Amazon, Google, Microsoft are Top Trending Cloud Computing Service Providers in 2018

Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure are the three mammoth suites in the galaxy of cloud computing services. All three cloud service providers Amazon, Google and Microsoft, through combined efforts made 2017 a great year for cloud computing on the whole.

As per statistical data, analysts believe that the Three Musketeers will increase their combined market share to 76 percent in 2018 and to 80 percent by 2020. Experts expect the global public cloud market to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 22 percent, with an increase in size from $146 billion in 2017 to $178 billion in 2018.

Though personally I am quite familiar with AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Microsoft Azure, I have been using Google Cloud Platform for almost last two years. The services for compute, storage, networking, big data, machine learning and the internet of things (IoT), as well as cloud management, security and developer tools are excellent. Leaving aside all of that, let us take a deep dive into the top trends of cloud computing.

Linking on-premises Systems to those on Cloud
In ground reality complete cloud migration of all running applications and data, is still not cent percent feasible for even the most advanced cloud savvy enterprises. As a consequence, companies are looking for options to connect their on-premises solutions with their cloud-based solutions, along with complex customizations to make their systems work in a manner that supports their business processes.
IT companies are realizing the need to serve this demand, and are working on offering options to end users to help them achieve their hybrid infrastructure goals.

Definitely, on-premises solutions have their own advantages when it comes to network availability for data flow control.

For many enterprises, the current on-premises solutions represent substantial investment costs over years, and migrating them to the cloud has huge financial implications that could disrupt their P&L statements.

Also, specific on-premises solutions may have significant costs of migration and long migration timelines. Instead, an approach of linking on-premises systems with those on the cloud provides clear advantages.

Tremendous growth in Cloud Storage Space
Data is the most important part of any business, irrespective of its size, net worth and scale. The volume of enterprise data continues to expand.
In 2018, major cloud players are expected to bring a lot more datacenters on the cloud model. With large capacity storage equipment, the data storage capabilities of existing players are also likely to increase throughout the year.

In a 2016 survey-based report, Cisco suggested that global data stored in datacenters would be 310 exabytes in 2017.

Also, it predicted that the total available datacenter capacity in 2017 would be 600EB. For 2018, the estimated number is 1.1 zettabytes and that’s almost double.
Impacts of increased availability of cloud storage:
1. Forward-looking businesses will be able to move more portions of their enterprise data on to the cloud.
2. Service providers will start offering tailored and customized data storage services to users, at affordable prices.
3. Businesses will be motivated to use the affordable cloud solutions like Giffy for applications in CRM, HRMS, payroll, invoicing and analytics.

Definite growth across the three key cloud-based Service Models
Considering all our cloud computing predictions, we see definite and continued growth in cloud computing based service models in 2018. Let’s take a glimpse of the relative growth potential of the three key models:
According to Bain & Co., the Software as a Service model (SaaS) will continue its rapid growth. The pace is expected to be at 18 percent CAGR by 2020. Salesforce, G Suite or Google Apps, and Citrix GoToMeeting will continue to dominate the SMB (small and medium businesses) market.
A KPMG report reveals the potential of Platform as a Service (PaaS) component for 32 percent growth in 2017 to 56 percent adoption by 2020. Since these services provide a platform to end users to develop, launch, and manage applications without investing a lot, this is expected to draw a lot of business from enterprises that now want to move on to sophisticated capabilities beyond SaaS. Google App Engine is gaining grounds at a faster pace.
As per Statista report the size of the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market is estimated to reach $17.5 billion by the end of this year. Amazon Web Services will face steeper competition from Google Cloud, Compute Engine to be specific and Microsoft Azure.
Without a doubt, the future of cloud computing is very bright for 2018, and that’s across all its service models.

Drive toward Faster Internet Access
The extensive increment in data volume hardly needs any accentuating. However, the same needs to be supported by faster internet access. Thankfully, leading technology innovators like Qualcomm Snapdragon are driving the movement toward faster network speeds. In 2018, we expect more groups to become a part of this movement. The move from gigabyte LTE (Long Term Evolution) speeds to full 5G networks will witness increased traction in 2018, which means we will reach 5G capabilities sooner than it’s anticipated currently. Superfast loading applications will drive worldwide enterprise adoption, and feed in resources to this movement. Specifically IoT (Internet of Things) will be immensely benefited by this shift to a faster Internet.

Coining Buzzwords on the Trend

It’s quite amazing the way large enterprise technology vendors are getting addicted to coining buzzwords as a marketing gimmick. The downside of this approach is that the general understanding of commonly used terms is deteriorated, and that of newly coined terms hardly ever become clear.
Take for instance the term hybrid cloud. As per the cloud terminology adopted and followed by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), hybrid cloud refers to a pairing of the public and private cloud. However, vendors are often found using the term to describe pairing of traditional systems with cloud systems or those with virtual servers.
Buzzwords will be showered on enterprises throughout 2018. If you are responsible to work on deals with major cloud players, watch out for these catchy words, and learn to look beyond for clarity.

Increased Investment in SEIM, Malware Detection and Fixing Tools

DDoS, Skygofree, Android.banker.A9480, Slingshot are some terms that give CISOs (Chief Information Security Officer) sleepless nights. Individual and state-sponsored cloud infrastructure attacks still continue to pose security threat to any enterprise and we hardly have a reason to believe that 2018 will be any different. This, of course, will drive increased investments in SIEM (security information and event management) tools, apart from specific malware detection and quarantine solutions. Managed security service providers will get more opportunities here, in offering end-to-end data protection and security solutions to companies that cannot implement foolproof security measures on their own.

In general cloud computing trend for 2018 looks highly optimistic. We will see new opportunities for enterprises to make their cloud infrastructure mix more affordable and supportive for alignment with business goals. Cloud vendors will continue to add higher-level services, such as those related to big data, artificial intelligence, IoT and machine learning, to their respective cloud platforms as enterprises get more inclined to adopt best cloud technology practices. On the whole, 2018 will continue to be a happening year for the cloud computing world.