Cloud computing is here, and it is here to stay. The global adoption of the cloud is growing exponentially and by 2025, 80% of all businesses would have migrated to the cloud. Why is the cloud such a popular IT infrastructure choice for business? Put simply, the cloud seems to offer it all – application software, databases, VPNs and much more. Here we look at some of the prevalent trends in cloud computing.
Global Adoption
Dave Bartoletti, a Senior Analyst at Forrester, claimed that 2019 was the year of global adoption of cloud computing by enterprise – and he was right! In a report by Bartoletti and colleague Lauren Nelson, the analyst’s remark:
“In 2019, cloud computing will be shorthand for the best way to turn disruptive ideas into amazing software.”
Another mover and shaker in the cloud computing world is serverless. Serverless cloud was adopted by 21% of businesses in 2018, thus becoming the fastest growing extended cloud service. Compared to 2017, serverless adoption is up by 75%.
Public Cloud
The use of public cloud is also gaining momentum across enterprises. Remember that the public cloud is an inexpensive cloud computing platform in which consumers can access web resources via the internet. Typical public cloud vendors are Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Public cloud is also more scalable than private cloud or onsite servers.
Public cloud spending is currently growing at 24%, three times faster than private cloud. By 2018, public cloud adoption had reached 92%, up 3 % compared to the year before. Bartoletti claims that 60% of United States enterprises use public cloud computing, up from 12% five years ago.
Private and Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid cloud infrastructure is when companies use a mix of onsite private cloud and third-party public cloud. The advantages are that workloads can be easily moved between the two platforms and that sensitive, critical data remains secure and stored on-premises.
Many companies prefer a hybrid cloud strategy over public cloud, 28% to be precise. Some simple yet revealing statistics: hybrid cloud adoption increased by 7% in 2019 to reach 58%. For the same timeframe, private cloud adoption dropped 3% to a level of 72%. According to Forbes, 22% of enterprises will upload their workload to the hybrid cloud in 2020.
Cloud Vendor Stats
| Vendor | % Cloud Usage in 2018 |
| AWS | 68 |
| Azure | 68 |
| Oracle | 10 |
| IBM | 15 |
| Google Cloud | 19 |
Security Trends
Cybersecurity underpins the effective operation of any IT infrastructure. Going hand in hand with this, as more people adopt the cloud, then cybersecurity threats increase at an alarming rate. The cloud computing market estimates that more than 50% of companies to not have systems for managing, monitoring or security cloud applications. And that’s not good news.
The cloud comes with many vulnerabilities such as data breaches, human error, malicious insiders and DDoS attacks. Companies need to take heed and invest in foolproof cybersecurity protection. Cybersecurity Ventures, the world’s leading researcher on the global cyber economy, predicts that in 2021, cybercrime will cost the world in excess of £4 trillion. That said, protect your cloud before it’s too late.
Last Word
Cloud initiatives will take a 70% bite out of all IT spending in 2020. That’s more than managed services or IT procurement. At the end of the day, cloud computing provides a cheaper, easier to manage and safe option compared to alternatives.
