Cloud computing, a new paradigm for acquiring and using computing resources, has already transformed our world in so many ways. During the pandemic, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources across the Internet played a key role in enabling businesses to respond to massive disruption with resilience and agility. Now, as companies accelerate digital transformation, there’s little doubt that the cloud is at the heart of every leading business’s strategy.

Indeed, without smarter use of cloud resources, no business can achieve the levels of elasticity, innovation, scalability, cost optimisation, and business continuity it needs to seize growth opportunities and prosper in volatile times. As companies look to simplify their IT environments, adopt cutting-edge business models and build the workforce of the future, cloud computing will evolve alongside their needs.

Here are some ways the cloud will evolve into the future, creating compelling opportunities for companies at the cutting edge of digital transformation:

1. Powering sustainable business models

With the environment, social, and governance (ESG) concerns high on the business agenda, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of computing services and infrastructure on the environment. We are seeing large enterprise computing users and hyper-scale public cloud providers work together on smarter ways to combat climate change. Cloud computing could, over time, help to reduce IT’s global carbon footprint by driving innovation at scale, especially in the areas of renewable energy and sustainable use of materials such as rare metals.

2. The rise of industry clouds

One of the major trends shaping the future of the cloud is the rise of ‘industry clouds’— cloud services that are designed for vertical industries, such as banking, healthcare, telecoms, or manufacturing. These clouds enable companies to speed up deployment by leveraging platforms, algorithms, infrastructure, and applications designed around the common regulatory requirements, industry structure, business processes, and use cases in their industry. Industry clouds will help to speed up and simplify adoption by enabling companies to rapidly access the best practices and building blocks they need to thrive in their business.

3. Serverless computing is on the ascent

It seems assured that serverless computing will be a major element of the future of the cloud. The concept refers to freeing organisations from the need to tie themselves into leasing servers or paying for fixed amounts of storage or bandwidth. Instead, it offers a smarter pay-as-you-go service where the infrastructure scales transparently as the end-user organisation requires more processing power or storage. The literal servers are still there, but the user doesn’t need to get involved with configuring or managing them. The cloud provider takes care of provisioning, maintaining, and scaling, taking this responsibility off the developer’s plate.

4. Building the metaverse

The power of the cloud will be key in building the next-generation Web over the next 10 to 15 years. Though many people dismiss chatter about the metaverse as pure hype, there is little doubt that a host of exciting technologies are maturing and converging to reshape our Internet experience. Built on cutting-edge technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain, and artificial intelligence, the metaverse is a 3D iteration of the Internet where you can immerse yourself with a sense of presence, buy and sell virtual property, and interact with others in three-dimensional spaces. It sounds futuristic, but the technology is moving fast—all catalysed by the enormous pools of processing power and storage readily available from the cloud.

As your organisation looks to speed up digital transformation, our knowledgeable experts can help you prepare for the future of the cloud. We have helped to guide many leading companies in cutting-edge DevOps, FinOps, and Cloud Security and Networking projects. Get in touch to learn how our experts can work with you to innovate and simplify leveraging the cloud.