Cloud.in – Cloud Computing key trends in 2023 - Rahul s Kurkure, Founder & Director, Cloud.in

For over a decade cloud computing has been a force to reckon with in the IT domain.  We have also witnessed the cloud’s exponential growth since 2019 during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.  According to a new report by MarketsAndMarkets, the global Cloud Computing Platform Market size is estimated to reach USD 1,240.9 billion by 2027 from USD 545.8 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 17.9 percent during the forecast period.  Although the adoption of the cloud has been growing at an unprecedented rate there was inadequate planning leading to a rapid lift and shift to the public cloud to suit new business models and evolving market demands.  This unfortunately led to several business issues such as overprovisioning, not sufficient RoI from migration, and the rise of numerous complexities, with no proper strategic cost management of the cloud.

Organizations have to make strategic use of technology and leverage new approaches to address these challenges and complexities while making the most of cloud technology in the immediate future.  Some of the key trends in cloud computing in 2023 are covered in the following lines.

Cloud cost optimization will become critical

Organizations have begun to explore ways to effectively use cloud services, driving efficiency without unnecessary costs involved.  By leveraging Cloud Optimizers, DevOps teams can save time and focus on generating new codes.  Improved visibility ensures better cloud utilization and provides the required environment for innovation.  A cloud cost optimization plan could include tracking spending, management of operations, monitoring, and reporting among others, should be in place.  FinOps, the practice developed within the organization to manage cloud computing costs will become a top cloud computing trend.

Increase in AI and ML-enabled cloud services

Organizations are today increasingly relying on AI and ML for several of their business processes.  This means the gathering of data across multiple sources and training algorithms which in turn requires large amounts of computing power and storage space. It is more beneficial and cost-efficient to rent these services from cloud service providers.  On the other hand, AI is also leveraged by cloud service providers for many functions such as managing distributed networks and for regulating power in data centers.  These are some of the factors that enable the delivery of more cost-efficient cloud services for customers.  There will be a lot of work taking place in this area in the coming year.  So, during 2023, it will become very crucial for organizations to adopt AI and ML technologies with more organizations investing in them.

More organizations to adopt cloud-native strategies

Containers can be leveraged more efficiently than legacy virtual machines for new-age technologies.  So increasingly for the use of AI, ML, IoT, and 5G technologies, running the workload in containers are seen as a better option for developing App Modernization processes.  With Docker and Kubernetes platforms, large-scale cloud deployments are possible.  They offer higher efficiency, scalability, or cloud deployments process and flexibility in the sharing of resources.  We will witness more enterprises adopting these cloud-native strategies in 2023.

Priority for Data Security on Cloud Computing

Numerous data breaches on Cloud are acting as an obstacle for several organizations leading to several challenges which also include delays in deciding to migrate to the Cloud.  

As multi-cloud environments are gaining traction, organizations are already facing higher security risks in addition to the complexities involved in managing multiple platforms and technologies.  Security challenges and data breaches with cloud services are due to insecure cloud infrastructure and exposed APIs giving way for unauthorized access.

To address these, organizations are shifting to proactive cybersecurity strategies from inadequate reactive ones.  New technologies, such as XDR (Extended Detection and Response), blockchain, and others will be leveraged to enhance data protection while delivering continuously as they can seamlessly integrate into the cloud systems.  There will be significant growth in information security and risk management products and services driving strong growth in cloud security.   

Data sovereignty to gain further traction

With the rise in geo-political tensions, governments and businesses must retain sensitive data on the national or country’s soil.  This means data sovereignty will be given more frontage and the need for meeting data privacy requirements is growing rapidly too.  Data stored in the cloud could be under the jurisdiction of more than one country. Legal requirements vary from country to country for data security and data privacy, based on where the data resides and who is controlling it.  All business units across the organization, like IT security, legal and auditing, procurement, and others should play a key role in the governance and risk management processes.  Some of the measures to maintain data sovereignty include reducing data breaches by minimizing access to only those authorized. Implementation of data lifecycle policies such as storage, encryption, archiving, and destruction among others is crucial.  For implementing data governance in the cloud, data has to be defined and managed while ensuring it meets compliance with the evolving data sovereignty laws.

Organizations are today aware that they cannot afford to not opt for cloud migration as they require it for leveraging new-age technologies and gaining a competitive edge.  In the year 2023 organizations will certainly focus on strategic approaches to efficiently use cloud computing and deliver evolved offerings while staying ahead of the curve.