The Future of Cloud Computing
So what all is included when we say ‘cloud computing’?
Well, anything and everything remotely linked with managing, operating and maintaining the cloud!
This includes all Internet-based services, infrastructure and development related activities, right from site management, data security to data analytics, server monitoring and management of large quantities of data.
“The pandemic validated the cloud’s value proposition. The ability to use on-demand, scalable cloud models to achieve cost efficiency and business continuity is providing the impetus for organizations to rapidly accelerate their digital business transformation plans. The increased use of public cloud services has reinforced cloud adoption to be the ‘new normal,’ now more than ever.”
– Sid Nag, Research Vice President at Gartner
Since 2020, the pandemic has ushered in a dramatic shift in work patterns and lifestyles, the most prominent being an overnight move to WFH culture. As organisations pivoted to remote lifestyles, this precipitated a shift to cloud-based platforms and solutions. With an increasing number of employees dependent on easy access to the company’s resources over varying Internet bandwidths, the physical storage of data depleted in significance and so did physical infrastructure. This period also forced many C-suite leaders to speed up their cloud migration plans.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, as a result, have experienced unprecedented demand since the early stages of the pandemic.
Got you wondering? Here’s some data to validate our claims:
- Cloud expenditure reportedly shot up by 37% to $29 billion during the first quarter of 2020.
- Global expenditure on public cloud computing almost doubled up from a meagre $186B in 2018 to $300B in 2021.
- In a recent Cloudreach-sponsored IDC study, out of 200 interviewed IT leaders, 27.5% magnanimously agreed that large-cloud migrations were “essential for business survival” going forward. In the last 10 months, out of 200, 29.5% have already achieved their
digitisation plans. - A report by Great Learning concludes that the cloud computing market, which is currently at $2.2B, is slated to grow to $4B by 2022, generating more than a million job opportunities!
- Another recently published report also predicted that by the end of 2021, more than 3,80,000 jobs will be created in cloud computing itself.
Cloud computing is here to stay, and there are n number of reports to prove as much. As far as the foreseeable future can be predicted, analysed and dissected, here are a few of those that have predicted the impending growth of the cloud market:
- According to a 2021 Forecast published by Gartner, Inc., worldwide end-users spending on public cloud services is predicted to grow by 18.4% in 2021, reaching a value of almost $304.9 billion, up from $257.5 billion in 2020.
- The proportion of IT spending shifting to the cloud will accelerate as just one of the many outcomes of the COVID-19 crisis, with cloud computing investments projected to make up almost 14.2% of the total global enterprise IT expenditure in 2024, up from 9.1% in 2020.
The Future of Cloud Computing in UK and Europe
Last year, Europe’s cloud computing market size exceeded $35bn. And as market reports established time and again, the UK dominated this European advancement.
The reason why the UK captured a major market share in 2020 can squarely be linked to the robust government initiatives. The importance of cloud computing as a potential driver for economic growth and foreign investments had been realised quite early on, during the initial stages of its introduction and initiation in the UK. As a result, the British government had
paid great emphasis on ‘cloud-first’ policies. Expenditure on UK cloud infrastructure had also been doubled up within the last five years.
In November 2020, the UK government signed a three-year contract with Amazon Web Services, Inc., wherein Amazon Web Services were tasked with providing training and conducting workshops for companies which are in the initial stages of cloud integration. This alone successfully expanded the demand for cloud services across Europe.
While the pandemic wrought havoc across other industries, the same worked miraculously well in favour of these services. When the outbreak resulted in an explosion for remote workforce owing to quarantine restrictions, enterprises began to show greater preference for cloud
deployment options instead of on-premise deployment. Under the government’s encouragement and consistent support, public agencies swiftly transitioned toward hybrid cloud models. As a result, regional cloud computing markets surged parallelly, growing undaunted even midst
the COVID pandemic.
According to Eurostat, the adoption of cloud computing services across Europe has been almost double (36%) of that in 2018 (20%).
As for the future, the prospects for cloud computing never looked brighter. A recent report examining cloud computing prospects in Europe and the UK predicts its valuation to shoot up to almost $140 billion by 2028. The data collected by Global Market Insights has implied that government support and eager promotion of cloud adoption in Europe will further accelerate this trend.
An increasing use of cloud technology amongst companies, to ensure ‶business continuity and adaptability to market changes” and to maintain a ‶competitive edge”, will prove to be a major driver for further growth. As the world becomes more digitally connected, leading firms have reportedly begun to focus more on “emerging technologies”. So, as companies
across industries prioritise “developing innovative solutions and services” for their customers, the UK, with its rich history in innovation and R&D, is bound to be at the forefront.
Looking forward to these developments, job profiles related to cloud computing have already been added to Critical Occupation List, following a surge in demand. Most UK degrees in Cloud computing guarantee employment rates higher than 98%.
If this piques your interest, check out our article on ‘All about AWS’
to understand your best career options in cloud computing.
