Although there are a number of trends in the future of cloud computing, only a few of these trends will impact modern business models on a large and enduring scale. The importance of Cloud computing in an increasingly connected world draws attention to the significance of secure remote data management and the value that enterprises and individuals place on being able to access their files.
What’s more, this matters in both personal and professional contexts. being able to access a large sum of information from anywhere in the world on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone has become a much-needed imperative for organizations with a large sales force. This is just one of the many reasons Cloud computing is no longer the ‘next wave’ of information technology, it’s already here.
Although some cloud detractors downplay the benefits of cloud accessibility argument based on not wanting to have access to business information at all times, these same detractors will likely feel differently when all their competition is resorting to use of cloud-based accessibility to gain the upper-hand and win more customers.
However, with the widespread adoption of cloud computing comes the natural question, “What next?” Here are some of the ways we may see Cloud computing change:
Trend 1: Cloud as the IT norm
Scalability has always been the backbone of agile enterprise computing. Salesforce, an integration partner of ours, mentions that moving to the cloud has numerous benefits, including security, collaboration, accessibility, document control, environmental friendliness, and more.
Smart file storage, audit-ready data storage, secure Cloud backup, and federated IT architecture rely on scalability in order to adapt to rapid changes. This scalability is expected to be supported by:
- Innovations in Cloud-enabling hardware and hardware virtualization
- A gradual phasing out of dedicated server storage and backup
- Dedicated virtual server environments offering nearly unlimited scalability
Trend 2: Software to Service
One of the crucial duties of IT services is the scheduled backup and retrieval of enterprise data, as it’s one of the most important trends in the future of cloud computing.
While the importance of these functions to the risk management function of an enterprise cannot be underestimated, important core functions including development, implementation, deployment, and document management will move from being run on proprietary software to running entirely on a Cloud platform.
While Software as a Service (SaaS) models have been embraced by large enterprises, cheaper Cloud services are expected to make SaaS and Platform as a Service (PaaS) models accessible to small developers and companies.
Small and medium-sized businesses will be able to leverage significantly cheaper Cloud services that offer enterprise-level services at a fraction of the cost.
The cloud has been around much longer than most people give it credit for. Although it’s only come into popular use within the past 10 years, it’s been around since the 1960s. Additionally, some people are uncomfortable with the idea of cloud computing, but these beliefs are largely unfounded. As a very difficult technology to grasp, Larry Ellison of Oracle even once admitted that he did not understand what the cloud is.
Trend 3: Social and Modular Capabilities: Important Trends in the Future of Cloud Computing
As more IT firms migrate to a Cloud-based platform environment, we can expect to see innovative cross-platform, pan-industry platform interfaces that allow independent companies to sell and operate their Cloud-based services as a module.
For example, an IT company building a Cloud-based software can ‘write in’ a module that is compatible with a remote file storage and backup service such as eFileCabinet and other Cloud-based service providers to offer a bespoke service platform solution for specific industry types.
Additionally, resource elasticity will be another definitive trend of the near future in cloud computing. One of the traits of this movement will entail internal speed collaboration only associated with that of external resource sharing.
And entire workflow processes will be allocated around the existing resources of the cloud’s infrastructure. Additionally, more traditional platforms, including those of the document management variety, will be transposed to the level of the operating system. And the future of cloud interoperability will hinge on how various clouds interact with one another at the level of this operating system.
Most experts predict this is one of the most pressing trends in the future of cloud computing, as it will change the way organizations leverage their managed services, including the depth of which these managed services will have within the organizations themselves. Instead of comprising a small component of storage and collaboration, cloud environments will subsume large business processes, and with increased scale.
There will also be an extensive effort to enable cross-functionality across similar networks, thereby improving latency. This will be a trend that brings geographic scope to the impact of the cloud environment, and will encourage businesses to adopt platforms similar to areas of innovation such as Silicon Valley and The Silicon Slopes in Utah, the latter of these two places being where eFileCabinet’s Cloud-based document management system is made.
Social platform capabilities are expected to include:
- Intuitive hardware/software association based on tasks
- Hybrid private and public Cloud services
- Personalized enterprise file access and security
- 100% paperless office environment
- The ability to put your office in your pocket
- A platform for hyper-collaboration
- Reduced costs and operating expenses
- Inlets to better managed services
The future of Cloud computing is expected to create a hyper-scalable IT environment that allows small developers, cross-platform specialists, and small and medium-sized businesses to compete and collaborate with larger enterprises across all areas of the software life cycle.
Additionally, IBM has recently noted that cloud computing will become so popular in 2017 that many businesses not relying on it will struggle to streamline collaboration efforts beyond the norm. In our opinion, this is correct: The sooner companies adopt cloud based technologies, the better, and the more comfortable overarching IT infrastructures are with the reality of the cloud’s present day impact, the better.
These trends in the future of cloud computing will undoubtedly impact business. How will you prepare yourself to adapt to the ever-changing technological climate?