Four Cloud Computing Trends You’ll Love

Here at Intrust IT,  we keep a sharp eye on all IT trends including the widely used area of cloud computing: business cloud storage. It isn’t as showy as software, but storing files in the cloud makes them easily accessible and shareable from anywhere.  It’s one of the very first uses of the cloud that has been widely adopted by users.

Cloud advances, like automation and AI continue to evolve in other types of cloud services as well as in cloud storage. Storing data in the cloud has become less complex, more reliable and better secured.

Statistics show that in 2021, 50 percent of all company data was stored in the cloud. That’s a 15 percent increase from the previous five years. With today’s labor force often working from home and possibly being hundreds or thousands of miles away from coworkers, the importance of placing files in centrally located cloud systems that can be accessed from anywhere is a huge advantage.

Emerging Cloud Computing Trends

Here are some of the most interesting trends we see coming in the foreseeable future:

1. Built-in Ransomware Defenses

Whether on a computer, server or in a business cloud storage platform, ransomware can impact data no matter where it is stored. The malware in ransomware can encrypt the information and make it unreadable to the business that owns it.

The average ransomware payment in 2021  increased by 82 percent and ransomware incidents rose 64 percent during the first half of the year. A survey of CISOs found that over the last 18 months, 98 percent of organizations suffered a cloud data breach.

Soon cloud storage services will be offering ransomware recovery protection to combat ransomware. The systems will help prevent files from being encrypted by code. They also will make a copy of files and store them securely, so the files can be restored at the click of a button.

Intrust considers this to be a huge welcome addition, as ransomware shows no sign of stopping

2. “Edge Computing” Will Become More Key in Business Cloud Storage

“Edge” or “edge computing” means bringing data applications and storage resources closer geographically to the user who needs to connect to them.

Cloud storage and other cloud applications have increased, therefore the need to improve response times from user to server has also increased. When data has to travel across long distances, it becomes more difficult to quickly and economically deliver the best user experience. 

Cloud service providers have, therefore, been moving to an edge computing model that will provide better reliability and faster response when accessing or searching on files by using cloud servers that are  geographically closer to the user’s location.

For companies widely spread throughout the U.S. or the world, this means that you’ll want to keep service location in mind when signing up for cloud storage. Have a discussion with the provider about distance and how edge computing factors in.

3. Expect More Help From AI and Machine Learning

Just about every area of technology is “smarter” thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Microsoft Word and text message apps now predict what you might type to help you fill in the blanks and type faster. Programs like Photoshop can crop around a person in an image in seconds using AI.

AI is also going to become more prevalent in business cloud storage this year. You can expect help with automatic organization of your files based on your cloud storage patterns. 

Future features will be designed to eliminate manual or repetitive tasks to free up more time including  AI helping to automate things like provisioning, obtaining and importing data (known as “ingesting”), managing data retention and more.

4. Legacy Vendors Will Offer More Cloud Options

Legacy technology providers will be introducing more business cloud storage options in 2022 and 2023. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, for example,  recently introduced a new data services cloud console, and Dell Technologies recently announced a new APEX multi-cloud design that it is working to improve the cloud ecosystem.

More cloud storage options could mean you’ll want help in deciding which model will work best for you, as pricing will vary widely. You don’t want to end up with more storage than you need or overpay for a smaller amount of space.

It pays to keep on top of new offerings and understand that every new cloud storage option might not be a good fit for your organization’s specific data storage needs.

Get Help Optimizing Business Cloud Storage and Backup 

Your business data needs to be stored securely and in an easily accessible way. After all, it is what runs your company. Intrust can help you understand all the new options emerging in the near future and help your cloud storage to improve cost efficiency. Don’t go IT alone.  Contact us or book a no obligation meeting.