Posted on December 31, 2020
Cloud
2020 has been a momentous year for cloud space, cloud trend, and cloud computing. So many trends have arisen due to the redefining of our workspaces and how we communicate information. This reconstruction of our norms taking place both inside and outside the workforce.
These changes and new trends are the results of the ongoing pandemic that has defined this year. With no end in sight and increasing numbers of covid cases throughout the US, working from home is here to stay, and for a little longer than previously anticipated.
As we continue to reconfigure our working environments, business systems, and processes as 2020 comes to a close, trends will continue to follow suit. That said, we’re quite excited to see what’s to come in 2021 in terms of technology.
These new norms have had a massive influence on technology, especially cloud space and computing. So today, we decided to create this article in an effort to reflect on the cloud trends of 2020 and what’s expected to come based on such trends in 2021.
We’ve already discussed the cloud trends that have arisen in 2020.
These trends were mainly due in part to the coronavirus. Businesses are having to go remote, and therefore, employees going online from their homes. While we won’t go to the detail here, we will do a brief recap of the cloud trends of 2020 before diving into what’s anticipated for 2021.
As discussed in our previous article, edge computing has had a major influence on industries due to the need for quicker access to the cloud. Businesses across the globe are switching to operating remotely. Cross-functional teams require new systems to be in place for business management and communication.
This widespread change has caused a lot of companies to switch to storing locally for easier access and increased security. Businesses are pairing this strategy of edge computing alongside traditional cloud computing. This is to ensure their data can be accessible at quicker rates, whilst remaining central.
Cloud computing is no and can no longer remain a glorified drive. The incredible amount of data and information being transferred and stored for industry-level businesses cannot function without cloud automation.
Imagine the scenario of enterprises such as Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, or Apple remotely. Imagine them operating their many teams and departments, communicating and sending massive amounts of data, coordinating the processes behind the end-products of what consumers use on a daily without an automated cloud to backup and store all of this sensitive and valuable data. That is an impossible scenario.
Cloud automation is the “checking to see if you locked the doors” in computing form. It is what keeps businesses in the races with the dead sprint our world seems to be taking. It is that extra assurance and without automation, 2020 would have been the year we would have each witnessed the world crumble.
Industry-specific needs require industry-specific clouds. While this may have been a “vitamin” in prior years, it evolved into an aspirin due to Covid-19 shaking up our norms in 2020.
With the abrupt and drastic shift in industry operations and processes, CEO’s and management teams scrambled to save face and ensure the continuing of their operations. This took a bit of trial and error, yet this phase of experimentation gave a grasp on the shortcomings and how they were to address them.
This is where we see this specialized cloud trend come into fruition. Industries such as health, law, and finance specifically found use and dependency on this exact cloud trend. Whether it be due in part to certain laws enforcing particular regulations on certain industries, or a need for increased security to due data-sensitive information, as more industries switched to cloud computing, they too later had to migrate to industry-specific clouds designed and developed precisely for their unique needs.
No business wants to be beholden to another.
That is poor business practice and poor judgment. Cloud agnostic services abide by this very notion. Just as businesses “diversity their portfolio” in the physical, they’re doing so with their cloud servers.
We’ve seen businesses implement new strategies for storing, securing, and transferring data through more robust and intelligent manners. An example of this is through using a hybrid cloud strategy as a means to avoid staying dependent on one single server. This strategy is smart as it avoids dependency and reliance on one single server.
In worst-case scenarios, if one server was compromised that only one is compromised.
So what do these specific trends mean for 2021?
How do they define that’s to come in 2021?
Well, it’s exciting in terms of innovating the current systems and how such innovations will have an effect on a large-scale concerning the industry operations and the subsequent impact on the overall global economy.
That’s neither here nor there for this particular subject, however. Rather, we can predict what could happen with the cloud computing sector due to the increased demand and industry specificities that will follow.
Each of these trends we can predict will soon work in conjunction with one another. You may find an increasingly common scenario in which businesses incorporate both a local and edge computing cloud that is specific to their industry, fully automated and hybrid.
This may just become the norm and cloud service providers will have to adapt to such demand, in order to remain above the current and potential competition. This will mean an increase in competition from the new demands and expectations that will eventually be put in place by the industry. Leading quite perfectly into our next point.
As data and cloud service providers bustle about to meet the new complex needs of business across the board, a reshuffling will occur. This is exciting for businesses and consumers alike. As pressures rise to deliver more complex needs an ensuing increase in competition will follow.
Cloud service providers will have to provide for their consumer base, businesses. To persist amongst the competition, the quality of service will become more competitive and therefore, better. We will see an increase in efficiency and speed to accommodate the complex cloud approach and other trends to come.
We predict that this will be implemented by cloud service providers incorporating AI into their processes. This will be done in order to keep up with the demands and expectations. AI is crucial in the success of cloud service providers and their consumer-base.
AI will cover the bases for cloud automation and edge and local computing. This technology revisits the blindspots humans can miss. It too can allow for cloud service providers to redesign their business models in order to implement additional services such as cloud-agnostic services and industry-specific cloud computing.
As time goes on, the competition will become more cut-throat. This will allow cloud service providers to have the means to deliver to their bases. As well as their bases’ ever-evolving needs for successful operation.
In short, we will see a massive improvement in the quality, speed, and efficiency for industry complex cloud needs. Advancements in AI technology will succeed and come to full futuristic fruition.
Increased competition will force cloud service providers to become better. This is obvious. Yet, another facet to the new cloud trends will allow industries to have better control over their data and cloud computing.
How so?
Well, as demand increases for more complex needs, service providers will race to be the top providers. However, this doesn’t cover the need for cloud-agnostic services. The very definition of cloud-agnostic services is diversifying service providers. This is essentially a form of better “insurance” for industries.
We predict this need for a multi-cloud or hybrid-cloud system will break down barriers between providers. They will more than likely begin to team up or simply open a more effective discourse to provide the demand for their consumer base.
But what’s saying they have to?
If certain companies refuse, others will step up and cover that demand.
This is a huge positive for the industry and the consumer. Consumers can feel a bit more at ease with their information and data that is being transmitted. Businesses too can have more control over their cloud servers and service providers.
This control is immensely positive; don’t let the words’ commonly misplaced stigma misguide you. This complex cloud approach will breakdown barriers between providers. As a result, it should end the monopolization within the cloud computing sector.
So, what does this mean for your business? Well, simply put, don’t try to outrun a cloud trend, instead, invest in a worthy cloud service provider. And we a Netdepot are just that, a worthy service provider.
Not only are we trusted by industries across the globe, but we also have a reputation of utmost expertise and consistent delivery. We offer many services unique to each industry’s unique needs and have a team on-site, ready to answer any persisting questions.
Contact us, we love to help you get started in securing your business’ continued success in 2021 and beyond.