5 Cloud Computing Trends That Will Define 2019

2019 will be an essential milestone in the history of computing and cloud computing, according to Forrester will see the achievement of 50% of companies that have adopted the public cloud for applications, platforms, and services.

The success of the cloud continues, its adoption is massive, and we are quickly reaching the end of a decade that will have been marked at its beginning, in 2010, by the launch of Amazon, Google and Microsoft’s activities in the cloud, as well as the birth of the first open source cloud software platform, OpenStack.

Building on this success, here are five strong trends in place that will shape the cloud in 2020:

Edge computing

The cloud is conceived in large centralized data centers, but companies that need near-instant access to IT resources and data are turning to a new distributed cloud infrastructure, edge computing. Gartner describes it this way: “a mesh network of micro-data centers that process or store critical data locally and transmit all received data to a central data center or cloud storage repository. Its analysts even go so far as to define a surface size for these local infrastructures: less than 100 square feet.

Technically, edge computing is a small data center for small geographical (regional) proximity clouds. Where this technology changes the situation is that it invites us to rethink data processing by refocusing flows on the most critical data to reduce latency and get closer to real time. It is also the infrastructure of choice for another revolution, the IoT, the Internet of Things.

Containers

The enthusiasm for containerization is massive and will not slow down. Where the focus was on virtualizing physical infrastructures, the container brings virtualization to the operating system and application level, simplifying the developer’s work and the DevOps approach.

We invite you to complete this vision with our article “Containers will continue to enrich the cloud and DevOps.”

Serverless

Since its inception, IT has been based on servers on which applications are developed and data stored. The cloud works like that, simply datacenters, servers, applications, and data are no longer on the physical infrastructure of the company, but in the cloud. The revolution is, therefore, less technical than economic: the model is no longer about investing in infrastructure, but about accessing resources that are charged on a consumer basis.

Serverless (the reference to a computer without a server is an abuse of language!) is, with SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), the most advanced step in the use of the cloud in Opex model. But unlike SaaS where the company consumes services, serverless allows the company to develop, execute, manage and control code without worrying about the provisioning and maintenance of servers and infrastructure.

The adoption of the public cloud

The buzz in the cloud could suggest that all companies have embraced the cloud. This is almost true when referring to consumer tools such as messaging or online file storage, but it is much less so for companies. Few companies have developed sophisticated cloud programs, but they are very present and solicited by their partners to occupy the space in the media. Most companies have moved minimal workload in the cloud…

As Forrester points out, “The impact of the cloud has been global, but less than 50% of companies use a public cloud platform. However, according to the analyst, “In 2019, we will reach 50% adoption, and cloud applications, platforms, and services will continue to change the way companies compete for their customers dramatically. The figure has incredible potential, doesn’t it still have 50% of the cloud to conquer?

What keeps companies from migrating to the cloud, despite its promises, is security. Again and again… Indeed, mentalities are changing, and the solutions proposed today meet the requirements in terms of compliance and control, with a guard now considered better than the one deployed in companies. And everyone knows that no protection is infallible! But the question of responsibility for safety still arises, and here it is the company that is being singled out. The issue of security will probably be the main brake on the public cloud for a few more years.

Open source

It is no longer a question of community, popularity or expertise, open source is nowadays present in all IT processes of organizations, often even without their knowledge.

According to Black Duck Software, 60% of companies would increase the use of open source solutions from one year to the next. And some open source domains are flourishing, such as OpenStack and containers. The adoption of the cloud is accompanied by the adoption of open source technologies, which should continue to drive innovation in the coming years and decades.

Post Author: Neville