Sky’s the limit: Cloud computing momentum gathers steam

Cloud computing is no longer a thing of the future. It’s here, and it’s here to stay. In fact, there are many big developments taking place in the cloud industry right at this moment.

Serverless computing systems, Docker containers, data analytics, and pay-as-you-consume time have already taken center stage in 2017, and they are indicators of what’s to come. The way companies handle cloud computing is all set to change in 2017, and we discuss the top trends below:

Rise of serverless computing

The AWS Lambda service allows you to run code without provisioning and managing an entire server. No wonder it has gained so much popularity with the DevOps crowd — it allows for serverless computing. This means developers are no longer required to concern themselves with setting up servers or even managing them.

With the help of serverless computing, they can simply upload the necessary code to the cloud and run it. Launched in 2015 by Amazon Web Services, AWS Lambda’s serverless computing initially failed to interest cloud vendors. But they are lately starting to take notice of its benefits, and 2017 will see the trend gain traction as more cloud hosts join the serverless computing bandwagon.

Reduced cloud costs

An Outlook for Cloud Computing Progress through 2017

Serverless computing isn’t the only thing Lambda is good at. The service also cuts down on cloud costs by asking you to pay just for the cloud services your code consumed while it was up and running. Thanks to this feature, you are no longer required to soak up the full cost of a 24/7 virtual server, especially one that you use briefly for hosting a service. But Lambda is one of many forces that can help companies drive down the amount of money needed to pay for the cloud.

Public cloud service providers are being forced to lower their rates due to the dwindling prices of commodity hardware as well as the development of next-generation monitoring tools that allow cloud users to determine expenses.

The availability of on-premise Platform as a Service (PaaS) products may also have been a factor. All these things played a part in lowering the cost of some AWS services by the end of 2016. And 2017 will see this trend grow even stronger as hosting providers compete with one another to provide cheaper services to users.

Containers moving to the cloud

When Docker was founded in 2013, it took a lot of manual labor to set up the containerized infrastructure and manage all of it. However, the Docker implementation process has become a lot more simplified thanks to cloud-ready Containers as a Service (CaaS).

While a few CaaS options are public, such as the EC2 Container Service from AWS, others like Kontena are easily deployable on virtual servers in the public cloud as well as private cloud. As the number of cloud-compatible CaaS continues to rise, the cloud poses itself as the most obvious choice for running Docker containers. And 2017 is going to see a lot more containers running in the cloud.

Handling multiple cloud service providers

The growing use of multiple cloud providers among organizations has led to the cloud-management services. This includes service monitoring, management, and integration. Cloud-management services also provide major problem and incident management alongside escalation to third parties when necessary, and may even include asset management of infrastructure and devices.

Cloud management is basically a lightweight version of service integration and management (SIAM), with the same set of principles, processes, and controls, but without the high cost and the extensive contractual commitments.

Significance of proper training

Outlook for Cloud Computing Progress

The need for continuous training and retraining has become even more important than ever. This presents one of the toughest hurdles for small, mid-sized, and large businesses as Amazon Web Services and other vendors continue to keep forming new products and launches. That is kind of like Ultron in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” who kept on upgrading himself!

Since large enterprises often use numerous services on MS Azure and AWS, it is critical to have suitable training programs as well as the capacity to map skills and monitor progress within the company.

This has been the common trend in consulting companies since 2013. However, 2016 saw large enterprises investing heavily in training and retraining their workforces to wield strong cloud skills. Simultaneously, they were also creating internal programs to aid with continuous training. They are now in the process of clashing with the best talent in the tech field.

Increased focus on security

Outlook for Cloud Computing

Security has always been one of the main reasons why the adoption of the cloud is limited. However, the newer generation of security issues is turning the tables by offering companies solid reasons to move more of their workload to the cloud in order to boost its security measures and keep it safe. Digital threats are on the rise, and one method of reducing their effects is to have companies shift their applications to the public cloud.

Your best bet would be to scatter your apps across multiple clouds so that one attack does not destroy entire operations. You never know what North Korea or Russia is going to do! In 2017, online attacks are poised to become more common, which means that the popularity of the cloud is going to go up among companies that wish to overcome these security threats.

Cloud Monitoring as a Service

The number of organizations pressing a key (pun intended) for Cloud Monitoring as a Service (CMaaS) is increasing. They are using this service to track the performance of different suppliers that are now interdependent and essential to the IT service delivery within the organization.

As a result, hybrid cloud usage is on the rise. It is paramount that these services remain independent of the actual providers, but continue to provide the necessary visibility into their service or what activities the company contractually ensures they carry out. Cloud Monitoring as a Service offers integration with public cloud services along with PaaS and IaaS.

A few services use this to keep an eye on the in-house environments as well as the private and hosted cloud services through the installation or deployment of gateways within the monitored environment.

Cloud computing goes open source

Cloud Computing goes Open Source

The majority of cloud providers utilize open source when it comes to their services. In the case of mid-level organizations, this means using high-quality tools capable of hosting, managing, and integrating providers using a disorganized, but highly committed, support network. If you aren’t ready to commit quite yet, you might be happy to know that most tools can be found for the cost of a regular Linux distribution process. They may leave you with enough money afterwards to buy yourself a taco supreme from Taco Bell!

While you monitor the cloud deployments, make sure the data is dependable so that your organization’s service and application delivery goes on smoothly.

Advanced monitoring platforms continue to treat datacenter information as well as the cloud in a regular fashion, providing the IT department with a unified view. The cloud computing scenario is fast changing, and you need to be well-prepared in advance if you do not wish to fall behind in 2017.

Photo credit: Flickr / Damien Pollet

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