Category Archives: Cloud Computing
The Global Edge Computing Market size is expected to reach $111.4 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 16.8% CAGR during the forecast period…
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Top 5 trends to watch in cloud computing – TechRepublic
Image: Who is Danny/Adobe Stock
As cloud computing gains popularity, software service vendors have been snatching up the opportunity to win business by providing new and improved technological solutions. Efforts to manage aspects like security, latency and complexity of these cloud-based infrastructures have resulted in several noteworthy trends occurring within the cloud computing market.
Based on recent activity in the software world, it is safe to say that cloud computing is an industry that will not fizzle out any time soon. According to a recent report presented by ReportLinker, the global cloud computing market size is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2028, with a market growth of 15% CAGR during this forecast period. Factors influencing this rise include the digitalization of workloads following the COVID-19 pandemic and the advanced business services provided by cloud technology.
Read on to learn about some of the top cloud computing trends that we at TechRepublic expect to stick around.
As more users make the transition to the cloud, providers are developing more methods for promoting edge computing utilization. By enabling users to process their data at the edge of their network, these companies allow connections from virtually anywhere.
Edge computing can provide better security, efficiency and decreased costs for its users who would be storing their data locally. In addition, it can provide access to areas that usually lack connections and enables continual and autonomous operations to occur even when disconnected. For this reason, many organizations that require connections in extreme environments have chosen to adopt this technology.
SEE: Dont curb your enthusiasm: Trends and challenges in edge computing (TechRepublic)
Conducting computing at the edge of a network can also minimize network latency and reduce bandwidth demands. These are driving factors for the adoption of edge computing to support increasingly popular uses like virtual reality systems.
Cloud security systems and data loss prevention solutions help organizations secure their infrastructures and adhere to cybersecurity standards which can become difficult to manage otherwise. Conducting business operations on cloud or hybrid systems can put organizations at more risk of security breaches and cyber threats.
Operational compliance and reporting risks pose significant risks to organizations adopting cloud computing, as they can result in financial penalties, data breaches and damage to the companys reputation and customer trust. However, adopting cloud security solutions like governance policies and compliance automation can reduce the likelihood of these risks.
Fortunately, many vendors provide solutions for organizations that wish to benefit from the flexibility of cloud computing without putting their security at risk. These systems can offer features for data loss prevention like encryption, authentication, endpoint protection and access management.
Additionally, configuration or compliance vulnerability scans may also be conducted through these solutions to help users stay one step ahead of cybersecurity threats. For now, this trend is ongoing, with many vendors focusing on the goal of providing centralized security management solutions.
While some organizations have fully transitioned to cloud computing, others still operate on hybrid infrastructures. Some also appreciate the flexibility of multi-cloud infrastructures that offer access to on-premise technologies, private clouds and public clouds. Unfortunately, while these infrastructure models help facilitate digital transformation, they can also lead to increased complexity and costs for users.
SEE: Research: The complexities of multicloud deployments are often worth the benefits, even in uncertain times (TechRepublic Premium)
A growing trend regarding these infrastructures involves securing the larger potential attack surfaces for organizations utilizing these models. As more complexity leads to more vulnerabilities, vendors are designing solutions to defend these systems from cloud-related security threats.
Cloud application migration and development and diverse cloud data storage are other popular topics surrounding hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures. For organizations that desire help with these processes, vendors are already offering services to assist. We can expect to see even more advancements in this space that can help reduce the complexity of these models, so users can utilize a hybrid workspace or enjoy public cloud capabilities while maintaining the greater control of a private cloud.
Yes, you read that right the normalization of AI, ML and even automation is a trend that will not likely go away anytime soon. These technologies enable features that consumers highly desire, and service suppliers are doing their all to meet these demands.
AI and automation have become commonplace in cloud technologies, and ML is catching up. ML algorithms can take business decision-making to the next level, enabling organizations to assess potential opportunities and forecast risk factors. In addition, data to train ML models supports solutions that are more precisely attuned to the organizations needs.
Cloud and back-end operations are likely to continue featuring AI for analytical capabilities and solutions that can react appropriately to outside influencers. For example, organizations use serverless cloud technology to automate IT management tasks. Quantum computing is another up-and-coming tech trend that allows for information to be processed at a high rate, leading to faster time to reach insights and perform automated actions.
