Being Cloud-Native Will Be Critical In 2022

The cloud is emerging as a catalyst for business enterprises to innovate and gain a competitive advantage. According to Gartner, global cloud computing spending will exceed $480 billion in 2022, up from $396 billion in 2021.

As we go into 2022, here are some of the important cloud trends we will see.

Becoming a digital native, cloud-first enterprise will be a priority
Enterprises will embrace technology and encompass digital-first culture and operating models to create business value and build an enterprise that is focused on customer experience. Infosys foresees enterprises realigning organizational structures to deliver cloud-enabled transformation and attract the right talent. 

Rise of hybrid multicloud

Enterprises will adopt more than one cloud to leverage their capabilities, address compliance needs, and manage costs. Technology or vendor lock-ins will not find any favour. There will be an increased focus on de-risking and eliminating single points of failure. Multi-cloud selection will be based on considerations such as compatibility across heterogeneous IT landscapes, improved capabilities, compliance with regulations, and managing operational costs.

Workflow-based automation

Enterprises will automate employee services and back-office work such as accounts receivable, travel and expenses, and indirect procurement to support remote working. Cloud workflow automation will enhance user experience, increasing response times and efficiency.

Enterprise Asset Management 

Investment in automation will rise to provide full visibility of assets, software and corresponding spending. There will be innovation in the way enterprise-wide software asset compliance is maintained.

Risk, Compliance & Operational Resilience

CISOs and the Enterprise Risk Directors will increasingly seek a single integrated cloud platform to ensure better view and control of security-related information. Integrated Risk Management Platforms will become popular as enterprises prioritize security.

Low code and no code

We will be seeing cloud platforms utilising low code no code principles. Development time will reduce as applications are built using drag-and-drop components and model-driven logic through a graphical user interface. Developers can build and customize upon existing code speeding up deployment and automation.

AI for IT operations

AIOps or AI for IT operations will assist IT operations teams and increase organizational agility with real-time information about system performance by using machine learning and data science.

Sustainable operations

With the climate crisis drawing the world’s attention, using energy-efficient compute storage, employing renewable energy for cooling server farms, and using green data centres, will be critical in every organisation’s environment, social, and governance (ESG) goals, and net-zero aspirations.  

Internet of Things

According to Mordor Intelligence, IoT market valuation will jump from $1.3 trillion in 2026 as compared to $741 billion in 2021 - a CAGR of 10.53%. This will be further boosted by the rise of 5G technology. Increased cloud computing will make it easier to derive IoT insights in real-time and help with faster decision-making. IoTs which are adept at edge computing will reduce the load on the cloud systems by processing at the enterprise edge. This will also enable robust edge infrastructure to support business intelligence and real-time decision-making.

Workload-centric processor architecture

As cloud computing encompasses the enterprise infrastructure, the need to have workload-specific processor architecture will be critical. Organisations will need to look at hardware technology such as integrated processing units and GPUs for business functions. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), ASICs will be leveraged for engineering-specific functions.

Serverless Cloud

A new concept that is gaining popularity with major players such as Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM investing in it. The Serverless cloud allows organisations to pay as they go instead of leasing servers and focus more on functions.

The emergence of Industry clouds with increased collaboration between industry and hyperscalers

Hyperscalers are building their capability in industrial services by recruiting heavily from industry leaders. Industry leaders are also partnering with cloud hyperscalers to provide industry-specific offerings. For instance, Volkswagen’s Digital Production Platform (DPP) on AWS for global VW factories, and Goldman Sachs’ financial services platform with AWS. Horizontal SaaS providers are also building industry-specific domain expertise. 

Synergies with operational technologies - value creation with technology advancement

Traditionally, information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) were developed with different objectives. As IT evolves at a steady pace and becomes more reliable, enterprises will leverage technologies such as AI / ML, data analytics for OT, resulting in business value creation. The cloud will be actively adopted in both production and operational environments along with connectivity such as private 5G / Wi-Fi 6 to improve safety and operational efficiency while reducing risks and costs. 

Even though enterprises have been investing in cloud computing over the years, the last two years have significantly raised the stakes. Going cloud-native has become an imperative. Optimised cloud computing practices will separate the winners from the have-been.