According to Gartner, cloud computing will move from disruptor to business necessity by 2028. Global cloud spending is expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2027.
This is not surprising, given its ability to improve scalability, efficiency and innovation while providing cost-effective solutions to businesses.
However, as cloud technology evolves, many companies are increasingly taking a more deliberate and strategic approach to their transformation journey. They aim to bridge the gap between simply operating on the cloud and generating overall business value.
In this blog, we present the top trends in enterprise cloud computing that promise to deliver greater digital dividends through its automation capabilities and improved performance and customer retention in 2024.
Enterprise Cloud Technology Trends 2024
1. AI as a service
The integration of AI services into cloud solutions will see significant growth in 2024. Cloud infrastructure plays a leading role in making the economic and social benefits of AI accessible to businesses.
Training AI models, including large models like the Large Language Model (LLM) that powers ChatGPT, requires extensive data and vast computing resources.
Instead of building their own AI infrastructure, companies are leveraging AI as a service through cloud platforms and harnessing the power of this transformative technology without the burden of resource constraints.
AI as a Service offers pre-built AI models, tools, and APIs hosted on cloud platforms that help businesses implement AI capabilities without hands-on AI expertise or infrastructure.
2. Serverless Computing & Containerization
Increasingly popular in business, serverless computing allows developers to focus on developing, testing, and deploying code rather than spending time managing their servers and infrastructure.
Unlike traditional cloud services that charge businesses based on the number of servers required to host their infrastructure, the serverless model only charges for the resources they are actively using.
This eliminates additional costs that businesses have to pay for idle servers and ensures optimal resource utilization and a cost-effective approach that aligns with business priorities.
Containerization is an emerging trend in cloud computing that encapsulates applications in self-contained containers that help developers build reliable software across diverse computing environments and deploy applications frequently and with agility.
3. Multi-cloud and hybrid strategies
Multi-cloud and hybrid solutions have already gained popularity among enterprises, adding value to those managing complex, distributed workloads and seeking an optimal balance between scalability, cost efficiency and performance.
The multi-cloud strategy allows organizations to leverage solutions from various cloud service providers and seamlessly integrate them into a single unified platform. This in turn facilitates the rapid deployment and management of applications across multiple clouds, providing optimal flexibility and scalability for businesses.
Additionally, by integrating multi-cloud solutions into their IT strategy, businesses can choose the most cost-effective cloud services and manage them centrally from their unified platform, ending dependency on a supplier or concerns about excessive spending.
At the same time, the hybrid model integrates existing data centers with elements of public clouds, effectively distributing workload and applications across both environments.
With its ability to store specific resources on-premises while leveraging the cloud for others, many businesses have opted for a hybrid approach in adopting cloud technologies. Hybrid clouds are beneficial, especially for businesses with extensive legacy systems that need to keep sensitive data or applications on their servers while leveraging the benefits of public cloud services.
Additionally, a hybrid cloud eliminates the need for excess resources to keep all data on a single, unified platform, ultimately leading to cost reductions.
4. Edge Computing & IdO
While cloud computing for business has transformed the way businesses store, process and access data by centralizing it in remote data centers, edge computing takes a distinct approach by bringing computing power closer to the location where it is most crucial: right at the edge of the network.
In a traditional cloud setup, data is transmitted to a remote cloud server for processing. At the same time, edge computing creates a compact computing environment close to where data is generated. This eliminates the latency associated with transmitting data back and forth to a remote cloud server and enables real-time data analysis and decision-making.
By 2024, the deployment of advanced networks such as 5G and energy- and memory-efficient processors and algorithms will improve the viability of edge computing to meet growing application demands.
5. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are already reshaping every industry, not to mention cloud computing.
The integration of AI and ML with cloud technology offers the potential to significantly enhance and revolutionize the benefits of cloud computing.
Tech giants like AWS and Google have invested heavily in these technologies, enabling developers to harness the power of AI and ML for different applications.
As more companies shift their operations to the cloud, they have increased their focus on data security.
With AI and ML-based cloud platforms, security measures become more intelligent and adaptive by gaining insights into data access and usage patterns. This helps businesses quickly detect and manage potential security threats.
In cloud computing, businesses often shift resources to handle tasks as needed. AI and ML-based cloud systems study past data to predict what resources businesses might need in the future and adjust the resources themselves to make everything work seamlessly.
With all the disruption AI and ML have already brought, they will drive efficiency and innovation for businesses in the years to come.
6. Cloud Security and Compliance
As businesses move their infrastructure and workloads to the cloud, security threats remain the primary concern for most. According to the Statista report, 27% of businesses face cloud user account compromise attacks, and another 79% say security is their biggest obstacle.
Statistics further show that the public cloud management and security services market grew by $42.4 billion in 2023.
The importance of cloud security is poised to grow in 2024 as more and more companies are investing in cloud security solutions. Data encryption, access control policies, authentication rules and data disaster recovery will increase the demand for cloud computing services.
7. Citizen Developer
A notable trend in cloud computing is the emergence of the citizen developer. In the beginning, coding skills were a prerequisite for developing and deploying applications. However, low-code/no-code tools allow people without a technical background to develop applications that would have traditionally required the expertise of qualified software engineers.
In the coming years, major cloud service providers such as AWS, Google and Microsoft are expected to release tools that allow developers to create complex applications through a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
OutSystems, QuickBase, Appian, AWS’s HoneyCode, and Microsoft’s Power Platform are already on the list in this space, and we expect to see more and more platforms driving innovation in 2024.
8. Virtual Cloud Desktops (VCDs)
According to Allied Market Research report, the cloud-based VDI market reached $10,514 million in 2023 with a CAGR of 16.5% and is expected to reach $30.63 billion in 2027 with a CAGR of 17 .3%. Virtual desktops, also called Cloud Desktops or Virtual Cloud Infrastructure, are already disrupting the cloud landscape by seamlessly integrating the best of cloud capabilities with the versatility of virtual desktops.
They offer businesses a virtualized desktop environment hosted in the cloud. Virtual disks make it easy to monitor user security from one place, saving IT effort. It allows businesses to access data and applications from anywhere in the world and improves data security and protection through encryption and authentication techniques.
With innovative VDI services such as Click-to-Run solutions already attracting the attention of businesses, this trend has the potential to transform the cloud computing landscape in 2024.
Final Thoughts
Cloud computing is poised to define the future of business technology in 2024 and beyond. Cloud computing technology will certainly continue to evolve with the constant ebb and flow of technology trends. While understanding cloud trends is only one important piece of the puzzle, implementing a winning cloud strategy goes a long way in making the most of these opportunities.
As a seasoned enterprise cloud solutions consulting and implementation partner, Zuci Systems has helped a dozen businesses skillfully navigate cloud technologies and develop an intelligent cloud adoption strategy that works for them.
We help them gain full control over their cloud configurations using proper configurations, observability best practices, and solutions that reduce costs while improving performance.