Perhaps companies have realized that consumers appreciate supporting businesses that prioritize environmental protection, or maybe they genuinely care about the well-being of future generations. Either way, green computing initiatives have become a growing trend in the cloud computing scene, and service providers arent shying away from mentioning it in their marketing campaigns.
The push toward adopting environmentally friendly practices through cloud-based services mainly aims to support sustainable computing by reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions and physical storage. According to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets the green technology and sustainability market size is projected to grow from $11.2 billion in 2020 to $36.6 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate of 26.6% during this forecast period.
While cloud computing is generally thought of as an environmentally beneficial option, companies within the industry have been upping their efforts toward greener initiatives and minimizing their carbon footprint. For example, AWS has been adopting more sustainable cloud technologies, such as more power-efficient hardware designs, airflow technology to decrease energy requirements for cooling systems and renewable energy usage within its data centers.
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Top 5 trends to watch in cloud computing - TechRepublic
Alibaba Invests in Cloud Computing Business With New Campus – ETF Trends
Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has opened a new campus for its cloud computing unit, Alibaba Cloud, in its home city of Hangzhou. Per the South China Morning Post, which Alibaba owns, the 10-building, 2.1 million-square-foot campus is roughly the size of the 2 million-square-foot campus for Googles Silicon Valley headquarters, aka the Googleplex, in Mountain View, California.
Alibaba Cloud also highlighted the campuss eco-friendly designs in a video, including a photovoltaic power generation system, flowerpots made from recycled plastic, and high-efficiency, low-energy devices in the on-site coffee shop, according to SCMP.
The new campus signals the firms commitment to investing in its growing cloud computing business. While Alibabas net income dropped 50% year-over-year in the second quarter to 22.74 billion yuan ($3.4 billion), Alibaba Cloud experienced the fastest growth among all of Alibabas business segments in Q2, making up 9% of total revenue.
The new facilities also come at a time when Chinas economy has been facing a slowdown. While Chinas economy is slowing down, Alibabas cloud computing unit has been eyeing expansion opportunities overseas. For example, Alibaba Cloud announced last month a $1 billion commitment to upgrading its global partner ecosystem.
Alibaba is currently thethird-largest holding in EMQQ Globals flagship exchange-traded fund, the Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF (NYSEArca: EMQQ) with a weighting of 7.01% as of October 14. EMQQ seeks to offer investors exposure to the growth in internet and e-commerce activities in the developing world as middle classes expand and affordable smartphones provide unprecedentedly large swaths of the population with access to the internet for the first time, according to the issuer.
EMQQ tracks an index of leading internet and e-commerce companies that includes online retail, search engines, social networking, online video, e-payments, online gaming, and online travel.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit ourEmerging Markets Channel.
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Alibaba Invests in Cloud Computing Business With New Campus - ETF Trends
Benefits of Cloud Computing That Can Help You With Your Business 2023 – ReadWrite
Today, businesses are looking to operate more flexibly and cost-effectively. This has led to the rise of cloud computing as a viable solution for almost every business. Cloud computing uses a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet and accessible through standard web browsers or mobile apps.
It enables users to store data remotely, exchange files, and access software applications from anywhere with an internet connection. In addition, individuals and businesses that use the cloud can access their data from any computer or device connected to the internet, allowing them to sync their settings and files wherever they go.
There are many advantages to using cloud services for your business. Here are 10 benefits of cloud computing that can help you with your business.
One of the most significant benefits of cloud computing is its security. If you run your business on the cloud, you dont have to worry about protecting your data from hackers or other threats.
Cloud providers use industry-standard security practices to keep your data safe, including firewalls, encryption, and authentication systems.
You can further customize your businesss security settings if your business uses a private cloud. For example, if an employee loses or misplaces a device that has access to your data, you can remotely disable that device without putting your data at risk.
You can also encrypt your data to protect it against cyber threats. Businesses can also use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect their data further. MFA requires users to input a one-time passcode sent to their phone to log in and confirm their identity.
Another advantage of cloud computing is its scalability. Cloud providers offer scalable cloud solutions that you can adjust to meet your businesss needs.
You can scale up or down your system on demand to deal with seasonal traffic or unexpected spikes in usage. This allows you to avoid buying too much computing power and resources upfront and allows your business to adjust to changes in demand quickly.
You can also try out a cloud solution before you commit to it by renting a smaller instance for a trial period. Cloud solutions are also flexible enough for you to upgrade or downgrade your solutions as your business scales up or down.
