Innovation in the cloud seems to iterate more swiftly with each passing year. Terms that used to be used more exclusively by specialists, including SaaS and AI, are now more solidified in the public lexicon. What seemed innovative a few years ago may now seem commonplace.
How can companies keep up? Cloud computing innovation offers an appealing avenue for organizations looking to stay on-trend, allowing for greater flexibility and modernization compared to on-premises frameworks. We’ll answer what innovation in cloud computing looks like, recent cloud innovations, and what may be coming in the near future.
What Constitutes Innovation in Cloud Computing?
Innovation is a term that can cover a wide spectrum of advancements in the cloud. With cloud computing, this can refer to the adoption or development of any technologies, business models, and practices that improve the value, efficiency, or capabilities of cloud-based services. Whether it’s in the form of technological advancements, such as new hardware or software, or business models, such as managed services or pay-as-you-go pricing, cloud innovations are designed to make it easier for businesses to operate and advance using cloud solutions.
Some earlier examples of cloud computing innovation include the following.
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Instead of being managed on-premises, SaaS solutions deliver software – an example being Salesforce- over the internet.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): Businesses can also build and deploy applications in a third-party development environment using PaaS. Heroku and Google App Engine are examples of complete development environments available to businesses.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): One step above PaaS is IaaS, which allows businesses to rent on-demand computing services through platforms such as Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure.
What’s Driving Cloud Computing Innovation?
Cloud computing innovation is necessary for businesses looking to stay competitive and adapt to the ever-evolving digital landscape. The following are some of the specific advancements that are helping to drive cloud innovation.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) are more than buzzwords. These technologies have been around for decades, but recent support through high-performance computing has enabled organizations to more easily process massive data sets and train complex models, making AI/ML more accessible than before. AI/ML in the cloud allows businesses to quickly extract valuable insights from data, automate processes, and cut down on the time it takes to make important decisions.
DevOps and CI/CD
DevOps practices combine software development and operations teams into a single unit to streamline the iterative process of software development and deployment. Continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines further accelerate the work of DevOps teams.
Cloud platforms can support DevOps and CI/CD through a wide range of tools and services, unifying efforts, automating repetitive processes, and improving the testing process to propel new features and updates from these teams.
Cloud-Native Technologies
Businesses can build and deploy cloud-native technologies, such as microservices, serverless computing, and managed services to build and deploy applications more efficiently and cost-effectively. Because these tools are designed specifically for the cloud, they often offer greater scalability, flexibility, and reduced operational overhead compared to non-cloud tools.
Kubernetes and Container Orchestration
Containerization helps applications perform more reliably across different environments. However, without orchestration, deployment and management can become more complex.
Kubernetes is an industry-standard tool for container orchestration. With Kubernetes, companies can simplify the deployment and management process for containerized applications. Cloud platforms have managed Kubernetes services that make adopting the technology easier.
Cloud-Native Security
Cloud-native security is a proactive approach to securing applications and data in cloud environments. One of its foundational principles is zero trust, which establishes a framework where no user or device is inherently trusted, regardless of its location or network connection. This approach involves continuous authentication, authorization, and access control for all users and devices, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access.
By embedding security into the development and deployment processes of cloud-native applications, organizations can ensure that security is a core consideration from the outset, driving innovation and reducing the risk of data breaches.
Multicloud and Hybrid Cloud Management Platforms
Multicloud and hybrid cloud platforms have emerged as powerful solutions for businesses seeking to optimize their IT infrastructure across diverse environments. Tools like Azure Stack, AWS Outposts, and Google Anthos enable organizations to seamlessly manage workloads across public clouds, private clouds, and on-premises environments. These platforms address the growing need for flexibility and unified management as IT landscapes continue to become more complex.
5 Tips for Embracing Cloud Innovation
Embracing cloud innovation shouldn’t be taken lightly. Organizations should assess their goals and needs before implementing any new tools, and follow that with a solid implementation strategy. Continuing to measure and optimize in the cloud, encouraging an innovation-driven company culture, and investing in cloud skills will only boost your cloud innovation journey.
