Just like the skies above our heads, the cloud is constantly changing. As a technology, cloud computing is still in its early years, so it's understandable that the tech is still adjusting to the world around it.
RightScale recently released their 2017 State of the Cloud report, a survey of over 1,000 technical professionals over a broad range of companies and industries. Below are four trends the survey highlights that CIOs and IT managers should keep in mind when outlining their cloud strategy for the year.
What are the current trends in cloud computing?1. Hybrid cloud is the way to go
In the pursuit of a balanced solution between storing data in-house and keeping it in the cloud, more businesses are opting to have the best of both worlds: Hybrid PBX. Currently, hybrid cloud adoption is sitting at 61 per cent, according to RightScale, it's popularity likely influenced by the freedom it offers companies to move data to the cloud at their own pace.
Furthermore, despite an overall drop of private cloud services, 95 per cent of the organisations surveyed are running cloud applications or experimenting with infrastructure-as-a-service.
2. The majority of work is shifting to the cloud
Businesses are moving more of the workload to the cloud, according to the report. Currently, businesses using public cloud services are conducting 32 per cent of their work there, while private cloud workloads are at 43 per cent.
These figures are in line with current predictions on how computers and automation can replace traditional workloads. PwC estimates that 45 per cent of work activities can be automated, saving around $2 trillion in global workforce costs.
3. Cloud costs have yet to be optimised
On the subject of costs, cloud spending has yet to be fully optimised, accounting for as much as 30 per cent wastage highlighted in the RightScale report.
Unsurprisingly, optimising cloud computing costs is at the forefront of the minds of cloud users. A way to do this is to consider employing managed cloud services. Reducing a cloud budget to a single, affordable monthly cost is a great way to remove the excess associated with in-house management.
4. Challenges exist, but are getting better
Encouragingly, traditional concerns about cloud computing, such as spending, security and expertise have all fallen compared to 2016, according to the report. Importantly, managing costs still attributed for around a quarter of concerns with mature cloud users, highlighting a need for users to find a cost-effective solution.
To find out more about what impact cloud solutions can have on your business, get in touch with the team at Fonality today.
