The top 8 cloud and connectivity trends to know today
This blog has been expertly reviewed by Darren Hogan, Director of Portfolio at Nasstar.
As digital transformation continues to influence business success, we’re seeing several important cloud and connectivity trends that every company should understand. And it’s not just about doing everything faster, cheaper, and easier. Instead, many key trends focus on improving the overall quality of cloud services through technology advancements and strong, reliable connectivity.
That’s because, in many cases, businesses are looking for smarter, more secure, and scalable ways to handle daily operations. Cloud-based solutions fit these needs perfectly. Likewise, connectivity is essential for cloud performance, letting businesses access their cloud applications and transfer data quickly and safely. With new tech, changing customer needs and a focus on sustainability, we’re seeing a wide range of improvements.
In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at what’s ahead for cloud computing and connectivity before exploring the top eight trends impacting the sector and how your business can benefit from them.
What is the future outlook of cloud computing and connectivity?
The role of cloud technology is changing. Traditionally, adopting cloud services has been about cutting costs and scaling up. While cloud solutions still offer these benefits, nowadays, they’ve also become a lot more sophisticated.
Darren Hogan, Director of Portfolio at Nasstar, said: “Businesses have evolved from migrating workloads to public cloud for horizontal and vertical scaling. Data and AI use cases are now being developed at hyperscale pace, and with that comes the need to transfer data from one ecosystem to another via a secure integrated long-haul data fabric.”
Technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and real-time data processing have created a huge list of new possibilities. There’s a growing public and regulatory demand for sustainable computing, with companies looking at ways to employ renewable sources for their cloud infrastructure. Similarly, businesses are turning to hybrid and multi-cloud strategies for more flexibility and security. This is changing how cloud providers offer their services.
For these advances to deliver maximum impact, cloud and connectivity must work together. Future high-speed, low latency 5G, and fibre connections will provide the platform for cloud solutions to operate smoothly. Without them, businesses may struggle to realise the full potential of any new cloud capabilities.
Looking at the current cloud and connectivity trends, we can see these changes in action.
The top 8 connectivity and cloud computing trends
1. Hybrid cloud environments
Hybrid cloud environments, combining both public and private cloud resources, are continuing to grow in popularity. The reason for this is that they offer the best of both worlds.
With a hybrid environment, companies have the flexibility to store sensitive data in private clouds while placing less sensitive workloads in the scalable and cost-efficient public cloud. They might host private clouds on-premise or use the infrastructure of a third-party datacentre.
Above all, this mix of public and private cloud lets businesses tailor their cloud solutions to meet specific needs. It also makes it easier to scale operations. Companies can use advanced high-performance connectivity to prevent any data bottlenecks and support data flow between their on-premises and cloud resources. This flexible approach now makes up a key part of modern digital transformation strategies.
2. Multi-cloud strategies
While hybrid cloud is the number one trend, we’re also seeing companies continue to adopt multi-cloud in many use cases. Multi-cloud strategies involve using multiple cloud providers to avoid relying on just one. It helps prevent vendor lock-in and lets companies pick the right tool for each task. Seamless connectivity between different cloud providers means companies can move data quickly across platforms – minimising delays while maximising productivity.
For example, a company might create a multi-cloud environment comprising:
- Microsoft Azure for data analytics
- AWS for storage
- SaaS providers for specific business functions
This approach lets companies get exactly what they want from each cloud platform without being tied to just one.
Darren Hogan, Director of Portfolio at Nasstar, said: “Multicloud isn’t just about choosing the best or cheapest hyperscaler for backups, workloads, or data processing capabilities. It’s about being able to leverage the power of cloud service providers such as dedicated ‘GPU as a Service’ providers for high performance mathematical processing used in AI.”
3. Edge computing
Edge computing has changed how companies access data. The theory is that if data has less distance to travel, it can be used quicker. So, instead of sending data to centralised cloud servers, edge computing processes data closer to where it’s being generated — at the network’s edge.
As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow, edge computing will become even more essential. It will reduce network strain for handling new data, encouraging faster decisions informed by real-time insights. With low-latency connections, companies can process data instantly. This is vital for IoT devices and other data-intensive services.
In industries where speed is essential, like finance, healthcare or manufacturing, or in sectors like video streaming that demand huge bandwidth and low latency, using the edge can bring huge advantages.
4. Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS)
Recent years have seen AI coming into the public awareness. Now, hugely impactful AI tools are more accessible to businesses, thanks to cloud-based platforms offering AI as a Service (AIaaS).
AIaaS works in the same way as many cloud-native services. Instead of building AI models and environments from scratch, businesses can use cloud AIaaS to provision anything from automation to predictive analytics.
This makes AI capabilities available to smaller businesses that don’t have the expertise to develop their own systems. Likewise, it opens model training to those who do not own an AI-ready computing infrastructure. The key is supporting these services with high-speed, reliable data transfers.
