The cloud is reaching an inflection point
The stakes in 2022 for technologies like cloud computing are much higher. Consumer and business use of cloud storage has skyrocketed in recent years, with Gartner predicting that public expenditure on cloud services would reach $332 billion this year, up 23 percent from 2020. The cloud has also fuelled the rise of hybrid business models, fintech, and virtualized systems.
The cloud computing industry has been able to keep up with the tremendous increase in demand due to its attributes like cost efficiency, increased scalability, and business continuity despite disruptions. However, companies must perceive their cloud adoption as a journey and not a destination as digital transformation is an ongoing process. Based on insights from itbusinessedge, let’s take a look at the biggest cloud computing trends that will impact businesses in 2022.
Edge computing is a new way for cloud providers to adapt to the increase in IoT devices. Most data centres were designed to collect enormous amounts of data in a centralised area, similar to how cities bring big people together. However, because half of the population lives outside of cities, information storage is becoming decentralised through edge computing in an effort to bring data and processing closer to the user.
Edge computing is a new way for cloud providers to adapt to the increase in IoT devices. Most data centres were designed to collect enormous amounts of data in a centralised area, similar to how cities bring big people together. However, because half of the population lives outside of cities, information storage is becoming decentralised through edge computing in an effort to bring data and processing closer to the user. Not only does this minimise latency, but it also lowers bandwidth use costs and improves data connection dependability.
The delay involved with connecting to a server across the nation is unacceptable in the case of autonomous cars, when every millisecond counts and the computational needs of the vehicle’s sensory array are frequently offloaded. Edge computing is well-positioned to meet the new needs posed by the autonomous and intelligent car revolution, providing local access to processing power and information. Decentralized edge computing is the key to building a seamless mesh of connected computing devices.
Containerization
Containerized applications are rapidly growing in popularity at the corporate level, thanks to services like Docker and Google’s Kubernetes. Containers combine the advantages of virtual machines with the power of a self-contained operating system to deliver consistent programme performance across several computers. Containers allow apps to be completely packed with all of their dependencies while avoiding the extra resource needs of a full VM. The mobility of a container in the cloud ensures performance uniformity throughout a complete enterprise as well as resource distribution. Users also have more control over versioning, including the ability to track differences between containers and roll back as necessary. This is especially important for organizations who want to ensure a smooth transition to newer technologies.
Internet of Things
Simply put, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the proliferation of “smart” gadgets that may be allocated an IP address. Lightbulbs that are connected to a phone may dim or brighten automatically based on the time of day. Smartwatches can connect to news providers and display the latest headlines on your wrist. Software upgrades are downloaded and installed in electric vehicles. IoT devices are booming in growth, topping 50 billion devices by 2020, according to the Internet and Television Association, and showing no signs of slowing down.
Many of these gadgets use cloud services to shift data and processing power to distant servers with far more processing capacity. In the future years, the growth of IoT will place a tremendous demand on cloud computing.
Greener cloud
Cloud computing’s power consumption, thermal management, and infrastructure outlays have a significant environmental effect that must be mitigated. According to the Department of Energy, data centres account for 2% of total electricity consumption in the United States, with typical data centre energy requirements being 10 to 50 times higher per square foot than the average commercial office building. As a result, businesses are attempting to offset their carbon footprints in a number of methods, ranging from the use of wind and solar power assets to the planting of trees. Cloud providers are always striving for greater efficiency in their hardware and software, where even little gains may add up to significant long-term power savings.
Google also uses previous weather data to anticipate server farm cooling requirements, while Microsoft has experimented with floating data centres that absorb heat from the huge ocean. Amazon has committed to making its Amazon Web Services (AWS) 100 percent sustainable by 2025, announcing the building of 23 new wind and solar projects across the world in 2021.
With newer use cases, the dynamics of cloud computing technologies are changing. The biggest players are focussing on innovation as 2022 is set to be a year where cloud computing grows exponentially and changes the technological status quo.
-Lionel Alva
