While this decade comes to an end, it’s time to look ahead to what’s in store for the future. One area where business leaders are looking for continued development is the cloud. The cloud helps businesses with reducing costs, boosting efficiency, increasing agility, and assisting in overall growth and innovation. In the coming years, there are likely to be a variety of developments that will impact cloud technology. From new abilities to new members of the workforce, here are some of the trends we can expect in the years to come.
Developing Quantum Computing
As the amount of data collected increases, there will need to be a shift in processing time. Enter quantum computing: a high level of computing that looks to develop computer technology, based on quantum theory. This advanced type of computing will help with quickly organizing, categorizing, and analyzing cloud data. Using this technology, companies will not be backlogged by an unwieldy amount of data.
Adapting Omni-Cloud Solutions
While many companies have selected just one cloud provider, they may find themselves needing multiple cloud vendors to help with future problems. This tactic is known as omni-cloud, where a business uses more than one cloud provider to avoid being locked into one solution. By using more than one cloud vendor, businesses have options for meeting both internal and customer demands. However, some vendors, like Infor and NTT Communications, may not be able to keep up. That’s why having more than one vendor can help bridge any gaps in cloud capabilities. Currently, companies have been using multi-cloud or hybrid solutions, but omnicloud allows them to test a wider range of options.
Transforming SaaS to Intelligent SaaS
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) will be infused with extra abilities and become intelligent SaaS. Artificial intelligence (AI) will lead the charge on this transformation. With many benefits like automation, analytical insights, and chatbots, AI will help expand what software can do. In the coming years, it will be hard for organizations not to embrace intelligent optimization within all tools.
AI, the Internet of Things, and blockchain are all technologies that will generate more data to add to the cloud. The real-time data generation from these solutions can help with insights into what’s going on with customers and in the industry. Plus, these tools can run themselves in some instances, alleviating some monotonous administrative tasks.
Integrating Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology, which can track and record a product’s journey, is helping with tracking through all stages of the product life cycle to improve delivery. When the cloud is connected to this technology, businesses will have an even better understanding of what happened during a product’s delivery time. These insights, such as weather delays or tracking where a contaminated product originated, can save businesses millions of dollars. Although some companies are already executing this practice, it will continue to grow and mature in the coming years.
Personalizing Cloud Experience
Right now cloud businesses are creating solutions and applications to meet individual client needs. However, there will be more of this special treatment as companies demand software adjusted to their unique requirements. If the company is using a hybrid or multi-cloud approach then offering personalized options will be even more crucial.
An additional thought for cloud companies to consider is how the cloud will possibly become a large storage place for data. Businesses will want to share this data with a variety of people from their employees to clients. That’s where additional personalization might be necessary especially for companies that want specific people to see certain amounts of information.
Increasing Security Capabilities
With new data regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, companies are no longer allowed to be careless with consumer data collection and storage. Especially with new security measures in place, businesses do not want to face monetary penalties or legal action. Because there are businesses unaware of the impact of these regulations, cloud companies will need to be well versed in possible weak points.
Security itself also needs to improve to face off with thieves using technology like AI or social engineering. Although incidents like this have been small, there may be an increase of new cyberattacks due to new laws. This is why cloud companies will need to maintain and improve security measures.
Hiring Digital Natives
The new employees joining companies today come highly knowledgeable in technology and the wide variety of tools available. Known as digital natives, these individuals may create a divide between employees who are technology literate and those who are not. Businesses will have to adopt new training techniques or bring on additional cloud solutions to assist new team members.
The cloud keeps growing and developing new abilities to assist businesses. New ways of collecting data, along with new technology capabilities, will lead to further cloud benefits for businesses. What do you see as the next developments in cloud technology?