Assess Business Goals and Needs
Just because a new cloud technology is available doesn’t mean a business should adopt it. Before jumping into the latest trends, you need to understand your business goals and needs.
- What are the pain points and challenges you want to address?
- Where could your business processes be made more efficient?
- What requirements do you need to maintain around data security and compliance?
By asking these questions first, your business can more effectively evaluate new technologies based on their ability to address your challenges, align with your initiatives, and make measurable improvements.
All new technologies need to be weighed against the pros and cons of implementation. Is the time and effort spent adding the tool and training team members to adapt to new processes worth the benefit you’ll gain from it in cost, performance, security, user-friendliness, and so on?
Create a Detailed Implementation Strategy
Once you’ve decided that a new technology is worth it, it’s time to create a detailed implementation strategy. This should include the specific objectives you are trying to achieve with implementation, deployment phases, resource allocation with personnel and budget, strategies to address potential challenges, and change management procedures to improve adoption rates and mitigate disruptions.
Measure and Optimize Innovation Efforts
Cloud computing innovation isn’t a one-time project. Businesses should be regularly evaluating their cloud initiatives using predetermined key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs can determine whether you’ve achieved the goals you set out to accomplish, including cost savings, performance improvements, and efficiency gains. This can also surface opportunities for further cloud solution optimizations.
Build an Innovation-Driven Company Culture
Setting the standard for a supportive environment from the beginning will make it easier for innovation to take root and evolve. Team members should be encouraged to stay up-to-date on the latest cloud trends and technologies. Innovation projects can be collaborative efforts that involve group brainstorming and all-hands meetings. The more you encourage a culture of curiosity, the more you’ll get early adopters on your side, pushing more cloud innovation projects forward.
Invest in Cloud Skills
Investing in cloud skills can look like investing in internal skill development or augmenting your existing IT team to help fill skills gaps. Consider adding outsourced experts to your infrastructure and operations (I&O) plan for a cost-effective and efficient way to boost organizational cloud skills. Some top skills that tend to be missing internally include cloud migration and modernization, DevOps and automation, cloud architecture and design, and cloud security.
What Does the Future of Cloud Computing Innovation Look Like?
While no one can predict the future with complete accuracy, these are some predictions based on emerging trends that we may see shape cloud innovation in the future.
More Sustainable Cloud Computing Initiatives
As high-performance computing places greater demand on energy grids, we should continue to see more initiatives aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the cloud and improving data center sustainability. This may include increased reliance on renewable energy sources, energy-efficient improvements made to hardware and software, and more sustainable data center systems, such as closed-loop liquid cooling.
Edge Computing and IoT Expansion
The growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has driven demand for real-time data processing. Smart home devices and personal health monitors, for example, rely on almost instantaneous responses to function at their peak. Edge computing processes data closer to where it is generated, instead of returning to a centralized cloud location, reducing network latency and improving response times. More devices are currently being developed for which this real-time feedback is critical, including autonomous vehicles and industrial automation.
Quantum Computing and Cloud Integration
Quantum computing has the power to solve complex problems that were previously out of reach for conventional computers. This form of computing may aid in drug discovery, more precise financial modeling, and materials science advancements. Cloud integration may make this form of computing more accessible to a wider audience, opening up the potential for greater innovation on a scale not currently possible.
AIOps and MLOps Processes
Along with the growth of AI/ML is the rise of operations processes, called AIOps and MLOps. These disciplines can automate tasks and improve efficiencies by reducing the reliance on manual tasks in the operation, development, and deployment phases. IT teams that successfully leverage AIOps and MLOps processes could free themselves for more strategic projects.
Holographic and Immersive Cloud Experiences
We have yet to see the full potential of the cloud when it comes to immersive entertainment experiences. Cloud-powered augmented and virtual reality services could create new paradigms for remote collaboration, education, and entertainment as these services evolve and gain traction.
Elevate Your Cloud Strategy with TierPoint
Wherever your cloud journey is going next, TierPoint’s expertise can help drive innovation forward. Learn more about our IT advisory consulting services and work with us to elevate your cloud strategy.
In the meantime, download our Journey to the Cloud eBook to explore what cloud platforms may be best-suited for your business objectives.
