Cloud technology enjoys widespread popularity and global presence today. Most enterprises are leveraging the immense power of the cloud for tangible as well as intangible benefits. Did you know that worldwide cloud investment is projected to go past $1 Trillion by the year 2027? Cloud technology has existed since decades but it's only in recent years that it has become a dominant technology. Enterprises cannot afford to ignore cloud technology if they desire to survive and thrive in the marketplace.

Cloud computing can be defined as the delivery of various services via the Internet. The services include software, networking resources, databases, servers as well as data storage. This facility eliminates the need for purchasing and maintaining on-premises hardware and software. Enterprises can avail of cloud services using an Internet connection. The beauty is that you only pay for resources you use. Enterprises can scale up or down cloud services depending upon their individual growth trajectory. You do not need technical expertise to use the cloud efficiently and effectively. Along with savings in terms of time and money, cloud services can be accessed from any geographical location.

The leading cloud providers currently are AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Salesforce, Tencent Cloud, VMware and SAP Cloud.

We take a look at 5 significant enterprise cloud technology trends to watch out for in 2024.

1. The Widespread Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Industry behemoths including AWS (Amazon Web Services) have significant investments in the above technologies. Foolproof data security is an existing and growing enterprise demand. Thanks to AI and ML, there is better insight into data access as well as usage patterns. The result is smarter and adaptive security measures. Businesses are able to swiftly identify and mitigate probable security threats.

By virtue of these technologies past data is thoroughly examined enabling enterprises to anticipate the amount of resources required in the future. AI and ML deliver future innovation and efficiencies for various enterprises.

1. Increasing Popularity of Hybrid and Multi-Cloud

There are 2 main types of cloud – public cloud and private cloud. Public cloud services are shared by multiple enterprises. However there emerges the challenge of data security and privacy in the public cloud. A private cloud is dedicated to a single enterprise. So, the security and privacy of a particular enterprise’s data is ensured. Multi-cloud is the usage of more than one cloud. Enterprises can assign different parts of their operations to different clouds. This resolves the tricky problem of vendor lock in.  In the multi-cloud scenario, the enterprise is not dependent on any single vendor. Also, money is saved as the enterprise can pick and choose different vendors for their cloud needs. 

In the hybrid cloud model, some resources are deployed on-premises whereas some resources are deployed on the cloud. On-premises environment provides exclusive control over data as well as applications and is better from the security and privacy perspective. Cloud environment yields benefits such as ease of scalability, saving of money, faster time-to-market and the benefit of flexibility. For your information in 2024, the percentage of large organizations adopting multi-cloud deployment is estimated to increase from 76% to 85%. Note that hybrid clouds are suitable for enterprises having legacy systems. By using the hybrid cloud model private data and applications remain private while the remaining data and applications enjoy the advantages associated with public cloud services.

1. Move towards Sustainability

Both cloud providers and enterprises using the cloud are emphasizing on the importance of reducing the global carbon footprint. Decision makers in different enterprises are increasingly looking for environment friendly cloud solutions. As such cloud providers are taking steps to minimize or eliminate the environmental impact of using their services.

It is estimated that the carbon emissions originating from the digital sector are 3-4% of the total amount. Carbon emissions are decreased by including eco-friendly practices and the use of environment friendly technologies. Examples of the latter are energy-efficient data centers as well as renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and others.  The goal of green computing is to bring down energy use as well as carbon emissions at all stages such as data centers, end-user operations as well as production.

1. Edge Computing

In the traditional cloud model, the servers are located in remote locations. Whereas in the edge computing model, enterprise data is processed close to the source. This brings down latency as well as ramps up performance. Edge computing makes possible real-time data analysis as well as decision making. This notable 2024 trend is driven by the popularity of 5G, algorithms consuming lesser memory as well as smaller sized processors that consume lesser power.

Edge computing refers to a type of networking architecture that reduces the gap between business applications and associated data sources including IoT devices and local edge servers. In Edge Computing, the computation process as well as data storage is done closer to the source sensors as well as devices. Currently the increasing use of IoT (Internet of Things) devices promotes the edge computing paradigm and makes real-time operations a reality.

1. Prevalence of no-code and low-code Cloud Services

Earlier one needed knowledge of programming languages and frameworks to develop software solutions. Thanks to no-code and low-code cloud services even people with absolutely no technical knowledge can develop quality apps, services as well as websites. Using these features aids in bringing down the time, money and effort required to develop software solutions. The number of errors is reduced and product development span is considerably reduced. The beauty is that developers do not need any kind of computing infrastructure or knowledge related to programming.

Miscellaneous Enterprise Cloud Technologies to Consider in 2024

There are other important trends in contemporary cloud technology too. As most of us are aware, cyberattacks are increasing in frequency and ability to inflict material as well as reputational damage. As such cloud service providers are heavily investing in the security domain such that the cloud is able to withstand even the most sophisticated of cyber-attacks. Thanks to cloud backups, enterprises can conveniently retrieve any lost data and are able to resume normal operations almost immediately. In 2023, the public cloud management and security services market experienced a growth of a significant $42.4 billion. Cloud security solutions feature authentication rules, data encryption as well as appropriate access control policies.

Enterprises prefer using the AI-as-a-service model available in cloud platforms instead of crafting their own Artificial Intelligence infrastructure.Serverless computing frees developers to manage servers and associated infrastructure. Developers can dedicate their valuable time to just develop, test and finally deploy code. It is expected that the serverless computing market will have a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23.17% from 2023 to 2028. Containerizing is an important cloud computing trend. In the former, applications are placed in self-contained containers. Containerized applications can be executed on any host with runtime container support with no requirement to make modifications to the code of the application. 

The Coming Future

Newer trends in cloud technology are likely to emerge as time goes by. Enterprises need to partner with organizations specializing in cloud technology to extract maximum value from these trends. Not all enterprises have the technical expertise to grasp and implement cutting-edge cloud technology trends. It is best to outsource the work to specialists and obtain the benefits in terms of superior performance, faster execution, cost savings, convenience, and other important factors. As a result, enterprises can stay ahead of their competitors and obtain higher revenue and profits. Look for a partner with a deep understanding of enterprise cloud infrastructure as well as enterprise technology trends.

Why CoffeeBeans?

For your information CoffeeBeans has both the experience and expertise in managing cloud deployment. CoffeeBeans is a partner with all the world’s 3 leading cloud service providers namely Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).  We brainstorm with enterprises to better understand their requirements as well as preferences. As such we are able to suggest the best cloud model for them. We have a large pool of talented and qualified cloud professionals who will handhold enterprises through all the stages of cloud management and deployment. CoffeeBeans understands the benefits of transitioning to the cloud and is skilled in obtaining maximum value for your enterprise. Our team is proficient in enterprise cloud technology as well as enterprise cloud computing services. We make it a priority to be up to date with the latest cloud technology trends which helps us serve enterprises better. Outsourcing to use will help enterprises avoid the hassles, time, money, and effort involved in migrating to the cloud or implementing the latest cloud technology trends. You will find that we are committed to meeting your desired deadlines and ability to execute cloud solutions well within the stipulated budget. As an India based company, we offer top notch quality at affordable rates. We help your enterprise achieve quicker time to market giving your organization that vital competitive edge. Note that transparency is our culture and real-time communication an ingrained habit. Reach out to us to better understand how we can be your preferred cloud partner.