The future of cloud computing

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a tool that allows users to access applications and IT services from the Internet, without the need to install software or hardware locally. Cloud computing uses the computing power of several computers that are networked to provide almost unlimited processing capacity.

The services offered by cloud computing are diverse. They range from simple applications, such as online word processing software, to complex services, such as distributed databases for businesses or corporate messaging platforms. In any case, users do not need to worry about managing the underlying IT infrastructure, as this is managed by the cloud computing provider.

Some advantages of cloud computing

The main advantage of cloud computing is its flexibility. While a traditional on-site IT infrastructure requires a lot of human and material resources, and constrains the company's activity to its level of performance, cloud computing allows the company to only use the power it needs.

In addition, cloud computing offers the great advantage of being able to increase or decrease the size of its infrastructure according to immediate needs, while an on-premises infrastructure is limited to the physical servers that compose it. In addition to allowing access to data in multiple locations at once, cloud computing offers a level of accessibility and flexibility incomparable with on-premises servers. 

Another advantage of cloud computing is its security. The physical servers of companies are often subject to breakdowns, while the infrastructures set up in Cloud management are more reliable. The interconnection of Cloud servers means that if one of the servers fails, the others protect the data. 

The Covid-19 pandemic: a digital springboard

The pandemic has greatly affected the way businesses plan to continue their business after Covid. The experience of working from home has convinced many companies that it is unnecessary to bring all employees together in the same place every day. Many have even taken the all-digital approach, leaving offices and managing everything from home. 

But although the cloud computing innovation score doubled between 2018 and 2021, public interest remains low. On the scale of technological priorities, cloud computing ranks far behind renewable energies or artificial intelligence. More interesting, Web3 far outperforms cloud computing in terms of general interest, even if innovation in this area has remained almost zero since 2018 despite a 550% increase in investments in dollars between 2018 and 2021.

Unsurprisingly, the evolution trend of cloud computing is correlated with another trend: the one of digitalization.

Is Europe late?

MIT and Capgemini had already shown in 2011 that companies engaged in the digital transition were 26% better performing than the average in their industries. However, a 2016 report by McKinsey showed that only 12% of the digitalization potential of European companies had been realized, or 6 points less than in the United States. 

Digitalization: a factor of inequality

We can point out the differences in access to technology between different countries in Europe, and the reluctance of certain European economies to use digital technologies for their services. It is a vicious circle which makes that the less companies use digital services, the less the infrastructures capable of meeting the digital needs of companies can be developed. 

According to a survey carried out in 2020, only 22% of companies surveyed believe they have the necessary skills to succeed in their digital transition.

Skillsoft via INTELLIGENT CIO

To get European companies out of this vicious circle, the European Union has legislated on European digital law in order to enable the creation of new infrastructures and companies specializing in digital services. In addition to this, Europe has started to digitalize its economy. As a result, the acceleration of the digitalization of Europe has brought several trillion euros to its economy. 

New challenges

Advancements in computer science directly contribute to the improvement of cloud services computing. On the front line, we find obviously artificial intelligence, which allows great advances in the personalization of services, data processing, or the optimization of existing infrastructures. But we can also mention quantum computing or edge computing, which are still at the development stage, but which promise an explosion of performance in the years to come.