5. Real-time data flow using 5G and fibre
Real-time data flow is becoming a basic requirement for many businesses. As companies generate more data from IoT devices, customer interactions, and other sources, processing that data in real-time is the difference between staying competitive and falling behind. That’s where 5G integration and full-fibre networks make all the difference.
Cloud providers are reacting. They’ve built infrastructure to allow real-time insights that help companies respond to market changes. Benefits include optimised supply chains, better products, and improved customer service, with real-time data powering it all. With advanced connectivity carrying data across services, companies can make near-instant, informed decisions.
6. Serverless computing
Serverless computing is changing the way developers build applications. With serverless, businesses don’t need to worry about managing infrastructure. Instead, cloud providers handle all that behind the scenes. This helps reduce complexity and cut costs, as companies only pay for the actual computing time they use.
For smaller businesses and startups, serverless computing offers an easy way to scale applications. No more managing hardware. It’s a flexible and cost-effective solution that’s rapidly gaining popularity and real-world use cases.
7. Cloud security enhancements
With more business operations moving to the cloud, cybercriminals are creating new threats that target cloud services. That’s why, for cloud providers and users, cybersecurity is more important than ever. In response, we’re seeing significant improvements in cloud security, including AI threat detection, stronger data security and zero-trust architectures. Connectivity must also play its part through fast, reliable, secure, and encrypted data transfers.
To make things even easier, many cloud providers now offer security as a service. Businesses can simply implement high-quality security solutions without having to build them in-house. This helps improve data protection, disaster recovery and access management plans, while businesses can comply with growing data privacy regulations.
8. Sustainability
Finally, sustainability initiatives continue to be a top priority for cloud providers and customers. In future years, we’ll see even more emphasis on eco-friendly cloud solutions. We’ve already witnessed the major cloud service providers push towards net-zero emissions, and others will follow suit.
On top of that, many cloud-based companies are working towards powering their operations with 100% renewable energy. As businesses face increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprints, using more efficient and sustainable cloud services will be the key to meeting ESG targets.
As such, we’ll see cloud and data centre providers use more sustainable ecosystems. Renewable energy sources, improved cooling and efficient energy usage will also make a major impact.
What do these technology trends mean for your business?
Our list of cloud and connectivity trends opens new opportunities for businesses to improve operations. You can use these advanced technologies to make smarter decisions and deliver better customer experiences. However, these advances also bring potential challenges, particularly around security, cost management and implementation.
So, how can you take advantage of these future cloud trends? The first step is by looking at your current environment. Think about:
- Are there chances for improvement?
- Which of these trends would most impact you in a positive way?
- Do you have the necessary expertise to take advantage of ongoing innovation?
Darren said: “Organisations must think about how to extract the value of advancements in AI and then seek to build infrastructure that supports this new state.”
If you need advice, it’s a good idea to speak to an expert cloud service provider.
How Nasstar can help
Cloud computing has typically focused on increasing flexibility and cost-efficiency. While these remain essential for many businesses, our list of cloud and connectivity trends also highlights other priorities.
First, efficiency is key. Providers and users alike want services that minimise data transfers, maximise real-time data flow and use the best tools for each job. Meanwhile, they are doing that while boosting security and reducing their environmental impact. It’s also essential to remember that cloud services are only as strong as the connections powering them.
Combined, these trends are having a huge impact on how forward-thinking companies shape their cloud infrastructure. At Nasstar, our team of cloud and connectivity experts can help you choose the right solutions for your cloud environment. Our Intelligent Connected Cloud (ICC) provides dedicated access to cloud infrastructure, backing cloud workload migration and daily operations with robust, high-performance connectivity.
Whether you’re migrating to the cloud or optimising an existing environment, we’ll help you maximise the security, efficiency, and ROI of your cloud services.
Speak to a specialist to learn more.
FAQs
What is the future outlook of cloud computing?
Technologies like AI, edge computing, and real-time data flow are changing how cloud computing works. Nowadays, businesses are focusing more on flexibility, security, and sustainability as cloud computing continues to provide opportunities for business innovation. To achieve these, they need cloud services backed by rapid, secure, and reliable advanced connectivity.
What are the latest trends in cloud computing?
Key trends in cloud computing include:
- Increasingly efficient hybrid cloud environments
- Multi-cloud strategies
- Edge computing
- AI as a Service (AIaaS)
- Serverless computing
- Real-time data flow
- Enhanced cloud security
- A strong push towards sustainability.
Will AI replace cloud computing?
AI won’t replace cloud computing as they are two very different technologies. However, the two will work together in new and innovative ways. Cloud platforms provide the infrastructure that AI needs, with AIaaS allowing more businesses to use AI. AI will also help optimise cloud operations by improving data analysis, security, and decision-making. Together, they create a powerful ecosystem for business growth.
