Cloud Computing: Trends, Challenges and Benefits
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It’s interesting to observe how our world has changed from traditional infrastructures to becoming more cloud-based. Yes! We are discussing the omnipresent “cloud.” Cloud computing has been there for almost two decades, and despite statistics showing commercial savings, cost-benefit analyses were never conclusive. Nevertheless, it has changed how companies communicate, store, and exchange information. It has also changed how they manage computing resources.
Cloud computing provides modern organizations with cost savings, scalability, flexibility, efficiency, and security. Instead of using internal systems, 70% of our enterprises operate in the cloud. You may have noticed that buying flight tickets or accessing medical records is no longer a Herculean task. That’s all due to the cloud network services.
The Flexera 2022 State of the Cloud report states that 59 % of companies maximize current cloud usage (cost saving). 57 % of enterprises are moving additional tasks to the cloud. And 42 % of organizations switch to SaaS from on-premises software.
Users worldwide access an open pool of resources, including apps, services, servers, data, and computer networks. A privately held cloud or a third-party server is used to make it possible. It improves data access and eliminates inconsistency in subsequent updates. Additionally, a small amount of administration is necessary.
Cloud services provide flexibility, excellent data storage, improved employee synchronization, and data security. As a result, organizations can make more intelligent decisions to develop and grow.
Before delving deep, let’s start with a brief discussion of the general characteristics and fundamental concepts of cloud computing.
What is Cloud Computing?
Delivering computing services across a network is referred to as cloud computing. This is because massive volumes of data are stored, managed, and processed through a network of shared and different servers (hosted on the Internet other than a local server or PC), reducing the cost of IT infrastructure.
Cloud integration has immense possibilities and scope. Therefore, the IT industry is divided into three groups.
1) Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software is owned, distributed, and remotely managed by one or more providers. In the beginning, Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, is a well-liked method for getting access to and paying for software. SaaS organizations allow you to rent hosted software rather than install it on your servers. Usually, a subscription fee is paid monthly or annually.
2) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Customers have on-demand access to computing resources owned and hosted by providers and are accompanied by storage and networking capabilities.
3) Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS is an extensive group of middleware (application infrastructure) services. These services include business process management, integration, database, and application platform.
This entire process deviates from conventional on-premise computing, which is carried out using a local server or pc. However, more and more users are not using these conventional techniques.
“According to Foundry’s survey, cloud computing found that 84 % of enterprises now have at least one application or element of their computing infrastructure in the cloud by 2022. And that in the following 18 months, 10% more companies are anticipated to migrate to a complete cloud environment.”
Useful link: What is Cloud Computing?
Top Trends in Cloud Computing
As more businesses rely on on-demand IT for anything from accounting software to full-fledged IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS solutions, the cloud continues to be a vital resource across multiple industries. Let’s have a look at five of the cloud computing trends you can expect to witness in the future of cloud computing.
1) The Growth of Serverless Computing
Serverless computing is a cloud approach in which the customer doesn’t have to deal with infrastructure administration and server provisioning. Instead, the cloud service providers manage the supporting infrastructure and distribute computing power following the demand.
Serverless computing provides many advantages to a business:
- You don’t pay a set price for a certain amount of bandwidth or storage. Instead, you can go with the pay-as-you-go model.
- The internal team is not responsible for managing the servers.
- The team can spend more time developing and developing new concepts because internal developers don’t have to provision complicated server clusters.
- There is no risk of under- or over-provisioning because serverless platforms scale autonomously without any help from the internal staff.
Serverless computing is rapidly growing at a quick pace. Expect to see more businesses use serverless solutions in the upcoming year as it offers yet another way to improve team agility and save costs.
“According to current predictions, between 2022 and 2026, demand for serverless technologies will increase by 22.6%.”
2) Even More Adoptions for AI and ML
All machine learning and AI platforms need a lot of processing power and data bandwidth, and the cloud is the most cost-effective approach to get these resources. AI and ML technologies complement each other.
- AI guides cloud IT services in managing data while obtaining reliable insights into user behavior, trends, preferences, etc.
