Cloud computing is the rapid provisioning of on-demand computer system resources and services over the internet, usually on a pay-for-use basis. Like a public utility, cloud computing relies on the sharing of resources to provide coherent capabilities. Businesses and organizations that make use of third-party clouds can focus on their core processes without expending resources or building and maintaining computer and IT infrastructure.
Cloud computing service providers offer capabilities according to different models such as: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) – including specialized PaaS types such as integration platform as a service (iPaaS) and data platform as a service (dPaaS) – blockchain as a service (BaaS), software as a service (SaaS), mobile backend as a service (mBaaS), function as a service (FaaS), as well as serverless computing.
Cloud infrastructure can be deployed using several different models:
- private cloud, which is usually leveraged for a single organization
- public cloud, where services are provided over a network that is open for the use of all
- community cloud, which shares infrastructure between organizations from a specific community
- hybrid cloud, which is a composition of two or more of the three previously-mentioned clouds
- distributed cloud, which includes public resource computing and volunteer cloud computing
- multicloud
- big data cloud
- cloud for executing high-performance computing applications, or HPC cloud
An increasing number of businesses are choosing to move their infrastructure to the cloud. Some of the reasons for moving to the cloud include the increasing value of the cloud market, the high-quality security, the ability to access files from anywhere online, secure backups for data, and greater scalability. Cloud computing will only continue to grow as time goes on. Here are some cloud computing predictions for the future of technology.
The cloud’s biggest challenge will be security
Today, the biggest problem that chief information officers encounter with cloud computing is lessening the chances of misplacing sensitive data and increasing the development of secure environments. Looking towards the future, it seems like security concerns will still be the primary concern when it comes to cloud computing.
Since cutting back on remote access and remote archiving is not usually a feasible option for organizations, the protection of device connections to the network will continue to be of paramount importance, and will actually become more challenging.
Due to these challenges, all businesses will have to make use of expert services in tech consulting and support, as well as specialists based in operations and mobility so that companies can reach the needed level of security. Achieving the necessary level of security will require the application of technologies such as biometric data for login purposes, remote management of security, and the encryption of hardware so that important information located on cloud computing services can be protected.
The increase of digital natives
The number of people who have grown up familiar with digital systems is going to increase in the workforce. These digital natives will create concepts out of different mindsets, converse and think in a different manner, and make use of tools like WhatsApp or Twitter more than traditional communication tools such as email.
The rise of digital natives involves two sorts of difficulties: first, these digital natives will be more likely to collaborate with fellow workers who also have digital factors present in their everyday lives, while secondly, companies must not allow older employees to slip away from their workforce.
Activities such as inverse mentoring, where younger employees teach older employees how to manage technology at work, will become increasingly important and widespread. Businesses will need to use cloud computing, mobile devices, and other technological progressions to help combine the younger and older generations of employees into one powerful digital workforce.
By 2020, a new generation of chief intelligence officers will have come into control at companies everywhere, and they will have learned and grown familiar with the cloud-as-a-service model. This new generation may very well change the way businesses build themselves in regards to information technology.
Social aspects of cloud software
By 2020, cloud computing software could take on characteristics that are currently only found in social media apps like Facebook. This involves programs forming automatic associations with software and hardware according to the job that needs to be completed at a particular time.
The software and infrastructure of cloud-based datacenters will be engineered so that the database can look like a storage array or server, or otherwise form itself around the task that it is required to perform. This will remove the need for developers to worry about providing hardware aspects such as a server, storage, and switch. The software will make that happen automatically.
Cloud datacenters changing into ecosystems
The two technological aspects of cloud data centers, software, and hardware, will combine to function more like a biological organism. Overarching systems will be able to manage equipment through software and control hardware from a single point. This will enable the automation of tasks such as updating equipment and patching, and the datacenters will expand and contract according to the size and type of the workload they are under at the time.
Emergence of more specialized cloud systems
Currently, clouds are differentiated by whether they provide infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), mobile backend as a service (MBaaS/BaaS), function as a service (FaaS), or serverless computing. By 2020, we will see dynamic business process outsourcing (BPO) services and middle virtualization tools.
Alongside the big cloud computing and storage providers, there will be a rise of vendors providing specific cloud services, enabling businesses to utilize cloud capabilities for specific workloads that would usually require the use of applications built just for those. Types of clouds will be categorized and differentiated by the capabilities of their infrastructure and give rise to a whole new set of cloud classes.
Businesses should prepare themselves to handle these coming trends in cloud computing so that they are ready for the future.
