‘Livewire’ Interview Response – Cloud Trends

What is the most important current cloud trend in your opinion?

In such a rapidly evolving and innovative space as Cloud Computing which by is nature is Evergreen. To promote one trend above all others is fertile ground for debate in itself as so many are interwoven.

A case in point amongst many important cloud trends, is the adoption of multi-cloud strategies and that includes the hybrid dimensions of private cloud which goes hand in hand with serverless.

True multi-cloud refers to the practice of using two or more cloud computing platforms from different vendors to leverage the unique strengths of each cloud provider in a serverless resilient design that spreads a workload or application across multiple clouds. See how we now already have two interdependent themes – Multi-Cloud and Serverless. This could be regarded as a Cloud Native maturity evolution from the simpler interpretation of multi-cloud that refers to the use of more than one cloud for a single workload or application.

Serverless architectures allows developers to build and run applications without having to manage servers or infrastructure. Instead, the cloud provider takes care of the underlying infrastructure, allowing developers to focus on writing code and building applications. This allows services to be interwoven from multiple cloud vendors to create a capability and resilience benefit that is greater than any single cloud.

This is a far cry from the simpler use case for multi-cloud which we still sometimes hear that is driven to avoid vendor lock-in. 

As more organizations adopt serverless architectures, we can expect to see an even greater emphasis on building cloud-native applications that are designed to take full advantage of the benefits of multiple cloud platforms.

What makes this trend so important?

True Multi-cloud computing is becoming increasingly important because it reflects the maturing of Cloud computing utilisation by organizations to take advantage of the unique strengths of different cloud providers amongst other benefits, including: 

1. Avoidance of Vendor lock-in – Offering flexibility and bargaining power when negotiating with vendors.

2. Cost management – Choice of the most cost-effective solution for each service component in a serverless architecture or workload or application.

3. Resilience – Ensuring that solutions are highly available and performant.

4. Risk mitigation – By ensuring that data is backed up in multiple locations and that solutions can failover to a different provider in case of an outage.

5. Compliance and security – Supporting diverse requirements to choose providers that specialize in certain compliance or regulator areas.

Who will be the most likely adopters?

The most likely adopters of multi-cloud computing are organizations that have complex and varied IT requirements, which cannot be fully met by a single cloud provider. These tend to be:

• Large enterprises which often have global and or diverse/hybrid IT environments with multiple applications, workloads, and data sources.

• Digital native, born in the cloud organisations, such as technology startups or software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers.

• Vertical sectors that are subject to strict regulatory requirements, such as finance or healthcare, with different regulations across different regions.

How will this trend impact CIOs and their enterprises?

The multi-cloud and serverless trends are having a significant impact on CIOs and their enterprises, including:

• Risk governance and management – Complexity explosion. This requires the development of new governance and management frameworks to ensure consistency, compliance, and security across a new and dynamic technology.

• Cost optimization – The reduction of costs can also introduce new cost management challenges. This includes the need to develop a comprehensive cost optimization strategy that considers factors such as workload placement, pricing models, and usage patterns across different cloud providers. This has birthed a new operational model called ‘FinOps’ Financial Operations.

• Talent management – The demand for new skill sets to ensure that teams have the necessary expertise to manage and operate these technologies effectively.

• Application architecture – Serverless architectures require a new approach to application design, development and maintenance. This demands greater integration of development teams to ensure that applications are designed to take full advantage of serverless capabilities, such as auto-scaling and event-driven architectures.

• Vendor management – New vendor management challenges, to negotiate and manage relationships with multiple cloud providers. This requires a vendor management strategy that considers factors such as service level agreements, pricing, and support models.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would like to emphasize the importance of planning and strategy when adopting multi-cloud and serverless technologies. While these technologies offer significant benefits, they also introduce new challenges and complexities. It is important for organizations to carefully assess their needs and develop a comprehensive strategy for adopting and managing these technologies. Critically this now reaches into the business like never before as organisations strive to develop their service and product by leveraging the constantly evolving opportunities Cloud Computing introduces.

In addition, organizations need to recognise the value of partnerships. Developing trusted partners and service provider relationships that have expertise in multi-cloud and serverless technologies. These partners can help organizations navigate the complexities of these technologies and ensure successful adoption, operation and to fill unavoidable skill gaps.

In conclusion as I stated at the beginning, the cloud landscape is constantly evolving and new trends are emerging all the time. CIOs and their teams need to stay informed and adaptable to remain competitive in today’s fast-changing business environment.