- Cloud computing security increases the affordability and accessibility of AI.
Cloud computing plays a vital role in creating two emerging AI technologies.
Creative Algorithms:
These software tools use machine learning to produce everything from artificial data to works of art. These algorithms can also use to train different AI systems.
Language Modeling:
Programs that understand human languages more accurately are a technology that is expected to change how companies communicate with their customers.
Cloud computing for business will be crucial in delivering these services to customers and providing the necessary infrastructure for programs with high computational demands.
Not only big companies profit from AI’s usage of cloud network services. Cloud computing service models will become a popular entry point for high-end AI solutions among small and low-tech organizations. Start-ups and businesses with smaller resources could not use advanced ML and AI functionalities without the cloud.
Moreover, cloud computing service providers have allowed companies of all sizes and sorts to create AI/ML products. Since these AI/ML platforms demand a lot of processing power and bandwidth, cloud migration optimization will unavoidably play a significant role in that expansion.
“Consequently, experts predict that the AI market size will grow to USD 850.61 billion by 2028. “
3) Deploying to the Edge
Edge computing is a new method of processing data that doesn’t conduct activities inside a data center. Instead, processing and storing data occurs on specialized hardware at or close to the network’s edge.
Every edge server has different storage capabilities, networking, and computing, allowing it to perform the following tasks:
- Security
- Network switching and routing
- Load balancing
In place of cloud computing, edge computing is not a viable alternative. Instead, edge and cloud computing solutions work best together, and this trend is already apparent in 2022.
Using both cloud and edge technology allows IT environments to benefit from the cloud while also offering:
- Reduced bandwidth use
- Data processing almost instantly
- Low to no response time lag
- Reduced data transmission rates
In 2022, edge computing will be crucial as more businesses attempt to boost efficiency by linking edge devices with cloud integration. At least 40% of organizations will look to incorporate Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) into their toolchains so that you can anticipate a rise in SASE as well. With the help of this security architecture, a business may monitor and regulate access to cloud applications and services, on-premises infrastructure, and end-user devices. SASE guides in upholding a high standard of security and compliance, two of the primary issues with edge computing.
4) Kubernetes and Blockchain
Kubernetes is a technology that offers a tamper-proof digital ledger that can record data without depending on a centralized authority. Blockchain technology is a game-changer but has scaling issues, particularly massive data management and storage.
A blockchain environment can scale quickly with the help of Kubernetes (K8s), an open-source technology for automating deployments and scaling programs. With several containers running for a single essential service, K8s also offer high availability.
Enterprises will carry on pushing the boundaries of blockchain and K8s in 2022 since they work so well together.
5) More Focus on Cloud Security
The main barriers to cloud adoption continue to be issues about compliance, privacy, and integration problems. In response, cloud service providers are providing enhanced security features.
In the feature, we will witness huge demand for:
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE): SASE allows users to stably manage and regulate access across end-user devices, on-premise IT, and cloud apps.
Cloud-Based Disaster Recovery (DR): A business can use cloud disaster recovery to back up data and create a standby IT environment that can take over if the primary infrastructure fails.
A primary priority in 2022 will also be gaining visibility across many cloud application platforms. Additionally, business owners desire transparency across all IT environments to close gaps resulting in compliance infringements or cyberattacks.
Useful link: What is a Cloud Consultant?
Cloud Computing Challenges
Emerging cloud computing technologies have created numerous challenges for different areas of handling data and information. Therefore, if you decide to implement cloud infrastructure services, here are some challenges and risks you can encounter.
1) Privacy and Data Security
Privacy and data security are the two most concerning factors to cloud computing models. Cloud storage of user or business data is vital and private. Encryption, security hardware, and software can solve security and privacy problems.
Identity theft, data breaches, malware infections, and other security issues on the cloud lead to a decline in user confidence in your applications. This can lead to a heavy loss in revenue alongside stature and reputation. In addition, dealing with cloud computing for small businesses needs sending and receiving a massive amount of data quickly and is vulnerable to data leaks.
