The cloud computing industry has experienced a paradigm shift over the last year, with advancements and transformations happening at an unprecedented pace. Factors influencing the industry include burgeoning AI tech, economic hurdles affecting businesses’ ability to thrive and ever-changing directives concerning security and privacy. Understanding the key trends for this year and into the future will help organizations maneuver the challenges and opportunities presented by these changes. Here’s a look at six cloud computing trends that will define 2024.
#1: Simplified Networks for Seamless Hybrid and Multi-cloud Experiences
The shift to a hybrid cloud and multi-cloud solutions can present issues for businesses trying to blend various cloud environments in a streamlined manner. This process comes with a high level of complexity and a hefty price tag. Complicating matters further are issues involving data sovereignty and governance.
This will cause larger organizations to seek out ways to simplify network infrastructure in an effort to cut waste from their network but also continue to have exceptional performance and connectivity. Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) and Software Defined Cloud Interconnection (SDCI) solutions are seeing growth as more and more businesses turn to them for a seamless hybrid and/or multi-cloud experience. NaaS and SDCI solutions allow organizations to access multi-cloud services with a single management portal. This relieves them of the cumbersome challenges of monitoring and maintaining a safe and private network while delivering all the benefits of such.
#2: Adoption of AI-as-a-Service
AI is everywhere you look these days, and it’s a hot topic in the cloud computing community. This is the year we will see AI transition from conceptual to concrete, from idea to implementation. Generative AI tools — the most well-known perhaps being OpenAI’s ChatGPT — require massive amounts of compute power, and their popularity and usage rates will continue to climb.
As organizations explore ways to integrate AI applications in their operations, they will be confronted with the reality of just how much data and compute power is required for AI to function. This will cause interest in AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) to explode as businesses without the resources or technical proficiency begin to leverage AI tools via a cloud provider. Although AIaaS alleviates many technological hurdles, it will be essential to have superior network connectivity to fully take advantage of all that AI has to offer. Businesses will need to assess whether their existing network is up to the task.
In tandem, we can expect to see a substantial increase in financial allocations for cloud to achieve greater efficiency, innovation and agility. There are challenges, though, with migrating massive amounts of data in and out of the cloud. Data security and protection are of particular concern. Utilizing the public internet exacerbates these issues, which in turn should result in more organizations employing private networks with direct cloud connections to manage their operations.
#3: Managed Services Solutions Gain Popularity Amid Workforce Shortage
In the rush to implement AI technology across their network infrastructure, businesses shouldn’t forget one crucial puzzle piece: a highly skilled workforce capable of managing and monitoring multiple data assets.
The demand for data analysts and data scientists who can extract meaningful insights from large data sets and who know how to train AI models is rising, yet we’re experiencing a widening skills shortage. Data scientist is among the most in-demand jobs in tech, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting employment in the field to grow 35% for the 10-year period ending in 2032, far outpacing the growth for all occupations of 3%. Without properly trained personnel, businesses stand to lose out on the opportunities that AI promises.
In 2024, I expect we’ll see more businesses pivoting towards managed services solutions that dole out network management to external technical experts. This way, businesses gain peace of mind around security, connectivity and data privacy issues without needing to overhaul their current infrastructure to boost AI performance.
#4: More Stringent Rules Governing AI
As AI emerges and becomes more integrated into our everyday lives, governments all over the world will introduce new, more stringent rules this year in the interest of bolstering their digital defense against forces outside their borders. These include the EU’s AI Act, which has the potential to be the most impactful as regulators aim to mitigate the perils of AI governance. The law features mandates designed to maintain “the health, safety, and fundamental rights of EU citizens and beyond.” It’s anticipated that this legislation will have global repercussions.
Of course, the AI Act is one of many proposals in the works. In the United States, there is no legislation at the federal level, but a patchwork of laws around the country may emerge. New York City requires employers to conduct a bias audit on automated hiring practices, and individual state laws are in the works. It will be difficult to keep track of all the changes governing AI throughout the world, an especially arduous task for global companies. Organizations will need to emphasize monitoring data as it moves between jurisdictions with varying regulations. The situation becomes more complex as the exponential growth of data accelerates and data sources are increasingly fragmented and held in disparate locations. It becomes imperative to control how data is moved and maintain a secure network.
#5: Emphasis on Data Security and Privacy
Data breaches have become an unfortunately inevitable reality, making data security and privacy a key trend for 2024. In 2023, more data breaches and leaks had occurred through just the first nine months of the year than were recorded in the entirety of 2022, despite ramped up efforts to fight them. Aided by new AI tools that enhance their ability to steal data, cybercriminals only stand to unleash more and more attacks in the coming years, and telcos are taking heed.
Similarly, personal data protection is another top priority, and organizations must determine how secure and resilient their network infrastructure is. A private network may be the best way of addressing these concerns because connections to the public internet inherently leave organizations vulnerable. If data security and privacy are concerns, the network is the single most important factor in protecting your organization and customers.
#6: A Shift to Pay-As-You-Go
High cloud costs will persist this year and into the future. Organizations will inevitably discover just how expensive it is when they begin to move large amounts of data out of the cloud and assess fees as a consequence. Known as egress charges, these fees can be quite substantial and are the primary source of revenue for major cloud providers. Often, they are obscured in contracts between cloud providers and their customers. These “hidden fees” are creating tension between cloud providers and customers, and it will be interesting to see how the situation plays out over the coming year. While that tension has been building for some time, organizations can find financial relief in Direct Connection services and Pay-As-You-Go solutions from NaaS providers. Their costs are limited to exactly how much network resources they use, and private connections can be turned up or down depending on their network needs. This cuts down on capital costs further while also allowing businesses to put more attention toward core business activities.
