Image: © Photobank/Stock.adobe.com
Industry experts weigh in on how cloud technologies are changing the way businesses function and grow, including new innovations in cloud itself.
Gone are the days when on-site infrastructure was sufficient to hold the copious amounts of data needed to stay competitive as a business. With a little help from the pandemic-induced urgency for digital transformation, businesses are now migrating to the cloud en masse to stay on top.
Mike Kiersey, head of sales engineering EMEA at software development company Boomi, thinks that 2023 will be the year of the cloud.
“Integration will always be needed in an organisation’s digital transformation journey. Data movement is happening more often in real-time, and it has become crucial to successful business operations,” he said recently.
“Therefore, the ability to have ubiquitous access to data at speed is key for integration providers.”
2023 is the year to migrate
Cloud technologies have dramatically impacted how businesses operate. They allow businesses to grow and scale quickly, innovate at lightning speed and even expand into new markets.
In December, the London Stock Exchange – one of the oldest in the world – struck a £2.3bn 10-year deal with Microsoft to use its cloud services to transform its data and analytics business.
This trend of big organisations investing in the cloud heavily is only set to increase this year, and in the years to come. Those who don’t invest risk being left behind.
“For organisations that have maintained their on-premises networks, 2023 is the year to consider a migration to the cloud,” said Andy Glassley, director of innovation at US-based IT consultancy Core BTS.
“Furthermore, organisations that prioritise cloud innovation with streamlined organisational efficiency and enhance the customer experience are giving themselves a true competitive advantage.”
The rise of hybrid cloud
According to Glassley, organisations are looking to do more with their existing cloud investments and innovate through cloud-native applications, hybrid applications and modern data foundations as we enter the age of a cloud revolution.
Hybrid cloud, in particular, has been getting a lot of attention. It involves a mixed computing environment where applications are run using a combination of computing, storage, and services in different environments – including public and private clouds.
“Organisations are increasingly utilising a hybrid cloud approach in order to reap maximum benefits, including better security and placing workloads in the right location,” said Jake Madders, director and co-founder of Hyve Managed Hosting.
This means that enterprises will move from an application in a particular cloud to an application across multiple clouds.
“With software innovations, enterprises will be able to parse the application into components and choose which function they place where across their footprint – at the edge, private cloud/data centre or one of the public clouds,” added Kelly Ahuja, CEO at Versa Networks.
“This will be made possible with security and networking solutions that will span these hybrid cloud environments.”
Outlook remains strong
Despite lulls in earnings for major cloud providers such as AWS and Azure last year, largely because of economic downturns across the world, some think that the fundamental trajectory of the public cloud remains strong.
The latest Gartner forecasts, for instance, point to public cloud spending hitting $591.8bn in 2023 – up more than 20pc over last year.
“With challenging economic headwinds unfolding worldwide, the cloud will be vital as a cost-effective, flexible and scalable component of business IT infrastructure,” said Gordon McKenna, VP, cloud evangelist and alliances, at Ensono.
“The firms that thrive in 2023 will take advantage of this, utilising the cloud to drive sustained innovation and laying the groundwork for long-term growth when the economic climate improves.”
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
