
Cloud Times: Predictions for the Public Cloud
In recent years, cloud computing technology has changed the way many companies operate. But how widespread is public cloud use among businesses, how much will this trend continue to grow, and how will cloud-centric technologies continue to evolve? Research presents what's happening in North America and Europe and summarizes perspectives from IT representatives from diverse fields of activity on the most common questions - how companies use different models for public cloud deployment (eg IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), what types of activities and services run in public clouds and what emerging cloud trends are being noticed.
Answers for the impatient
It will hardly surprise you that cloud systems are increasingly preferred due to the following conveniences:
- provide access to data anywhere
- offer fast crash recovery
- allow more flexibility
- reduce the maintenance burden on IT staff
Preferences when choosing a specific provider are based on criteria such as: high level of data security, compatibility with existing services, price-quality ratio. IN Geletron we share this most general criterion.
Currently, the leading public clouds are: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, as they offer a variety of capabilities. Small organizations are more likely to partner with more niche players: 42% of small businesses surveyed are open to using smaller on-premise cloud providers, compared to 34% of mid-sized businesses and 30% of large companies.
Cloud trends
More than a decade after the initial rise of cloud technologies, their use is widespread. Public statistics show that, on average, organizations spend almost a quarter of their total IT budget on hosted/cloud-based services. How will the way organizations use public clouds evolve in the future?
In general, the understanding is that cloud services can enable organizations to more easily adopt emerging technologies. Three types of cloud-based technologies are increasingly common in the workplace:
Edge computing technology
The use of edge computing technology is a growing trend related to placing computing resources closer to where they are needed to minimize potential delays in data processing. Imagine smart sensors and autonomous vehicles where an instantaneous "decision" is required from the system given the specific environment. This is the easiest way to explain the increased interest in edge computing, especially at the local level.
Current research reports that these technologies have been adopted by 15% of organizations and their use is expected to grow to 32% in the next year or two. These percentages are even higher in large enterprises with 5,000+ employees, where it is expected to grow to 65%.
Serverless technologies
Serverless computing takes cloud computing efficiency to the next level. As the name of the technology suggests, there are no physical servers to set up. There is no monthly charge for using a service (as with SaaS) or for capacity (as with IaaS or PaaS). For example, a company launching a customer service web application will have different traffic on different days. By taking advantage of the dynamic nature of serverless technology and only resorting to services as needed, the company does not have to plan for peak load or invest in cloud extensions as it grows.
IT services and financial services organizations, which may need to quickly scale cloud resources up and down depending on customer needs, plan to deploy serverless technologies at an even higher rate, with expected levels of 42% and 46% respectively in the next 2 years.
Container technologies
Containers are structures that can encapsulate everything needed to run an application: settings, libraries, distributed computing resources, and other dependencies. In practice, they are similar to virtual machines in that they provide some degree of application isolation, but containers do not encapsulate an operating system.
So when using container technology such as Docker, there is less overhead than with virtualization and there is no need to license operating systems for each container. The result is a lightweight and portable block that can move more seamlessly between servers and cloud data centers, regardless of the differences in environment. The research shows that 18% of organizations have adopted container technologies, with their use expected to grow to 38% in the next two years.
Public cloud workload
It is estimated that organizations run an average of 27% of all workloads, applications and services in public clouds. This percentage is expected to double in the next one to two years. Smaller organizations expect to have a greater share of their workloads, services and applications running in public clouds. In fact, by the end of 2021, small businesses expect to run 53% of their workloads in public clouds, compared to 46% for midsize businesses and 41% for large companies.
The two main areas most likely to run entirely on public clouds are web/e-commerce sites (55%) and email (54%).
Also, thanks to the dual online and offline nature of products like Office 365, 41% of organizations use a hybrid cloud approach, where some workloads run locally and some are handled in a public cloud. About the same percentage use a hybrid backup strategy, storing data both on-premises and in public clouds.
Of course, many apps and services still run on-premises, possibly due to latency or security, privacy and compliance concerns related to handling sensitive employee and customer data.
Public cloud deployment models
According to the research, businesses are looking to give up more control in exchange for a cloud experience, and SaaS is the most prevalent model among organizations using the cloud. Overall, 80% of businesses use SaaS for one or more applications or services, 64% use PaaS, and 48% use IaaS.
SaaS is the familiar deployment model for most types of cloud workloads, including productivity applications, email servers, ERP software, CRM software, mobile services, data analytics solutions, and more. However, the use of the SaaS deployment model is declining, while the use of PaaS and IaaS is increasing when it comes to identifying solutions for management, backup/disaster recovery, custom software, virtual desktops, and database servers.
Key cloud development trends at a glance
- The percentage of business applications, services and activities in public clouds is expected to double in the next three years.
- Among cloud providers, AWS earns the highest scores for maximum uptime, Microsoft Azure ranks highest for compatibility, and Google Cloud Platform ranks highest for manageability.
- Approximately one-third of companies plan to adapt their operations to serverless management and related container technologies by 2020.
Well, the horizon for cloud technologies is bright and cloudless, and the forecasts for the growth of this service over time are highly optimistic. Moreover, there is a place under the sun for both large and small, local suppliers. We will see! Until then, if you need advice on choosing a cloud service and implementing it, you can trust us
Network infrastructure for industrial purposes
Building a network for industrial purposes In this article, we describe how we built a reliable network for industrial purposes, tailored to modern requirements. We combined two separate projects, where we used the same approach and identical [...]
Technology Business Review
Technology Business Review If you have ever worked with an IT department, specialist or outsourcer, the phrase “technology business review” should be familiar to you. This analytical process of assessing [...]
Case study - Phishing attack
Phishing attack Client's business card Bulgarian company operating on global markets. Geletron customer for 5 years. In the specific case, a representative of the "Business Development and Commercial Activity" department from [...]
Case Study – Classic Hacking Attack
Classic hacker attack Client's business card The client is engaged in the import and trade of nutritional supplements. There is a physical store, an online store, an office and a warehouse – all connected by a secure VPN connection. The base [...]
Case Study - Communication above all else
Communication first The Geletron team has many years of experience in building, maintaining and managing IT systems. For us, every solution is not just a sequence of technical steps, but a carefully selected mix [...]
Pirated software - the white sugar of the IT world
Pirated software - the white sugar of the IT world Pirated software is one of the modern temptations. On the one hand, the advantage of being able to use it for free is enticing enough, even addictive - like white [...]
Geletron presents interesting articles, studies and practices from the world of IT technologies.
Subscribe now to always receive up-to-date information from our blog.