Taking a look at the IT trends of 2022, it becomes clear that migrating to the cloud can address many of the current infrastructure challenges that businesses face. Simultaneously, it lays the groundwork for future developments. In the German-speaking region, there was historically some scepticism surrounding the cloud, resulting in many workloads remaining housed in local data centres.
However, cloud operations offer significant advantages over on-premises operations, and there's a gradual shift in perspective taking place. It's no coincidence that the three largest hyperscalers—Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—with their respective cloud services, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), are experiencing robust growth.
Through an examination of five current IT trends, we'll illustrate why migrating to the public cloud represents the best path for preparing your company for the future.
Trend 1: Improve Remote Work and Collaboration
Although as-a-service solutions were already on the rise before the Corona pandemic, this trend has accelerated in the last two years. One of the reasons: 59% of IT executives see improving remote work as the most important task of all, according to IDC research*. Online-based collaboration solutions such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365 are therefore an integral part of everyday work in more and more companies.
Whether ERP systems or other applications, almost everything is now available as software-as-a-service (SaaS). This means, among other things, location- and device-independent access, scalability, and automatic updates. Storing your data in your own data centre thus becomes superfluous. At the same time, you benefit from the following advantages.
Trend 2: Advanced security
For quite some time, businesses held a considerable degree of scepticism when it came to the security of cloud providers. However, according to the IDC study, a notable 84% of IT leaders now believe that cloud infrastructures are either as secure as or even more secure than their in-house, on-premises solutions.
There are valid reasons for this shift in perception. Hyperscale cloud providers possess both the resources and expertise necessary to continuously test and enhance security features and defences. This ongoing commitment is essential because security is more of a dynamic process than a static state.
As new threats emerge and work practices evolve, such as the increasing prevalence of remote work from home, novel security approaches become imperative. Cloud providers have significant resources at their disposal to address these evolving challenges. Consider the size of your IT security team in comparison to the dedicated and sizable teams within hyperscale cloud providers.
These teams are responsible for ensuring and consistently improving the security of the cloud platform. Embracing migration to the public cloud empowers your organisation to focus on activities that bring tangible value.
Trend 3: Data Analytics (often extended to include AI and ML)
The IDC study shows that IT executives continue to see intelligent analysis of data as one of their top priorities for 2022 and beyond. This is not surprising, as the right use of Big Data can become a real competitive advantage for your business. The information gained and, more importantly, processed can be used to identify trends, develop strategies and optimise processes. The challenge today is no longer necessarily the generation of data, but above all the consolidation and advanced analysis.
The public cloud is made for this. Its scalability is ideal for handling large volumes of data, so that sufficient storage and computing capacity is available at all times. At the same time, enormous costs can be saved according to the pay-as-you-go or pay-per-use model, as you only pay for what you need in terms of resources. Last but not least is speed. Thanks to real-time analyses, you can react quickly to new circumstances. If you also don't want to miss out on smart analysis and optimization options with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), there's no way around the cloud.
Trend 4: Hybrid and Multi Cloud
Organisations are often concerned about being too dependent on individual digital technology vendors. So-called "vendor lock-in" can lead to higher costs over time or even prevent companies from benefiting from innovative advances from other providers. IT executives want to counter this, even if it initially makes management more complex.
Public cloud providers are also aware of this, which is why Amazon, Microsoft and Google offer various services to accommodate a hybrid or multi-cloud approach. A trend that reduces the challenge of managing multiple public clouds is also the widespread use of open source solutions. This forms the basis of many public cloud services today. When two or more public cloud providers rely on the same open source code and code base and open APIs, it makes it easier to move workloads and data between different clouds. Even if you initially choose one public cloud provider for the migration, this keeps you flexible.
If you choose a multi-public cloud approach, you also benefit from the added value of multiple providers. For example, you can obtain computing power where it is currently cheapest, or use a selected service from one provider for data processing.
Trend 5: Sustainability and Green IT
The idea of ecological sustainability is playing an increasingly important role not only in society, but also in the IT industry. According to the IDC study, for example, 90% of IT executives say that "Green IT" is relevant to them.
Due to internal goals, legal regulations or the expectations of customers, there is no way around the topic of sustainability. The three major hyperscalers are also aware of this, which is why they have issued ambitious targets:
- Amazon promises to power its cloud operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.
- Microsoft even wants to become CO₂-negative by 2030. This applies both to direct emissions and to the entire supply and value chain. When comparing on-premise and cloud, the results of a 2018 study are also interesting. Microsoft states that using the Microsoft Azure platform is 93% more energy efficient and 98% more CO₂-efficient than on-premise solutions.
- Google has even been covering 100% of its annual electricity consumption by purchasing renewable energy since 2017. It also aims to switch completely to zero-carbon energy by 2030 and use it everywhere, 24/7.
When you migrate to the public cloud, however, you don't just benefit from the sustainable efforts of public cloud providers. Your own data centre uses less power to run hardware or cooling after a migration. This also saves water, which is also a precious natural resource. By migrating to the public cloud, you reduce your CO₂ consumption as a company and participate in an ecologically sustainable supply chain.
Source: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13Dkoo7RNYf6OYVtQuQqnUhZSS5Cu1pXb/view