The Cloud of the Future

According to the research firm IDC, small businesses using cloud computing are 1.7 times more likely to have over 10 percent revenue growth compared to similar sized companies in general. Globally the adoption rate of cloud computing is notably high and India leads with 32 percent growth in cloud adoption rates in 2014. Due to the aforesaid benefits, the adoption of cloud surged surpassing those of other emerging IT services including Big Data and Enterprise Mobility that stood at 16 percent and 12 percent respectively.

The poised use of public, private and hybrid clouds will benefit companies. But with the ever changing cloud computing trends and the direct impact it has on business, it is important for organizations to constantly monitor the changes and adopt the new strategies to continue their business successfully. Through this story we look at the key trends that’ll shape up the cloud of the future, why data security has never been more relevant before, key open source tools to deploy a cloud platform and pitfalls to avoid for SMEs moving to a cloud model.

Key trends shaping up the Cloud

Hybrid clouds: An EMC Survey shows that 31% of Indian IT decision makers have created hybrid cloud. Public clouds will be paired with private clouds to form hybrid or multiclouds, which provide enterprises with more cost efficiency and scalability. The number of enterprises employing only private clouds will fall substantially in the next few years.

Software defined cloud computing: The development of open cloud APIs and standards allow for the portability and control of data and cloud-deployed applications, providing business with the necessary flexibility to tailor solutions to their short and long-term goals. Software-Defined Cloud Computing is an approach for automating the process of optimal cloud configuration by extending virtualization concept to all resources in a data center.

Cloud marketplaces: They provide customers with access to software applications and services that are built on, integrate with or complement the cloud provider’s offerings. A marketplace typically provides customers with native cloud applications and approved apps created by third-party developers.

Internet of things: It is predicted that by 2020, an estimated 50 billion devices around the globe will be connected to the Internet. Perhaps a third of them will be computers, smartphones, tablets, and TVs. The remaining two-thirds will be other kinds of “things”: sensors, actuators, and newly invented intelligent devices that monitor, control, analyze, and optimize our world.

Why Cloud security is all the more relevant

As companies seek to move their information to the cloud, they’re looking for security providers who can keep their information protected regardless of where it resides. DLP is a foundational technology for cloud security. DLP prevents users from syncing sensitive work files from their desktop to their personal accounts from cloud and email services. As we move forward, we expect to see more and more data hosted in the cloud but as this move occurs, businesses will need to take a closer look at data governance to ensure that their data is cleaned before it is hosted on the cloud. Legacy data left unmanaged will continue to accumulate and present a persistent challenge for businesses. For consumers, the cloud in 2015 represents an infinite amount of personal information being hosted remotely and the debate around right to access, control, and protect private data in the cloud will continue to escalate.

Growing relevance of Cloud and mobile-based apps for SMEs

Mobile and web based application development companies have significantly benefited by developing and rolling out their applications on clouds. But application downtimes and development process can delay the lab to market cycle. 80% of downtime of mission critical applications is caused by miscommunications about the release change. Similarly 45 to 65 percent of the issues are introduced during the requirements and design phase of the software development. GoPaddle is one such app that addresses these two problems through improved collaboration between the teams and helps to identify issues early in the release cycle through container based shift left approach. It offers developers and IT teams the flexibility to use different operating systems and different cloud platforms across the software release cycle. SalezShark Inc most recently launched customer relationship management platform based on Relationship Cloud in India to empower sales and marketing teams of SMEs. It harnesses the power of customer intelligence and provides a 360 degree view of customers to drive better engagement and strengthen professional relationships that ultimately lead to exponential sales. MyOperator is a cloud-based call management system that manages SMEs’ business calls thereby creating a complete database of their customers for the purpose of mobile marketing, creating regular reports and maintaining effective communication within the organization.

Some cloud dos and don’ts for SMEs

With a surge in data volumes and the necessity for its efficient and safe storage, SMEs should thoroughly check the data security aspect while selecting cloud applications. They should opt for cloud storage solutions which would address this fundamental issue in a scalable and secure way, without compromising the performance. One of the most crucial points to be kept in mind is to ensure the security of the data stored in cloud. Moreover, SMEs should always opt for zero CapEx model (pay-as-you-go) with no long-term commitment.​ In today’s time, what SMEs should keep in mind while selecting cloud applications is openness in integration with different platforms, cost projection of expenditure, features you need vs. features being offered, data security and peer reviews, and customer support.