This means that you dont have to buy more computing power than you need upfront, and you dont have to upgrade your systems again if your business starts to slow down.
Cloudcomputing can help you achieve greater flexibility and mobility if your business relies on people working remotely. With cloud solutions, you can access your data and run your applications from any computer or device connected to the internet.
When you can access all your data from anywhere, employees can work from home, in coffee shops, or other locations without sacrificing productivity. In addition, cloud providers offer a wide range of collaboration and communication tools that work with their services.
You can also use these tools to collaborate and communicate with clients and vendors who dont need access to your companys data.
Another advantage of cloud computing is its consistency. While different people and departments may use other devices and software, cloud solutions ensure everyone has a consistent experience.
This prevents miscommunications and ensures that everyone is on the same page. Whether you use Office 365, Google G Suite, Salesforce, or another cloud service, your business will have a consistent experience across platforms.
You can also use tools, like identity integration, to access information from different applications without switching between them.
Cloud solutions offer significant cost reductions over the long run compared to other IT solutions. You can save money on hardware, upgrades, and software licenses while enjoying a flexible and scalable solution.
Cloud providers handle all the maintenance and upgrade of their systems, so you dont have to worry about keeping up with the latest trends in IT.
Cloud solutions offer significant cost reductions over the long run compared to other IT solutions. You can save money on hardware, upgrades, and software licenses while enjoying a flexible and scalable solution.
You can easily integrate multiple cloud services to streamline your workflows if your business uses various cloud services.
Many cloud services have a wide range of integrations with other services that you can use to enhance your business processes. For example, you can use Salesforce to manage your leads and close rates and Zapier to link it with other business tools like Gmail, Mailchimp, and Google Calendar.
You can also use a hybrid cloud solution that lets you keep your data close to home while accessing additional IT services through the cloud.
Cloud solutions offer unlimited storage, unlike other data storage solutions like on-premise computers. So while you can scale down your cloud solution if you dont need as much storage for your data, you can also increase your storage later.
You can also use a hybrid solution to keep some of your data local while storing other data in the cloud.
Another advantage of cloud computing is faster performance. In addition, if you use the cloud, you arent limited by your hardware, and your systems are more scalable.
This means that your website and other business applications will perform faster without you having to make hardware upgrades.
You can also use a hybrid solution to improve your performance by keeping your most critical data close to home while accessing other data in the cloud.
Cloud solutions offer a collaborative online environment that lets you share important information with clients and vendors. You can use collaboration tools like wikis, blogs, and forums to work with team members and manage your projects.
You can also use collaboration tools to communicate with clients and vendors who dont need access to your companys data. These tools let you share documents, collaborate on tasks, and manage your workflow from a single platform.
Even though control is an essential aspect of a companys success, there are certain things that you cannot control. Whether your organization controls its own procedures or not, there are certain things that are out of your control. In todays market, even a small amount of downtime has a significant impact.
Business downtime leads to lost productivity, revenue, and reputation. Although you cant prevent or foresee all the catastrophes, there is something you can do to speed up your recovery. Cloud-based data recovery services provide quick recovery for emergency situations, such as natural disasters and electrical outages.
The range of benefits of Cloud computingmakes it a viable solution for almost every business. It offers many advantages that can help you streamline your workflow, achieve better performance, and operate more efficiently.
Suvigya Saxena is the Founder & CEO of Exato Software, a global ranking mobile, cloud computing and web app development company. With 15+ years of experience of IT Tech which are now global leaders with creative solutions, he is differentiated by out-of-the-box IT solutions throughout the domain.
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Benefits of Cloud Computing That Can Help You With Your Business 2023 - ReadWrite
Cloud Computing: A catalyst for the IoT Industry – SiliconIndia
Cloud computing is a great enabler for todays businesses for a variety of reasons. It helps companies, particularly small and medium enterprises jumpstart their operations sooner as there is very little lead time needed to stand up a full-fledged in-house IT infrastructure. Secondly, it eases the financial requirements by avoiding heavy capex and turning the IT costs into an opex model. Even more advantageous is the opex costs can be scaled up and down dynamically based on demand thus optimizing IT costs.
