By Darren Bowling, Senior Advisor at Cloudreach
Several industries, including healthcare, sports, travel and retail, have embraced cloud technology in recent years. As a result, investment in cloud-based applications is increasing as more businesses realise the benefits of storing and accessing data in the cloud.
As Gartner predicts, end-user spending on public cloud services will exceed $480 billion by 2022. But this is only the beginning; the global cloud computing market is estimated to grow to be worth $1 trillion by 2028. The development of new, emerging cloud technologies and services is increasing, and 2023 will see more businesses from varied industries utilise the cloud. Here are six trends to watch out for.
- Enterprises are moving towards Cloud Native Technologies
As we see an increase in investment in cloud computing, we are also seeing a decrease in investment in other areas of IT, which are becoming less of a priority, including end-user devices such as computers and laptops.
Cloud native technology is becoming increasingly popular among businesses due to the many advantages it offers. These advantages include improved efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. In order to get the most out of cloud native technology, businesses need to invest in people by training them on how to use new cloud technologies and processes. Additionally, businesses should focus on maintaining employee satisfaction and motivation. By doing so, businesses will be able to run more efficiently when adopting and implementing cloud native technologies.
- Cloud reducing carbon emissions
As we move closer to a low-carbon future, we expect to see more businesses decarbonising their digital assets using the cloud over the next few years. By storing data and applications in the cloud, organisations can reduce their overall carbon emissions and cloud providers can help IT estates and supply chains lower emissions by switching to renewable energy sources and energy-efficient data centres.
In the future, we anticipate that an increasing number of enterprises will adopt this approach. A large percentage of Enterprises increasingly recognise the cloud as a key resource in their sustainability strategies and IDC predicts this number to reach 85% by 2023. This shift is driven by the many benefits of using the cloud, including helping to reduce carbon emissions.
- Talent Crisis: Enterprises Find New Solutions to Answer a Complex Problem
As the world increasingly relies on digital technologies, the skills employees need to excel in their roles are changing. To close the widening skills gap, many organisations are offering apprenticeships and training programs that give employees the chance to learn new, in-demand skills and further their careers. In some cases, employers are forgoing the university degree requirement for candidates with relevant digital apprenticeships under their belt – making it easier for people from a variety of backgrounds to enter the workforce.
- Connecting regions: Large-Scale 5G and IoT applications
5G and IoT technologies can benefit businesses in many ways, such as reducing costs, increasing operational efficiency, and assisting with decarbonization and sustainability efforts. However, these technologies can only be fully leveraged if businesses have cloud architectures that are flexible enough to support them in any situation. By ensuring that their cloud architectures are flexible, businesses can take full advantage of 5G and IoT technologies and reap all of the benefits that they have to offer to support them in any situation. By doing so, organisations can increase operational efficiencies, reduce costs and redundancies across their value chains, and assist with decarbonization and sustainability efforts.
- The evolving role of the CIO
As business priorities shift and evolve, so too must the role of the CIO. In the past, CIOs were primarily responsible for managing technology investments made by businesses. However, people and culture have become increasingly important considerations in business change implementations and CIOs must expand their scope of responsibility to include management of their team, technology, and organisational culture. This will be an essential factor for organisations in leading successful business change in 2023 and beyond.
- How Cloud-Native Enterprises Can Drive Economic Efficiency
Businesses are increasingly looking to their finance and accounting departments to take the lead in improving financial performance. One key metric in this regard is the financial quotient (FQ) of a company, which captures its financial health and resilience. To improve their FQ, businesses are looking to adopt best practices in cloud economics, such as resource and capacity planning, cost optimisation and billing and invoicing.
With this knowledge, businesses can make informed decisions that fit their needs and budget and create accountability throughout their organisation.
A glance at 2023 and beyond
Cloud adoption has been a major focus for businesses in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue in 2023. A cloud-first strategy can help organisations achieve their goals and future-proof their infrastructures. However, on-premise data storage still has a place for many enterprises.
As such, these trends suggest a growing and evolving cloud industry, with hybrid and native cloud models being increasingly adopted by organisations. We can expect to see these trends catch on in the business world and lead to new technological innovations, greater sustainability, and a growing workforce.
