The trends in cloud computing are an expression of the cloud services that people and businesses find useful. Public cloud providers offer a broad range of software and services that are generally quicker and more flexible than the in-house versions. In the last few decades, many businesses have included cloud computing as a part of their budget. Cloud computing is generally considered a benefit to both the customers and the organization’s staff. 

As a consequence, the cloud industry has experienced massive growth.

Many tech companies have used the computing power offered by the cloud to develop innovative products. Now businesses consider cloud computing technology the standard and use it daily to accomplish work tasks. According to a Gartner report, by 2025, businesses will increase their use of cloud-native platforms by 95%. 

By 2025, the majority of companies will be relying on the cloud to perform a variety of basic business tasks and processes. (In-house downloaded software is being replaced by access to cloud-based software.)

By embracing cloud computing technologies, organizations can move forward and modernize for the long term. Clouds offer accessibility from anywhere, and from any device. They also provide quick application deployment and useful business insights. Trends in cloud usage are described below. 

Object Storage

Much of the cloud storage currently available supports an object storage architecture. Object storage is a computer data storage system that manages data as objects, unlike other storage architectures like file systems and block storage. Object storage is available for both business and personal use. It can be used to store photos, videos, songs, and so on.

With object storage, a unique identifier and metadata are combined to make the objects easy to locate. Data, in the form of objects, can be located and accessed using HTTP, HTTPS, and RESTful APIs to query the object’s metadata. It allows objects, such as an image or audio file, to be found quickly and efficiently.

Data Warehouses in the Cloud

In recent years, businesses have started shifting their data warehouses to the cloud. Large cloud service providers, such as Amazon and Google, offer this as data storage solutions. Cloud-based data warehouses have increased in popularity, in part because of their ability to update data in real time, and in part because investing in new servers (to store the massive amounts of collected data, which continue to grow) can get quite expensive. (Historically, businesses maintained their own “in-house” data warehouses.)

Cloud-based data warehouses can store large amounts of structured data and have recently become a popular service offered by the cloud. 

A data warehouse can be described as a highly structured and sophisticated database that stores structured data. It also provides the data’s history and organization and supports data analytics. These features make cloud-based data warehouses an efficient way to store large amounts of data.

Data Lakes

Data lakes are supposed to be a great place to store unstructured data, without the hassles of formatting it or reformatting it. Unfortunately, integrating the unstructured data into the business’s data system so it can be useful for research can be difficult and time-consuming. Despite this, several organizations are predicting the use of data lakes will continue to grow. 

Data Lakehouses

Data lakehouses are new and in the early stage of development but are gaining a great deal of interest as a replacement or control mechanism for data lakes. Data lakehouses come with their own unstructured storage, providing a complete system, but can also be set up to work with multiple data lakes, and even data warehouses.

Data storage and computing processes are separated as part of the data lakehouse’s unique architectural design, allowing the system to function more efficiently. 

The Cloud and the IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) typically uses edge computing to process data instead of sending it to a data center. The computation and storage of data takes place within localized devices located at or near the computer network’s edge. Each edge server provides separate computing, storage, and networking capabilities, and has functions for:

• Load balancing
• Network routing and switching
• Security

Edge computing is not designed as a substitute for cloud computing, but instead complements it. The benefits of using edge technology in combination with the cloud include:

• A decrease in the amount of transmitted data
• Nearly instant data processing
• Response times with little to no latency

Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is when the cloud provider supplies the entire computing infrastructure (all the important software and services), offering access through the internet browsers on smartphones, tablets, or laptops. The cloud provider supports the infrastructure and offers computing resources as needed. 

More and more, startups are using serverless computing as a way to support a modern work environment and services without having to purchase and maintain the hardware normally used for an in-house infrastructure. The popularity of serverless computing continues to grow, allowing staff to work from any location. According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the demand for serverless computing will grow by 22.6% between the years 2022 and 2026.

Aakash Goyal, a partner at Cloudester, said the benefits of serverless computing include faster-to-market times and lower development costs. He stated:

“The businesses that want to reduce their go-to-market time, app development costs, and increase agility, must opt for serverless computing. It helps them ensure easy scalability, more flexibility, an amazing user experience, and lastly, a stress-free environment. It’s a critical evolution for the future.”

Cloud Gaming

Playing video games in the cloud is gaining popularity. Using the cloud allows participants to play any game without investing in expensive hardware and consoles. Additionally, games can be played without the need to create storage space on home devices to support the game.

Cloud gaming is typically considered quick, easy to set up, efficient, and fun. 

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Clouds

Although augmented and virtual reality are just starting to become a trend, interest has continued to grow over the last few years. Cloud-based software for these two services has been growing steadily as they become more and more popular. 

Cloud-based virtual reality (VR) typically uses goggles to immerse the user into the virtual surroundings, and is normally used for games and apps. By “visually surrounding” the user, the goggles can transport them to other places. With games, the user might be sitting in the cockpit of a starship. With apps, the user might tour a museum or practice surgery on a virtual body. 

Cloud-based augmented reality (AR), on the other hand, is not immersive. Instead, it adds information to live reality, providing it through the use of smartphones, video screens, holograms, or even smart glasses. Augmented reality is designed to promote free movement, while projecting information or images onto, or through, a device, while you work on a project. (It’s a little like shifting your attention from a computer screen showing your project to other computer screens displaying useful information.)

It is predictable the lines between augmented reality and virtual reality will blur, with virtual reality being used for work purposes.

Cloud Computing Has Become the New Normal

Cloud computing has reshaped the way businesses earn a profit, but this transformation process is far from over. The trends of 2022 have shown businesses are continuing to modernize using the cloud. In recent years, many businesses have shifted to include cloud computing technologies in their business plans, increasing their efficiency and profits.

Currently, business owners see cloud computing technology as the standard. They have included it in their business models and expect it as part of their daily operations. They also expect the cloud to continue its evolution, offering ever more powerful and efficient cloud services. 

By embracing cloud computing technologies, businesses are committing to modernizing their business processes for the long term.

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