At the beginning of the last decade, Microsoft realized the importance of setting up its own cloud business. The year 2010 witnessed the launch of Azure cloud services; by this time, AWS became matured as a company, and Azure was already too late. 

Fast-forward to 2020, cloud technologies are facilitating the adoption of new-age technologies such as AI, ML, IoT, Blockchain, Big Data, etc. The period from 2010-19 will be known for developments and innovations to facilitate the easy adoption of cloud technologies. The 2020-30 timeline will see cloud technologies integrating with other technologies to reach a new level of process efficiency.   

The first generation PaaS and IaaS models were developed using conventional technologies. CMI’s in-house cloud evangelists expect to see the next-generation cloud models drive impeccable automation and advancements. Read our predictions that are most likely to happen in this decade.  

1. Data Explosion

Data volcano has already burst, but still, technologies need to unfold its full potential. The data will be used to explore new possibilities to convert raw collected data into actionable insights. AI and ML can incorporate optimized algorithms based on advanced logic and statistics. The dependency on data will be a global phenomenon touching almost every industry. 

The evolution of data into an asset is more likely to create an unimaginable surge in the demand of data scientists. The demand will be so high that there will be a deficit to meet the total number of skilled professionals required. 

Data scientists will be equipped with solutions to eliminate time for determining the most relevant finding out of all the possible outcomes. The self-learning models will automate these decision-making processes with more precision. 

2. Hybrid Cloud

AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Microsoft Azure has already laid the foundation for hybrid cloud services market. During re:Invent 2018, AWS announced Amazon Outposts (a hardware stack to bring compute power closer to you). To pose a serious competition, Microsoft launched Azure Arc to offer hybrid cloud experience. 

Hybrid cloud is a combination of two or more cloud environments i.e., public and private. The enterprises are not willing to move their critical data to the cloud. The perfect scenario for enterprises seems to be storing data on-prem and use cloud for compute power; in particular, to achieve scalability and flexibility. So, the technologies that can help the enterprises to achieve the balance of both i.e. public and private cloud will be responsible for the rise of hybrid cloud.

3. Automation

The technology professionals are still stuck with routine operations such as backing up, scaling, tuning, monitoring and securing critical information systems. Autonomous databases are quickly making these activities a thing of the past. The following decade will see the automation of all manual IT operations and data-management tasks. 

These administrative tasks (which are also crucial for smooth operations) consume the most valuable asset, i.e., time. Eliminating these tasks will help IT professionals to dedicate time on bringing new revenue-producing products and services to the market. 

For instance, ML and AI (or the self-learning systems) will help automate the collection of data across multiple applications; not limited to this only, can also automatically visualize millions of data points. The analyzed data displayed through different visualizations such as graphs, charts, and animations, to help users get useful insights from the data.

Suggested Read: Deep dive into Amazon Inferentia: A custom-built chip to enhance ML and AI

4. Artificial Intelligence

AI technology is transforming enterprise computing by changing how organizations receive, manage, and secure business data. In carrying out the enterprise-level IT operations, AI will improve efficiency, boost productivity and reduce costs. The technology advancement with AI will impact every single part of the business. 

ML models are self-learning models i.e. more the data points provided to the model as input the better it will respond to a query. So, the information systems will get smarter as they interact with more people and systems. 

For instance, the customer care support of an enterprise generally handles more than thousands of customer queries. The recorded calls need to be stored and should be made available at any time. If the ML applied, then the recorded calls can be automatically analyzed for employee aptitude and competencies. No need for manual work and AWS recently showcased such service during re:Invent 2019.

5. Supply-chain Transformation

With information systems getting smarter, these systems are rapidly taking hold of many industries; such as design, manufacturing, logistics and many more. The user is taking smart decisions and has set up their expectations higher. The organizations need to tackle issues such as shorter product lifecycles, new regulations, and fluctuating demands, that are taking down their supply chain models. This will drive the adoption of emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Blockchain and IoT (Internet of Things).

AR and VR will enable an immersive experience for employees and users. Blockchain deregulates the global network of supply chains that were earlier dependent on centralized governance models. The supply chain is equipped with digital records of transactions that are anonymous, tamper-proof and unchangeable. The blend of these emerging technologies will only be facilitated by cloud computing. 

6. Smart Cities

When IoT unfolded the technology to control and interact with the devices with just a single interface. The rapid growth of IoT technologies is fueling the innovation required to become the ecosystem more resilient. The decade will see the cities evolving into smart cities by automating routine interactions. At the core of such initiatives, ML technologies will be responsible to collect and analyze the city’s data in a structured and streamlined manner. 

Once the template solution for a smart city is developed, then gradually with time the concept of unified cities will come in the picture. There will be a rise in intelligent solutions which will improve safety and transparency. 

Suggested Reads: Cloud technologies will drive your cars in 2020