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When we're talking technology, cloud computing is the industry’s contemporary apex. At this point, most organizations are either already utilizing the cloud currently, or are planning to move their data and platforms onto it. To put it simply, if you're involved in the technology industry, or looking for ways to invest in technology, you need to know about cloud computing. With that said, let's talk about some general trends in cloud computing, including what it is and why so many companies are investing in it.

Prior to the cloud, organizations reliant on technology typically built networks and data centers. When public cloud providers came along, they built bigger networks and data centers and began renting out space through these networks and data centers. This enabled organizations to use their technology much more efficiently because, traditionally, they had to purchase space on cloud providers’ networks to account for times of peak demand.

For most retail businesses, for example, this period of time is around the Christmas holiday shopping season. Organizations would purchase the use of systems ahead of time since it would often take weeks or months to get the providers’ systems where they needed to be. Although, this left them sitting around idle most of the year, waiting for peak traffic during times like Christmas.

On the cloud, however, everything changes.
 

Why companies are investing in cloud computing

For companies looking to invest in technology, cloud computing is extremely desirable. For starters, in most cases, it's much cheaper to outsource your data center than to build and run it yourself. The cloud is also much faster than making a phone call to get a server, which might take six weeks or more to obtain; on the cloud, we can establish a company’s data server in a matter of minutes or seconds. But besides the cloud’s speed and ease of use, data centers are complex, and typically require large teams to manage them.

On the cloud, 90% of the setup and management needed is done for you by the cloud provider, making implementation much more simple for companies investing in it. This is another major reason why so many organizations are investing in and moving to the cloud. In fact, according to findstack.com, 81% of all enterprises have reported that they have a multi-cloud strategy already laid out, or had one in the works by the end of 2021. The article also states how, as of December 2021, 67% of enterprise infrastructure was cloud-based, and reported that as of last year, 83% of all companies’ technological workload was stored in the cloud.

Presently, Amazon Web Services (AWS), is the largest cloud provider by market share, of which it boasts an impressive 33%. Microsoft Azure is the second-largest provider in terms of market share — some 16% — but remains the largest in terms of ongoing revenue. Microsoft’s advantage is the technology they possess which they call the intelligent cloud, which includes not only cloud computing services but also services like Microsoft 365, making them a more desirable cloud investment for companies already utilizing many of Microsoft’s other digital tools.

Investments in cloud computing are poised to grow exponentially

It's hard to determine exactly how much revenue is coming to the cloud at Microsoft, compared to AWS or other providers. To give you a clearer picture as to why, the number of cloud-based computing apps has tripled since 2013 — up from 545 to 1,427 — and continues to grow daily.

According to the IDC, the most prominent industries looking to spend the most on cloud computing are manufacturing, professional services, and banking, with a forecasted investment spend of about $20 billion, $18 billion, and $16 billion for each respective sector. This should help give you an idea of just how large of a market there is for investing in the cloud. The average person likely doesn't even realize how extensive this market is, even if they’re using dozens of cloud-based services each day. Last year, the public cloud alone did about $130 billion in revenue, and it's expected to be far more than that moving forward.

Furthermore, according to Gartner, public cloud revenues will have jumped to over $332 billion by 2022. If these statistics seem large, it’s because virtually every company is looking to migrate their data and digital operations to the cloud. After all, the cloud is often cheaper and much more agile. Things that would take weeks to accomplish in a traditional data center can be done in minutes — or even seconds — on the cloud.

So, if you're interested in technology, and you're interested in the future of technology, look no further than cloud providers like AWS, Microsoft, and Google. Secondly, look to other key players cloud providers will need to rely on; companies that manufacture their cloud equipment like AMD which makes great servers and CPUs, as well as companies like Intel which act as cloud server vendors. Advancements in these companies’ technologies will run parallel with increased investments in the cloud, but that doesn’t mean your company needs to wait. The cloud, and all the benefits it provides, are already there.