“A survey by Statista revealed that data loss or leakage was cited as the main challenge with cloud computing models by 64% of poll participants in 2021. Similarly, 62% of respondents cited data privacy as their second biggest concern”.
2) Cost Management
Without significant investments in new hardware, a company can rapidly increase its processing capacity in the cloud. Instead, businesses can use public carriers’ pay-as-you-go strategies to get additional processing. Most of the all-cloud providers offer a “pay-as-you-go” model. It brings down the total cost of the resources being used. However, defining and forecasting quantities and costs can occasionally be challenging due to cloud computing services’ on-demand and scalable nature.
3) Multi-Cloud Environments
Companies now have more options at their disposal, so they no longer depend only on one cloud provider but on a number of them. Nearly 84% of these organizations depend on several clouds, most of which employ hybrid cloud strategies. The infrastructure team frequently finds this to be hindering and challenging to manage. The process frequently ends up being extremely complicated for the IT team due to the variations among various cloud infrastructure services providers
4) Performance Challenges
Performance is a crucial factor when considering cloud-based solutions. If the cloud’s performance is subpar, users may stop using it, and businesses may suffer. For instance, the minimum amount of latency when loading an app or website might cause a significant decrease in the number of users. This latency may result from ineffective load balancing, which indicates that the server cannot divide incoming traffic effectively for the optimal user experience. Fault tolerance, which refers to the ability for operations to continue even when one or more of the components fail, also presents difficulties.
5) Portability
Application migration from one cloud provider to another should be simple, which is another challenge for cloud computing applications. Vendor lock-in must be avoided. Vendor lock-in must be avoided. Because each cloud provider utilizes a separate standard language for their systems, it is currently not practicable.
Useful link: What is Cloud Computing Security?
Benefits of Cloud Computing
There are various advantages of cloud computing, and some of them are
1) Cost Savings
Suppose users are worried about the cost associated with switching to cloud computing infrastructure. It’s not only just you. The initial expense of adopting a cloud-based solutions concerns 20% of companies. However, those who are attempting to balance the benefits and drawbacks of using the cloud need to consider more than just the initial cost; they also need to take ROI into account.
2) Security
When it comes to implementing a cloud based solution, many companies are concerned about security. After all, how can you be sure that files, programs, and other data are protected if they are not housed securely onsite? What stops a cybercriminal from doing the same thing if you can access your data remotely? Well, actually, quite a bit.
One of the responsibilities of a cloud based solutions is to monitor security properly. This is substantially more effective than a standard internal system. where a company must divide its resources among a variety of IT issues, security being only one of them.
3) Rapid Deployment and High Speed
Software development’s agility and speed have changed as a result of the quick creation of new cloud computing platforms. Developers may quickly test new concepts and create application architecture without being constrained by on-site hardware.
4) Scalability
Distinct businesses have different IT requirements; a huge company with more than 1000 employees won’t have the same needs as a start-up. Implementing the cloud computing platform is a fantastic solution since it enables companies to scale up, or down their IT departments fast and efficiently.
5) Backup and Restore Data
Data storage on the cloud based solutions is not limited by available space, which is beneficial for backup and restores operations. End-user data evolve and must be tracked for regulations or compliance requirements. Older software versions can be saved for later stages if a rollback or recovery is required.
Business Benefits of Cloud Computing Services (Infographic)
Conclusion
It doesn’t take too long to understand why more people are using cloud computing every year. Companies are aware of the advantages, trends, and challenges of cloud computing implementation and how it impacts their income, security, and teamwork.
An enterprise can avoid several issues that plague companies that rely on on-premises technology by using cloud platform solutions if users have any queries regarding how to efficiently implement the cloud for their business or how to improve cloud performance and reduce costs. Then it’s time to contact Veritis.
Veritis, the Stevie Award winner, provides companies with cost-effective cloud services to help them change their IT environments. In addition, our expert team offers cutting-edge cloud computing consulting services that enable businesses to increase their productivity significantly.
Resolve Your Cloud Computing Challenges
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