I think Cloud computing became a catalyst for the IoT industry and the proliferation that is seen today probably may not have happened in the absence of Cloud integration. Typically, IoT devices like sensors generate huge amounts of data that require both storage and processing thus making Cloud platforms the perfect choice for building IoT-based solutions. In an IoT implementation, apart from data assimilation there are some fundamental aspects like security, managing devices, etc. that needs to be considered and Cloud platforms take over some of these implementation aspects enabling the solution provider to focus on the core problem.
An interesting case study of how IoT and Cloud technologies can help to create innovative solutions was presented in a Microsoft conference few years back. Its a solution developed to monitor the pollution levels in Ganges which is a project sponsored by Central Pollution Control Board. For more information, readers could go to this link https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cleaning-up-the-ganges-river-with-help-from-iot/
Digital technology in the financial services
When we talk about disruptive digital technologies in Financial Services industry, perhaps Blockchain is the one that stands out immediately. The concept of DLT (Decentralised Ledger Technology) has been around for some time and theres lots of interest in leveraging this technology primarily for transparency and efficiency reasons. After an article by Reserve Bank of India in 2020, many Indian banks responded to this initiative by starting to look at opportunities that involve DLT. For e.g. State Bank of India tied up with JP Morgan to use their Blockchain technology.
Adoption of Blockchain could simplify Inter-bank payment settlement and perhaps could be extended in future to cross-border payment settlements across different DLT platforms. It could also be used for settlement of securitized assets by putting them on a common ledger. Another application is using DLT for KYC whereby multiple agencies (like banks) can access customer data from a decentralized and secure database. In fact, EQ uses Blockchain in its product offering to privately funded companies and PEs for Cap table management.
The next one is probably Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) which is predominantly being applied in Financial Services industry in managing internal and external risks. AI-based algorithms now underpin risk-based pricing in Insurance sector and in reducing NPAs in the Banking sector. The technology helps banks predict defaults and take proactive measures to mitigate that risk.
In the Indian context, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Aadhar-enabled Payment Service (AePS) are classic examples of disruptive products in financial services industry.
Effective Network Security acts as a gatekeeper
In todays connected world where much of the commerce happens online, its imperative businesses focus on security to safeguard them from threats in cyberspace. The recent approach to Network security is Zero Trust model which basically means never trusts any user/device unless verified. In this model, mutual authentication happens between the two entities in multiple ways, for e.g. using User credentials followed by a second factor like an OTP and sometimes application authentication happens through a digital certificate. The process also uses analytics and log analysis to detect abnormalities in user behaviour and enforce additional authenticating measures while sending alerts at the same time. This is something many of us might have come across when we try to connect to an application from a new device that the application is not aware of. The security mechanism might enforce additional authentication whilst sending an alert to us. Nowadays, businesses also use innovative methods of authentication like biometrics, voice recognition, etc. and some of these are powered by AI/ML.
Fintech players leverage Artificial Intelligence to bridge the gap in MSME lending
I think MSME lending (maybe Retail Lending too) is one of the segments significantly disrupted by technology. In a way, it has opened unconventional options for MSMEs to attract capital both for capex and working capital requirements. There are products ranging from P2P lending to Invoice Discounting offered by Fintech companies which is opening up a new market place. There are Fintech players interested in lending in this space and they use AI/ML models to predict probability of defaults and assess credit risk and appropriately hedge against them.
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Cloud Computing: A catalyst for the IoT Industry - SiliconIndia
Cleveland Clinic and IBM Begin Installation of IBM Quantum System One – IBM Newsroom
Key milestone in 10-Year Partnership Aimed at Accelerating Discovery in Healthcare and Life Sciences
Oct 18, 2022
Cleveland, OH and Armonk, N.Y. October 18, 2022:Cleveland Clinicand IBM have begundeployment of the first private sector onsite,IBM-managedquantum computer in the United States.The IBM Quantum Systemis to be located on Cleveland Clinics main campus in Cleveland.
The first quantum computer in healthcare, anticipated to be completed in early 2023, is a key part of the two organizations10-year partnership aimed at fundamentally advancing the pace of biomedical research through high-performance computing. Announced in 2021, the Cleveland Clinic-IBM Discovery Accelerator is a joint center that leverages Cleveland Clinics medical expertise with the technology expertise of IBM, including its leadership in quantum computing.
The current pace of scientific discovery is unacceptably slow, while our research needs are growing exponentially, said Lara Jehi, M.D., Cleveland Clinics Chief Research Information Officer. We cannot afford to continue to spend a decade or more going from a research idea in a lab to therapies on the market. Quantum offers a future to transform this pace, particularly in drug discovery and machine learning.
