While businesses these days are finally becoming more aware of the benefits that cloud computing can offer, the truth is that the development of cloud computing is far from complete.
The technology still has plenty to offer businesses of all types and is still going through many changes that will continue to influence and revolutionise the way that companies operate and what they can accomplish in the cloud.
While much of the changes that will come to cloud computing can’t be predicted, there are a few things that are expected to happen in the coming year.
Below are a few of the main things that can be expected from cloud computing during 2018 and beyond.
1. An Increase in Cloud Security
One of the main things to expect from cloud computing in the coming year is that there will be a major increase of focus in cloud security.
Recent high-profile security breaches have businesses worried about the safety of their important data, and cyber-security threats are continuing to increase. Many businesses are sceptical about using cloud services due to worries about security and the safety of their data.
Over the coming year, cloud computing service providers will ensure that they tighten their security to the greatest extent of their ability to offer businesses and their big data plenty of protection.
The reality is that there is a huge opportunity in the coming year for cloud service providers to not only provide excellent cloud-based services but to also offer businesses an increased amount of security beyond what companies can achieve on their own. Cloud computing providers will work increasingly hard over the coming year to ensure their security is greater than ever before.
2. Larger Storage Capacities
Another thing that we can expect to see from cloud computing is that providers will be investing in greater storage capacities. With more businesses joining in on the cloud computing trend than ever before, more space than ever will be needed to handle the increases in data and storage needs that businesses will have.
Big data is being utilised at an alarming rate and businesses are using analytics to process very large datasets. Low-cost storage options will be needed by businesses and will allow them to keep working at an optimal productivity level. Providers will have to ensure that they have the necessary capacity to meet the needs of the market.
According to a Cisco survey, data storage is expected to grow to a whopping 1.1ZB during 2018. This is twice the amount of storage space that was available in 2017.
It’s easy to see that cloud computing is gaining in popularity, and along with it, more storage will be essential.
3. The Growth of the Internet of Things
While the Internet of Things (IoT) has already grown immensely in the past year, the prediction is that it will experience even more growth in 2018 and beyond. This growth is not only changing our daily lives but is also changing entire industries as well.
IoT devices usually connect to the cloud to store information and function properly, and cloud computing will grow even stronger in the coming year due to an even larger amount of devices which connect to a cloud service provider. While the IoT currently includes many types of items from home appliances to vehicles, more items are predicted to make the move to the cloud very soon.
It’s also predicted that the Internet of Everything (IoE) will experience more growth as well. The IoE will enable even more things, not just physical devices, to be connected to the cloud, further increasing the relevance of cloud computing providers.
4. Additional Cloud Services
While cloud computing typically is known to include three distinct models, as outlined in this blog, in 2018, more models and types of services are expected to develop.
Software as a Service (SaaS) is currently the most popular cloud-based model that businesses are making use of. However, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) are also crucial for many businesses.
IaaS and PaaS have already been increasing in popularity in recent months but will likely continue to experience a large growth during the coming year. Along with the increase of these models and cloud computing as a whole, it’s not unlikely that entirely new models will appear and begin to offer more benefits to businesses and companies.
Whatever these new models may be is yet to be determined, but it’s clear that these new services will continue to change the way companies do business and the way that entire industries function.
Final Thoughts
Cloud computing is only in its infancy, and while it has already changed the way many companies operate, it is just getting started.
It’s hard to predict what types of technology will develop over the coming years. However, it is clear that things will always change. Cloud computing is no different, and over the coming year, many developments will continue to come, and the technology will continue to morph over time, influencing the world around us in big ways.