Top 6 Cloud Computing Trends for 2022

Cloud computing was popular and well-established pre-pandemic as well but it has taken the spotlight as a move to remote working was thrust upon us. And it looks like it’s here to stay for a long time. Cloud technologies are moving away from a linear evolution to prepare for an exponential evolution. Now, as we look for recovery, the appetite for cloud solutions is still strong and ever growing. This nudges more organizations around the world to move towards a cloud-first strategy and as they do, we can expect to see new cloud computing trends in 2022.

1. Edge computing 

Edge computing is an alternative approach to computing and storing data in the cloud environment. It is an emerging cloud trend that involves building localized data centers for computation and storage at or near where it’s being gathered, rather than on a central location that might be thousands of miles away. 

This kind of decentralized computing infrastructure helps in decreasing latency issues and increasing application performance. Since the data and resources are closer to the end user’s device, it can be processed locally thus allowing organizations to save money as well. Edge is commonly misunderstood as a threat to cloud computing even though the relationship between the two is complementary. 

Edge computing is used for time-sensitive data, whereas cloud computing processes data that is not time-driven. The edge computing market is currently one of the most hyped topics and it’s only set to expand next year. It offers clear advantages in terms of an increase in the speed of data processing, minimal to now latency, great connectivity, security, and privacy support, and decreased volumes of transmitted data. It will be an amazing enabler for companies interested in operational efficiency.

2. Serverless functions

Serverless computing has been around for a few years now, a long time by cloud standards. It is now being given more importance by all the bigwigs of the cloud computing world. It promises a legitimate pay-as-you-go model that lets organizations pay only for the services that are actually used. This way, the infrastructure can scale invisibly depending on the requirements of an application without any significant capital investment. 

Serverless computing also helps eliminate the risk of back-end failures and provides safe sandboxes for organizations to implement their code. Serverless within cloud computing will have a big part to play in creating new user experiences in the coming years.

3. Kubernetes enabling blockchain


Blockchain is an revolutionary technology that provides a tamper-evident, shared digital ledger that records data in a public or private network. It maintains accurate records of transactions without relying on a central authority. 

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that allows organizations to automatically scale, deploy and manage containerized infrastructure. Current public blockchain infrastructure does not scale in terms of big data storage and management, which makes it difficult to incorporate blockchain systems for big data applications. But the use of Kubernetes for blockchain helps to rapidly scale environments and ensure high availability by always having multiple containers running for key services. 

Blockchain on Kubernetes enables service interoperability between organizations that are architected differently. The other advantages of blockchain on Kubernetes are simplified deployments and upgradeability. Deploying blockchain networks and its component parts via Kubernetes clusters might be the standard of adoption in a year or two given that they solve two major issues blockchain faces – its inherent complexity and integration into the existing infrastructure.

4. AI in cloud computing

Cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence have a mutual relationship where the latter powers cloud computing and the former plays a key role in the deliverance of AI services. Cloud services also help in democratizing AI by opening it up to a broader consumer base. It gives smaller businesses access to AI-enhanced business services and helps them access advanced machine learning functions. 

Combining AI with cloud services enables organizations to get the most out of both applications in a cost-effective way. AI helps the cloud manage data and gain insights whereas the cloud provides a constant data backup and recovery in a virtual environment. The development and evolution of cloud and AI are interwoven and this will only become increasingly true during 2022.

5. The rise of cloud-gaming

Cloud gaming is an emerging technology that allows users to stream a virtually unlimited option of games for a flat monthly fee. It lets one play on any desktop, laptop, or smartphone without the need for an expensive console. 

Leveraging cloud technology in the gaming industry fuels the demand and engagement of multiplayers for different games and removes existing platform barriers. Cloud gaming also eliminates the need for users to have storage space, any specialized hardware, and all the piracy problems, all of which translates to lower overall cost and sustainability. 

Some major players in the cloud gaming space at the moment are Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Nvidia. Although game streaming technology is not yet as powerful as it could be, its transition to the cloud will ensure that the future of cloud gaming constantly evolves. It will also bring about a future where the cloud is not only the source of the game but also the platform of choice for players.

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6. Hybrid cloud and multi-cloud infrastructure

Hybrid services are not about compromise between approaches, instead, they are about combining their strengths. Data that needs quick and frequent access can be kept on public servers and more sensitive data can be kept on private servers with monitored access. A well integrated and balanced hybrid strategy gives businesses the best of both worlds. 

Most organizations have grown past the initial phase of migrating some of their workloads from on-prem to a single cloud vendor, and are looking to indulge in the whole experience. This leads them to deal with multi-cloud environments where multiple services from several different suppliers are used. The multi-cloud model helps companies choose different cloud offerings best suited to their individual application environments, business requirements, and availability needs. Going forward, more organizations will need to develop entirely cloud-native applications with almost no architectural dependence on any specific cloud provider.

Although there has already been significant adoption of hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud strategies as the standard in large organizations, 2022 will witness more business leaders and enterprises realize the advantages of these models and embrace them to enjoy elasticity and agility in the cloud. 

Image Source: istockphoto

Conclusion 

The cloud became one of the biggest technological winners in the last two years. It became both a trend that facilitates innovation and a standard that enables flexibility and cost savings. And with a continued importance of cloud services in almost all business operations, there is no doubt that the cloud is the future. So, in this tremendous digital landscape of varied and dynamic architecture, it’s obvious that new cloud-native trends will continue to emerge.

Featured Image Source: istockphoto

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