A step change in the way we solve scientific problems is on the horizon, said Dr. Ruoyi Zhou, Director, IBM Research - Cleveland Clinic Partnership. At IBM, were more motivated than ever to create with Cleveland Clinic and others lasting communities of discovery and harness the power of quantum computing, AI and hybrid cloud to usher in a new era of accelerated discovery in healthcare and life sciences.
The Discovery Accelerator at Cleveland Clinic upon a variety of IBMs latest advancements in high performance computing, including:
The Discovery Accelerator also serves as the technology foundation for Cleveland Clinics Global Center for Pathogen Research & Human Health, part of the Cleveland Innovation District. The center, supported by a $500 million investment from the State of Ohio, Jobs Ohio and Cleveland Clinic, brings together a team focused on studying, preparing and protecting against emerging pathogens and virus-related diseases. Through Discovery Accelerator, researchers are leveraging advanced computational technology to expedite critical research into treatments and vaccines.
Together, the teams have already begun several collaborative projects that benefit from the new computational power. The Discovery Accelerator projects include a research study developing a quantum computing method to screen and optimize drugs targeted to specific proteins; improving a prediction model for cardiovascular risk following non-cardiac surgery; and using artificial intelligence to search genome sequencing findings and large drug-target databases to find effective, existing drugs that could help patients with Alzheimers and other diseases.
A significant part of the collaboration is a focus on educating the workforce of the future and creating jobs to grow the economy. An innovative educational curriculum has been designed for participants from high school to professional level, offering training and certification programs in data science, machine learning and quantum computing to build the skilled workforce needed for cutting-edge computational research of the future.
About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nations best hospitals in its annual Americas Best Hospitals survey. Among Cleveland Clinics 72,500 employees worldwide are more than 5,050 salaried physicians and researchers, and 17,800 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,500-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 22 hospitals, more than 220 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2021, there were 10.2 million total outpatient visits, 304,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 259,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinics health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org.Follow us at twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available atnewsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
Editors Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.
About IBM
IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. For more information, visit https://research.ibm.com.
Contacts:
Alicia RealeCleveland Clinic216-408-7444Realeca@ccf.org
Sarah BenchaitaIBM Research281-455-6432sarah.benchaita@ibm.com
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Cleveland Clinic and IBM Begin Installation of IBM Quantum System One - IBM Newsroom
Revitalising data and infrastructure management through cloud – ETCIO South East Asia
The Cloud has been a significant contributor to the digital optimisation and transformation of businesses and institutions globally since the 2010s. It seems almost an eternity ago, when the IT department was essentially a support function, with KRAs around design and delivery of Information Technology Architecture encompassing Infrastructure, Data Centres and constituent servers, personal computers, software, networking and security systems, along with the associated, vendor evaluation, outsourcing, contracting, commissioning and finally aligning with business systems and goals, as this pre-millennium Research Gate paper indicates.
The one and a half decades since the advent of the millennium saw the rise of many trends, besides the cloud, such as shift from integrated to business specific applications, resulting data management and insights, globalisation, adoption of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), implosion of telecom, mobility and Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS), other technologies such as social media, E-commerce, Extended Reality, Digital Twins, AI/ ML, RPA, Internet of things, Blockchain and Chatbots and lastly, the growing skill-gaps and demands of talent.
The cloud has now taken over a major chunk of responsibilities pertaining to infrastructure, data centre, hosting, SaaS and architectural applications, platforms, networking and security functions thus freeing up the IT and Business Teams for leveraging technology for more strategic tasks related to operations, customers, R&D, supply chain and others. The cloud, hence enabled companies and institutions to leverage the amalgamation of technology, people and processes across their extended enterprises to have ongoing digital programmes for driving revenue, customer satisfaction, and profitability. The cloud can potentially add USD 1 Trillion of Economic Value across the Fortune 500 band of companies by 2030, as this research by McKinsey estimates.
Even before the pandemic, although the initial adoption of Cloud was in the SaaS applications, IaaS and PaaS was surely catching up, thus shifting away from the traditional Data Centre and On-premise Infrastructure. Gartners research way back in 2015 predicted a 30 % plus increase in the IaaS spending with the public cloud IaaS workloads finally surpassing those of on-premise loads. In the same year, Gartners similar paper highlighted significant growth in PaaS as well : both for Infrastructure and Application iPaaS.
