Just a few years ago, some industry experts had tagged cloud computing as the latest fad that created a lot of buzz but was adding very little practical value (I am sure by now a lot of them must have embraced the goodness of this technology). On the contrary, today, the world of business experiences significant proliferation in the adoption and implementation of cloud computing that has been acknowledged by a large number of analysts and companies all across the globe.

Nowadays, cloud computing is the new normal for every IT enterprise. In fact, companies in the manufacturing and automotive space happen to be one of the fastest-growing segments to adopt and spend on cloud computing.

Industry experts are of the view that as more and more investments are happening in this genre of technology, it is highly essential for CIOs to learn to manage an increasingly hybrid setup. Because with greater spends comes greater responsibility.

The CIO’s desk

Cloud computing continues to play catalyst and is a leading element that can be a gamechanger for enterprises. Recognized as one of the most promising technologies, cloud computing can tirelessly work toward increasing business agility, boosting flexibility, and enhancing performance. However, we cannot overlook the challenges that come along.

Do you know what are the toughest challenges CIOs go through before embarking on the cloud journey? Do you know what the toughest part about transforming to the cloud is? Well, tech giants talk about security, governance, lack of expertise, and more.

Let’s find out in detail about these challenges.

Security

No matter what aspect of technology we talk about, security happens to be a major concern. And the story is no different for cloud computing. Since cloud has become the hottest pick for almost every industry, it is essential to be very mindful of potential security issues that tag along.

In several instances, cloud computing has proved its mettle and provided significant benefits to enterprises of every size. But lack of visibility and control can be a serious concern. This is where CIOs need to pay close attention to and rule out every possibility by taking informed cloud adoption decisions pertaining to IT management and data security.

Managing cloud spending

Believe it or not, managing cloud spending can be a bigger problem than security. With bills getting bigger and bigger and applications increasing in enterprises indeed are a concern for centralized IT and CIOs. Not just this, but enterprises make several mistakes that result in driving up cloud costs. Therefore, it is a challenge for CIOs to get the most suitable strategy in place to control overspending on cloud.

Lack of resources

Lack of the right kind of resources and skill set is another challenge associated with the adoption of cloud. As organizations are increasing workloads on the cloud and the fact that cloud technology is evolving every single day, keeping up with the right skill set is essential. Even though the IT team takes several steps to boost cloud computing expertise, it still is a challenge for employers to find the set of expertise they need.

Governance

Proper IT control or governance is an essential factor in ensuring implementation of IT assets as per policies and procedures. Additionally, governance is necessary to evaluate and keep a check to ensure that these IT assets are working in line with the organization’s strategy and end goal.

However, in today’s fast-paced cloud environment, it is not always possible to exercise complete control over aspects such as provisioning, de-provisioning, and functioning of infrastructure. This indeed has scaled up the difficulty levels for IT to provide governance, risks and data quality management, and compliance that is necessary for the smooth functioning of IT.

These are a few primary challenges that almost every CIO faces when the enterprise decides to check cloud computing on its to-do list.

Before we start talking about trends that make a difference to cloud adoption decisions at the CIO level, let’s get our hands on some incredible cloud computing statistics.

  • By 2020, the public cloud services market is expected to reach a USD 623.3 billion mark worldwide
  • By 2020, 83% of enterprise workloads are estimated to be on cloud
  • 94% of enterprises already use cloud
  • Cloud computing accounts for 30% of all IT budgets
  • 66% of enterprises have a central cloud team in place
  • More than USD 1.2 million is spent by 50% of enterprises on cloud

These figures confidently state that cloud already is a big deal and is expected to keep growing.

Check out how cloud computing trends make a difference

Cloud computing is a platform embraced by enterprises to exercise enhanced security, stability, reduced IT cost, low downtime, and offers businesses greater flexibility. Cloud services today are taking the business world by storm, and hence it is essential for decision makers like CIOs, CTOs, CXOs, and more to keep a close check on cloud computing trends.

Trend #1

Multicloud can reduce vendor lock-in

Organizations that implement cloud services across different geographies find it extremely taxing to settle on one single public cloud infrastructure provider to take care of the enterprise needs. However, for organizations with a similar setup, a multicloud strategy looks promising.

As per a recent survey by Gartner for public cloud users, 81% of participants mentioned that they are working with two or more cloud providers. It is also estimated that by 2024 multicloud strategies will lessen vendor dependency for almost two-thirds of organizations.

However, multicloud computing decisions need to be taken on the three primary considerations.

  • Sourcing
  • Architecture
  • Governance

Inadequate cloud skills can delay migrations

By 2022, inadequate cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) skill will be responsible for delaying about 50% of enterprise IT migrating to the cloud by an estimate of about two years. The current cloud migration strategies seem more like a lift and shift process that does not create room for the development of native cloud skills. This ultimately is creating a market where cloud service providers are unable to train and certify people for key roles.

Additionally, consulting companies are having a tough time finding talent that is relevant and hands-on cloud skills. However, to overcome these challenges, companies that want to migrate workloads to cloud need to work with managed services providers and SIs (System Integrators) with proven track records of successful cloud migrations specific to a target industry.

Enhanced vendor training for improved cloud security

Ambiguity around cloud computing can make security a daunting task for enterprises. And with security breaches making headlines, episodes such as WannaCry security breach and many others had devastating repercussions. Yet the explanations behind them seemed extremely vague.

Considering the amount of ambiguity that revolves around cloud computing, securing an enterprise seems to be the toughest.  Given the severity of security breaches, CIOs often limit organizational use of public cloud services.

However, it is essential to understand that the challenge is not security, but the role of policies and technologies that make a difference. As a solution, CIOs must shift from asking- “If the cloud is secure” to asking, “Am I using the Cloud securely?” And then focus on introducing vendor-specific training to staff members responsible for IT.

Conclusion
In 2020, CIOs should focus on how the aforementioned trends that can influence their cloud adoption and migration plans for the future. Taking relevant steps now will benefit in preparing a better IT infrastructure for the future of cloud computing. To know more about Cloud technology, you can download our latest whitepapers on Cloud.