations are not tied to a single ecosystem.
A couple of years ago, around 70 percent of the organizations said they had one cloud service provider. In sharp contrast, it is expected that by next year, close to 85 % of mid-to-large companies will have adopted a multi-cloud strategy by 2023, making it one of the defining cloud computing trends of the coming year.
XaaS cloud offerings will grow at a quick pace
The growing trend of “everything-as-a-service,” “or anything as a service” (XaaS), which refers to the process of providing a broad range of applications and software over the internet, is also going to be one of the defining trends of cloud investments in 2023.
The global XaaS market worth $199 billion in 2021, is expected to grow to $625 billion by 2027, which would include storage-as-a-service, security-as-a-service, and network-as-a-service.
For organizations, XaaS offers a whole range of benefits such as better flexibility, scalability, speed, and less cost through flexible payment models, where clients are required to pay for only the resources they use.
Conclusion
Organizations are past the point of prevarication when it comes to the cloud. It has become a necessity to derive competitive advantage in the marketplace. Top providers of cloud computing services can help your business leverage advanced technologies like AI and ML, multi-cloud, cybersecurity, etc to remain competitive in a fiercely competitive business environment.