The Cloud is adding significant value across Industry verticals and business functions, right from remote working with online meetings & collaboration tools, automated factory operations, extended reality, digital twins, remote field services and many others. The cloud has also been adopted as the platform for deploying other new technologies such as RPA and Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning (AI/ ML) Depending on industry best practices, business use cases and IT strategies, it became feasible to leverage infrastructure, assets, applications, assets, and software, in a true Hybrid / Multi/ Industry Cloud scenario with separate private and public cloud environments covering IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and MBaaS. As Platforms were maturing, organisations were furthermore transitioning from Virtual Machine and even from IaaS based solutions to PaaS based. Gartner had predicted in this research that by 2021, over 75% of enterprises and mid-sized organisations would adopt a hybrid or multi-cloud strategy.
There was also a clear transition from the traditional lift and shift to the cloud native approach, which makes full use of cloud elasticity and optimisation levers and moreover minimises technical debt and inefficiencies. This approach makes use of cloud computing to build and run microservices based scalable applications running in virtualised containers, orchestrated in the Container-as-a-service applications and managed and deployed using DevOps workflows. Microservices, container management, infrastructure as a code, serverless architectures, declarative code and continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) are the fundamental tenets of this cloud native approach. Organisations are balancing use of containerization along with leveraging the cloud hosting provider capabilities especially considering the extent of hybrid cloud, efforts and costs of container infrastructure and running commodity applications.
From the architecture standpoint, cloud-based composable architectures such as MACH- Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless and Packaged business capabilities (PBCs) are increasingly being used in organisations for enhancing Digital Experience Platforms enabling customers, employees and supply chain with the new age Omnichannel experience. These architectures facilitate faster deployment and time to market through quick testing by sample populations and subsequent full-fledged implementations. These composable architectures help organisations in future proofing their IT investments, and improve business resilience and recovery with the ability to decouple and recouple the technology stacks. At the end of the 1st year of the pandemic, Gartner here highlighted the importance of composable architecture in its Hype Cycle of 2021 especially in business resilience and recovery during a crisis.
Intelligently deploying Serverless Computing in the architecture also enhances cloud native strategies immensely, thus enabling developers to focus on triggers and running function/ event-based computing, also resulting in more optimised cloud economics. Also, access to the cloud service providers Function-as-a-service (FaaS) and Backend-as-service (BaaS) models significantly reduce the IT environment transformation costs. This Deloitte Research illustrates the advantages that Serverless computing can bring about to retail operations.
To enhance their cloud native strategies, to further encourage citizen development, reducing over reliance on IT and bridging the IT-Business Gap, organisations are also making use of Low Code No Code (LCNC) tools and assembling, clearly shifting from application development. Citizen developers are making use of LCNC functionalities such as Drag and drop, pre-built User Interfaces, APIs and Connectors, one-click delivery and others to further augment their containerisation and microservices strategies. This Gartner Research predicts that 70% of new applications developed by organisations will use LCNC by 2025, well up from less than 25% in 2020.
Infrastructure and Data Management in the cloud are being immensely powered up by Automation and Orchestration. Especially in minimising manual efforts and errors in processes such as provisioning, configuring, sizing and auto-scaling, asset tagging, clustering and load balancing, performance monitoring, deploying, DevOps and CI/ CD testing and performance management. Further efficiencies are brought to fruition through automation especially in areas such as shutting down unutilised instances, backups, workflow version control, and establishing Infrastructure as Code (IAC). This further hence value-adds to robust cloud native architecture by enhancing containerisation, clustering, network configuration, storage connectivity, load balancing and managing the workload lifecycle, besides highlighting vulnerabilities and risks. Enterprises pursuing hybrid cloud strategies are hence driving automation in private clouds as well as integrating with public clouds by creating automation assets that perform resource codification across all private and public clouds and offer a single API. This McKinsey research highlights that companies that have adopted end-to-end automation in their cloud platforms and initiatives report a 20-40% increase in speed of releasing new capabilities to market. A similar report by Deloitte, mentions that intelligent automation in the cloud enables scale in just 4-12 months, compared to the earlier 6-24 months period, through streamlined development and deployment processes.
