Cloud Computing: Trends and Predictions for 2016

A recent study from Soliant Consulting reported some interesting milestones for cloud computing in 2015:

• 63 percent of businesses have a private cloud.  82 percent of businesses use a hybrid cloud, and 88 percent of businesses are using the public cloud.
• 64 percent of businesses say that in 2015 cloud computing helped them to reduce waste and energy consumption.
• The federal government estimates that it’s saved $5.5 billion because of its move to the cloud
• Amazon’s share of the cloud market is 30 percent compared to Microsoft Azure’s 10 percent share.
• Small businesses spent $15.5 billion on cloud services in 2015.  Total cloud revenues reached $64 billion.

Where’s the cloud computing market going?  Here’s some predictions for what we might expect in 2016:

• Expect the migration to SaaS applications to grow only stronger.  SaaS generally comes with cost savings and simplicity.  It also helps businesses improve their overall agility.
• Data is moving to the cloud.  By the end of the year Soliant Consulting estimates that 36 percent of all data will have migrated to the cloud.
• Containers will increasingly be used to build cloud-based distributed applications.  Container technology like Docker and CoreOS should grow significantly this year.
• Data storage costs will continue to plummet.  Data storage is being used as a loss leader by cloud vendors to get data into the cloud.  vendors hope to see revenues from things like security management, analytics and applications.
• Security concerns won’t go away this year.  Expect there to be continued attacks on the cloud in 2016.  Customers will continue to demand tougher cloud controls and security.
• A renaissance for IT groups could happen this year.  While the cloud is impacting the size and scope of many IT groups, businesses also recognize that shadow IT needs to be reigned in.  Centralized handling of cloud operations will save money and ensure more secure solutions.  Expect IT to be more involved in cloud purchases and with vetting of cloud applications and infrastructure.
• Big enterprise software companies like Oracle, SAP, Hewlett Packard, and IBM will struggle.  Changing their business models from on-premise software to cloud-based applications will be challenging.