The need for cloud computing
Cloud computing is a popular and established IT trend before the pandemic changed our lives. However, during the lockdown period, everyone shifted to remote working. This change brought the cloud into the spotlight. Cloud technologies are moving away from a linear evolution and getting ready for exponential growth. Indeed the growth of remote working and flexible offices means there is a growing need for cloud computing. This growth surely caused many organizations and companies around the world to try and adopt a cloud-first strategy.
Evidently, the increased usage of cloud computing also leads to several new trends showing up in the industry.
Edge computing
Edge computing is another way to compute and store data in a cloud space. It is a new and growing cloud trend where companies create localized data centers for computation and storage. Moreover, these centers are near the company and not at a centralized location. Presently, most data storage centers are many miles away.
Edge computing is a decentralized computing infrastructure that reduces latency issues and increases app performance. Again, the benefit of having the data and resources close to the end-users is that they can locally process the data. This benefit certainly saves the company money and time. Despite this, many think of Edge computing as a threat to cloud computing. Of course, that is not true. On the contrary, the relationship between the two benefits each other.
Companies use edge computing to gather time-sensitive information. while cloud computing processes data not time-driven. Presently, the Edge computing market is on the rise. Its present trajectory is set for incredible growth this year. It provides several benefits such as an increased data processing speed, lower latency, great connectivity, privacy, support, security, and reduced volumes of transmitted data.
Serverless functions
Serverless computing was in the industry for many years now. Recently though, it is getting attention from big companies in the cloud computing world. It uses a pay-as-you-go model. Here companies only pay for the services they use. This approach enables the infrastructure to scale based on its requirements. It also reduces the need for significant capital investment.
Serverless computing also removes the risk of back-end failures. Additionally, the approach provides safe sandboxes for companies to experiment with. In other words, they can freely implement and use their code. The coming years will see serverless computing play a significant role in our lives. For instance, they can create new user experiences.
Kubernetes enabling blockchain
Blockchain is an incredible technology that records data in a public or private network on a shared digital ledger. The open nature of blockchain ensures that it is tamper-proof. It maintains an accurate transaction record at all times. And it can do this without relying on any central figure.
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform where users can automatically, deploy, manage, and scale containerized infrastructure. The current blockchain infrastructure cannot scale with regard to data management and storage. This problem makes it hard to integrate blockchain systems into big data applications. That is where Kubernetes comes in. Kubernetes for blockchain can rapidly scale environments and ensure high availability. The tech achieves this by always having multiple containers running for key services.
Blockchain on Kubernetes enables service interoperability with all organizations. The other advantage here is upgradeability and simplified deployment. Deploying blockchain networks and their parts through Kubernetes clusters could become the adoption standard in a couple of years. The reason being is that it solves blockchain’s biggest issues. Those issues are the complexity and difficulty of integrating it into any business.
AI in cloud computing
Cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence have a mutual relationship. AI powers cloud computing and the latter plays a vital role in delivering AI services. Cloud services also democratize AI by opening it up to a broader customer base. It gives smaller businesses access to AI-powered business services. It also gains access to advanced machine learning functions.
Combining cloud computing and AI is a cost-effective way to benefit from both. AI helps the cloud gain insights and manage data. In turn, the cloud frequently backs up data and recovery in a digital environment. The development and evolution of AI and the Cloud are interconnected and this will be noticeable in 2022.
Cloud gaming
Cloud gaming is an emerging technology where users can stream almost any game for a monthly subscription fee. A player can play games on their smartphone, laptop, and desktop instead of a console.
Using cloud technology in the gaming industry has many benefits. Firstly, it increases the need for multiplayer games and removes current platform barriers. In addition, cloud gaming also removes the need for users to have storage space, piracy issues, and rely on expensive consoles. Evidently, these benefits lead to better growth for the gaming industry and lower costs.
Presently, the biggest players in cloud gaming are Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Sony, NVIDIA, and Samsung. Cloud gaming is not as powerful as it could be but, it is growing. The transition ensures the future of cloud gaming always evolves. Furthermore, it creates a future where more people want to play games on the cloud.
Multi-cloud and hybrid infrastructure
A hybrid service combines the strengths between two approaches and results in a better solution. Public servers can house data that needs to be frequently accessed. Sensitive data is stored on private servers and has monitored access. A balanced hybrid strategy between the two gives businesses the best of both sides.
Many organizations went past the phase of moving their workload to a single cloud vendor. They are looking to indulge in the whole experience. This need leads to multi-cloud environments where services from different vendors are used. A multi-cloud model helps companies find the cloud providers best suited for their unique applications, business requirements, availability, and environments. Going forward, more organizations will develop cloud-native apps with nearly no architectural dependence on a specific cloud provider.
The year 2022 will see more business leaders and enterprises seeing the benefits of these models and embracing them. That way, they can enjoy the agility and elasticity provided by the cloud.
An emphasis on tighter security
Security is one of the most crucial concerns in the cloud computing world. Some users see cloud computing as a secure option while others see the opposite. The truth is that many cloud vendors and on-premises solutions need extra security to overcome data breaches and ransomware attacks.
Many tech experts advocate the need for increasing managed security service providers and a better policy for user access management. Companies recognize that security breaches can stem from internal and external factors. Hence, there is a need to train users and make them compliant with an organization’s security policies.
Quantum computing
Technology is always evolving and cloud computing is no exception. The performance of computers is expected to improve as time moves on. This evolution is where quantum computing comes into play.
Hardware development through entanglement, superposition, and other quantum mechanical phenomena is the key to building a robust system. Through quantum computing, users can build computers and servers to process information at incredible speeds.
IoT: Internet of Things
Think of IoT as the growth of smart devices that can get an IP address. Lightbulbs can integrate with phones and automatically dim or brighten the room based on the time of day. Smartwatches engage with news outlets and bring up headlines on your wrist. Electric cars download and install software updates while traveling. In 2020, more than 50 billion IoT devices were sold. That number indicates that IoT devices are facing widespread adoption and show no signs of slowing down.
Every IoT device engages with cloud services in various ways. They offload data and processing power to remote servers with better computing power. Growth in IoT increases the demand for cloud computing in the coming years.
A greener cloud
The power requirements, heat management, and infrastructure outlay have a significant impact on the environment. Going forward, these issues must be addressed. Cloud providers are in a constant push for greater efficiency in their hardware and software. According to many experts, even tiny improvements in the architecture can lead to significant long-term reductions in power consumption.
Google utilizes historical weather data to preempt server farm cooling needs while Microsoft experimented with aquatic data centers. Amazon played to move its AWS to a fully renewable energy operation by 2025 and announced the construction of 23 new wind and solar projects in 2021.
Electronic waste is another growing concern as old hardware is discarded in large quantities every year. The shortage of rare earth materials and supply chain breakages in producing computer hardware further compounds the issue. Every day, the need for a robust recycling system for computer hardware only increases.
Conclusion
The last two years gave cloud computing the time needed to become a big technological winner. It became a trend that enables innovation and a standard that enables cost savings and flexibility. The continued importance of cloud computing in nearly every business operation ensures that it is here to stay. Hence, in this digital landscape of dynamic and varied architecture, it is clear that new trends in cloud computing will emerge.