CIOs are also increasingly turning to distributed cloud models to address edge or location-based cloud use cases especially across Banks and Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Smart cities, and Manufacturing. It is expected that decentralised and distributed cloud computing will move from the initial private cloud substation deployments to an eventually Wi-Fi like distributed cloud substation ecosystems, especially considering the necessary availability, bandwidth and other operational and security aspects.
These rapid developments in the cloud ecosystems especially for hybrid and multi cloud environments have necessitated infrastructure and data management to encompass dashboards for end-to-end visibility of all the cloud resources and usage across providers, business functions, and departments. Governance and Compliance, Monitoring, Inventory Management, Patches and Version Control, Disaster Recovery, Hybrid Cloud Management Platforms (HCMP), Cloud Service Brokers (CSB) and other Tools aid companies in better Infrastructure Management in the Cloud, while catering to fluctuating demands and corresponding under and over utilisation scenarios, while continuously identifying pockets for optimisation and corrections. For companies with customers spread across diverse geographies, it is important to have tools for infrastructure management, global analytics, database engines and application architectures across these global Kubernetes clusters and Virtual Machines.
The vast increase in attack surfaces and potential breach points have necessitated CIOs and CISOs to incorporating robust security principles and tools within the Cloud Native ecosystem itself, through Cloud Security Platforms such as Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Cloud security posture management (CSPM), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), DevSecOps and incorporation of AI and ML in their proactive threat hunting and response systems. This is also critical in adhering to Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and Regulatory compliances, in with Zero Trust Architecture and Cyber Resilient frameworks and strategy. This McKinsey article highlights the importance of Security as Code (SaC) in cloud native strategies and its reliance on architecture and the right automation capabilities.
This EY article highlights the importance of cybersecurity in cloud native strategies as well as the corresponding considerations in processes, cyber security tools, architecture, risk management, skills and competencies and controls. Data Encryption and Load Protection, Identity and Access management, Extended Threat and Response Systems (XDR), Security Incident and Environment Management (SIEM), and Security Orchestration and Response (SOAR) tools that incorporate AI/ ML capabilities ensure more of proactive vis--vis a reactive response. Considering the vast information to ingest, store and analyse, organisations are also considering/ deploying Cyber Data Lakes as either alternatives or in conjunction to complement their SIEM ecosystems.
There is an increasing popularity of Financial Operations (FinOps) which is helping organisations to gain the maximum value from the cloud, through the cross functional involvement of business, finance, procurement, supply chain, engineering, DevOps/ DevSecOps and cloud operational teams. Augmented FinOps has been listed by Gartner in the 2022 Hype Cycle for emerging technologies here. FinOps immensely value-adds to infrastructure and data management in the cloud through dynamic and continuous sourcing and managing cloud consumption, demand mapping, crystallising the Total Cost of Ownership and Operations with end-to-end cost visibility and forecasting to make joint decisions and monitor comprehensive KPIs. Besides the cloud infrastructure management strategies listed in this section, FinOps also incorporates vendor management strategies and leveraging cloud carbon footprint tools for their organisations Sustainability Goals.
What about Data Management through the Cloud?
The 2nd half of the 2010s and especially the COVID-19 period have also resulted in an implosion of IoT, social media, E-commerce and other Digital Transformation. This has made organisations deal with diverse data sources residing on cloud, on-premise and on the edge, diversity in data sets across sensor, text, image, Audio-Visual, Voice, E-commerce, social media and others, and the volume of data that is now required to be ingested, managed and delivered on real-time and batch mode. Even before the pandemic, this implosion of unstructured data, necessitated companies to leverage Hadoop and other Open Source based Data Lakes besides their structured data residing in Data Warehouses. According to this Deloitte Article, for their surveyed CXOs, Data Modernisation is even a more critical aspect than cost and performance consideration for migrating to the cloud.
This research by Statista estimated the total worldwide data amount rose from 9 Zettabytes in 2013 to over 27 Zettabytes in 2021, and the prediction is this growing to well over 180 Zettabytes in 2025. Decentralised and distributed cloud computing, Web 3.0, the Metaverse and rise in Edge Computing will further contribute to this data growth.
Many organisations are looking at the Cloud as the future of data management as this article by Gartner states. As the cloud encompasses more and more data sources, this becomes more pivotal for data architects to have a deeper understanding of metadata and schema, the end-to-end data lifecycle pipeline of ingestion, cleaning, storage, analysis, delivery and visualisation, APIs, cloud automation and orchestration, Data Streaming, AI/ ML models, Analytics, Data Storage and Visualisation, as well as Governance and Security.
