THE EVOLUTION OF CLOUD COMPUTING

Nearly every major enterprise has virtualised its server estate, which is a big driver for cloud adoption.

At the same time the cloud business model has evolved into three categories, each with varying entry costs and advantages: infrastructure-as-a-service, software-as-a-service, and platform-as-a-service.

 Within this context private cloud, colocation and hosted services remain firmly part of the mix today.

While cloud has its benefits, enterprises are running into issues, as their migrations continue.

For instance, the high cost of some software-as-a-service offerings has caught some enterprises out, while the risk of lock-in with infrastructure-as-a-service providers is also a concern for some.

 As the first flush of cloud computing dissipates, enterprises are becoming more cautious about being tied into a service.

The scene is now set for the future of cloud, with a focus on hybrid and multi-cloud deployments.

In five years’ time, terminology like hybrid-IT, multi cloud and managed services, will a thing of the past.

It will be a given, and there won’t just be one cloud solution, or one data solution, it will be about how clouds connect and about maximising how networks are used.

Hybrid solutions should mean that workloads will automatically move to the most optimised and cost-effective environment, based on performance needs, security, data residency, application workload characteristics, end-user demand and traffic.

This could be in the public cloud, or private cloud, or on-premise, or a mix of all. It could be an internal corporate network or the public internet, but end-users they won’t know and they don’t care either.

There is an application architecture refactoring that is required to make this happen with existing architectures shifting from classic three-tiers to event driven.

Cloud providers are already pushing for these features to be widely adopted for cloud-native applications. And as enterprises evolve to adapt, hyperscale public clouds, and service providers are adapting to reach back into on-premise data centres.

This trend will continue over the next five to ten years with the consumption nature of the cloud growing in uptake.

While we wouldn’t call this the intergalactic computing network as ARPA’s Licklider originally envisioned, it’s certainly moving closer to a global network that will connect governments, institutions, corporations and individuals.