IT in the Cloud

A cloud is the visible condensation of water droplets suspended in the atmosphere as water evaporates off the surface of the earth. It is both visible and yet, untouchable. The Cloud is the storage and management of data in countless data centers around the world accessed through the internet. Like atmospheric clouds, the Cloud exists within our modern world, but the physical location of the data is not usually within our grasp. As more and more systems connect to the internet, or the Cloud, the adoption and growth of cloud computing will only continue. It is therefore important to keep track of the trends in cloud computing so that your business can capitalize on the opportunities found up in the Cloud.

Popularity of Hybrid Cloud Models

Hybrid cloud models are the convergence of older legacy systems that are not connected to the internet with more modern cloud capable systems. This hybrid system utilizing both worlds of technology offers enterprises the flexibility to upgrade their technological capabilities while maintaining the functionality of their existing business model. The popularity of such an approach is only getting stronger as the “research firm Gartner… predicts that by 2020, 75 per cent of organizations will have deployed a multi-cloud or hybrid cloud model” [1].

Another research firm, MarketsandMarkets, identified the driving factors for hybrid model demand as “cost efficiency, scalability, agility, and security” [1]. It is the hybrid model’s ability to “provide economies of scale while simultaneously delivering security to the sensitive information of businesses” that they also predict the hybrid cloud market to grow from $44.6 billion in 2018 to $97.6 billion in 2023. If you’re thinking of modernizing your business practices, hybrid models may be an effective way of upgrading.

Upscale? Why not Hyper-scale!

Scalability is a touted benefit of cloud computing systems. The faster you grow, the more important an agile cloud system is to handle that growth. With the rapid pace of innovation and the frantic shifts in the business landscape, the demand for faster scalability only grows as well. This is where hyper-scale data centers come into play. “Hyper-scale refers to the capability of an IT system or architecture to scale exponentially and rapidly to respond to demand that is increasing heavily” [1]. By using hyper-scale data centers, which are modular in structure thus utilizing easily replaceable and upgradeable equipment, organizations can scale extremely quickly on a physical level.

The market for hyper-scale data centers is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.32% over a five-year period from $25.08 billion in 2017 to $80.65 billion by 2022 globally [1]. Similarly, “Cisco estimates that by 2021, traffic within hyper-scale data centers will quadruple, and hyper-scale data centers will account for 55 per cent of all data center traffic by 2021” [1]. It looks like the hyper model is the new super model of the tech world.

Companies Need More DRaaS

Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service, or DRaaS, “is a cloud computing and backup service model that uses cloud resources to protect applications and data from disruption caused by disaster. It gives an organization a total system backup that allows for business continuity in the event of system failure” [2]. In other words, it’s a must have for organizations transitioning or fully integrated in a digital, cloud-based IT system.

Disasters could include malicious cyber-attacks, power failure, or nature disasters, that would temporarily or permanently shut down operations, which can be extremely costly. “According to Gartner, the average cost of IT downtime is close to $5,600 per minute” [1], which would be more devastating for certain industries like e-commerce where every minute is a potential missed sales opportunity. This makes DRaaS companies high in demand and the “IDC estimates that the DRaaS market will reach $4.5 billion in 2020 with a 15.4% growth through 2023” [1].

It’s Time to Look up at the Cloud

Cloud computing is here and growing like a storm on the horizon. It’s time for you to assess your organization’s business model to see if transitioning some processes to a cloud system can improve your results. Whether it’s hybrid models, hyper-scale data centers, or a new DRaaS plan, the applications and benefits of cloud computing solutions are waiting for you to capture. Keep your head up in the Cloud!