Data Architects are hence leveraging cloud computing in their strategies including scaling, elasticity and decoupling, ensuring high availability and optimal performance with relation to bursts and shutdowns, while optimising cost at the same time. The Data Teams are also deploying Automated and Active Cloud Data management covering classification, validation and governance with extensible and decoupling. There is also careful consideration for ensuring security for data at rest and in motion, as well as seamless data integration and sharing
It is also important to choose the right MetaData Strategy and consider options of Tiered apps with push-based services, pull-based ETL, and Event based Metadata. It is also worthwhile to stress upon the importance of having a robust Data Architecture/ DataOps culture as well, especially considering business and technology perspectives of the end-to-end data lifecycle right from data sources and ingestion, meta data and active data management, streaming, storage, analytics and visualisation. Deploying elasticity, AI/ ML and automation bring about immense benefits to the cloud native strategies.
Considering these aspects in Data Management, organisations have looking at ML and API powered Data Fabrics along with Data Lakes, Warehouses and Layers to manage this end-to-end data lifecycle by creating, maintaining and providing outputs to the consumers of this data, as this Gartner article on technology trends for 2022 highlights.
This article by McKinsey summarises the major pivot points in the data architecture ethos which are fundamentally based on Cloud with containerization and serverless data. These cover hybrid real time and batch data processing, shift from end-to-end COTS applications to modular best in function/ industry, move to APIs and decoupling, shift from centralised Data Warehousing to domain-based architecture and lastly from proprietary predefined datasets to data schema that is light and flexible, especially the NoSQL family.
For BFSI, Telecoms and other industry verticals which need customer data to reside locally, CXOs have been deploying Hybrid Data Management environments, that leverage Cloud Data Management tools to also automate, orchestrate, and re-use the on-premise data, thus providing a unified data model and access interface to both cloud and on-premise datasets.
Application of Automation and Orchestration in Data Storage also ensures prioritisation of processes, tasks and resources to balance speed, efficiency, usage and cost along with eliminating security vulnerabilities. This is especially applicable for tasks such as provisioning and configuration, capacity management, workflows and data migration, resource optimisation, software updates and data protection and disaster recovery. This World Economic Forum report right before the pandemic highlighted the fact that the conventional optical/ magnetic storage systems will be unable to handle this phenomenon for more than a century. CIOs and Leaders are hence leveraging automation and cloud, Storage-as-a Service (STaaS), decentralised Blockchain powered data storage and storage on the Edge, besides alternates to conventional electromagnetic/ optical data storage mechanism
What is the role of people and culture in this cloud powered data and infrastructure management ecosystem?
People, talent pool and organisation culture play a pivotal part in successful FinOps, cloud native and cloud data management strategies. In this dynamic and uncertain world, it is of paramount importance to have uniformity, alignment and resonance of business KPIs to best practices for Enterprise and Data Architecture, DevOps as well as those of Engineering, Finance, and Procurement. This environment of continuous evolution, and optimisation can be only brought about by an ethos of Communication, Trust, Change Management, Business-Finance-IT alignment, which are equally important cloud native strategies, Architecture, DevOps, DataOps, Security and other Engineering Talent Pools.
The continuing trends of the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting and Moonlighting necessitate a combination of having the best employee and vendor engagement strategies, a readily available talent pool of architects, analysts, engineers and other skillsets, as well as upskilling.
Winding up?
The Cloud has deeply impacted and revitalised Infrastructure and Data Management in all aspects in the workplace. As per this Deloitte research, it is ideal to leverage an equal mix of people, tools and approaches to address cloud complexity, and have a powerful, agile, elastic, secure and resilient virtual business infrastructure deriving maximum value from the cloud.
Cloud-centric digital infrastructure is a bedrock in the post COVID world, aligning technology with business to support digital transformation, resilience, governance along with business outcomes through a combination of operations, technology and deployment as mentioned in this IDC paper. This is so important in the increasing complexity of todays world across Public Cloud Infrastructure, On-Premises and on the Edge.
With continuing business uncertainty, competitiveness, customer, supplier and employee pressures and stringent IT budgets, organisations are looking at the Cloud to revitalise their Infrastructure and Data Management and gain maximum value.
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Revitalising data and infrastructure management through cloud - ETCIO South East Asia