In 2021 we no longer need to explain the value of cloud. With COVID-19 causing a massive increase in remote work, cloud adoption became a matter of survival, as businesses of all sizes and across various industries increased their reliance on technologies to keep their operations running as usual. But we know that cloud is not a silver bullet. Businesses often undergo a cloud transformation and then fail to achieve their desired results.

To help you make the most of your cloud strategy, we’ve rounded up three key cloud trends to note this year.

#1 Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud take centre stage

With optimisation being a focus for every business following the disruptions of 2020, businesses need to reassess their performance requirements and audit the cost of their operations. In doing so, many businesses are favouring a hybrid cloud strategy so that they can leverage different cloud vendors’ strengths and find the optimal price for their needs. A hybrid approach is often the most efficient strategy because a business can move different types of data onto different platforms based on their resilience, efficiency and security requirements. The trend has forced vendors to work together and accept that theirs won’t necessarily be the only cloud that a company uses.

#2 Distributed cloud to enable lower latency

Gartner predicts that the leading cloud service providers will have a far more distributed presence by 2023; enabling them to offer their services for low-latency application requirements. To prepare for this more distributed approach, cloud service providers are already investing in ways to make their services available closer to the users that need to access them. With this, we will see the introduction of “micro data centres” in areas where there are many users, while “pop-up” cloud service points will be utilised to support temporary requirements, like sporting events or concerts.

#3 Key cloud skills critical to cloud success

Making the most of these cloud trends, and guaranteeing business success, demands that you have the right people to use this emerging technology to its full potential. Gartner forecasts that insufficient infrastructure as a service (IaaS) skills will delay up to 50% of migrations to the cloud by two years or more. Small businesses and enterprises looking to move their workloads to the cloud should consider working with a partner that has a track record of successful migrations within their specific industry. 

Bring cloud trends to your business

At Nebula, we’ve helped a range of clients across professional services, oil and gas and retail industries make the most of their entire technology environment. To find out more about what we do and to book a demo, contact us here.