Cloud Computing Trends for 2024

Evolution of GenAI

Since the disruption and boom with ChatGPT near the end of 2022, we've seen how AI terms have multiplied by leaps and bounds. The appearance of Gemini (formerly Bard) at the end of last year, and now in this quarter with the release of Devin in recent weeks, has sparked competition among the big cloud technology providers. The major cloud providers are tapping into their vast capabilities to create new "AI-as-a-service" services, allowing companies to move from their initial AI experiments to their production systems. Following a brief talk with Jeff Barr about his visit to Lima last September 2023 and the announcement at AWS re: Invent, he noted that the next emphasis of AWS's new services will be AI processes and how this technology would interface with its other services. Currently, AWS provides many GenAI (Generative AI) services, including Amazon Q, Amazon CodeWhisperer, and Amazon Bedrock. 

Adopting Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Strategies 

Companies continue using strategies that seek to improve solution performance while avoiding the risks associated with vendor lock-in. Multi-cloud and hybrid clouds involve developing and deploying mobile and web applications across several cloud platforms.

However, while the Cloud offers flexibility, the costly expenses made by public cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) lead to rising costs. As a result, some companies opt to return part of their computational power to conventional data centers, thereby optimizing costs at the expense of sacrificing certain benefits provided by the Cloud.  
This trend points to a decentralized future for computing processes, where companies and users can gain more control, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness in managing their computing processes. 

Real-Time Cloud Infrastructure 

Companies are aiming for real-time results, hoping to replicate how entertainment providers like Netflix give quick benefits. This initiative strives to promote the application and integration of the following technologies to achieve these goals.

• Serverless Computing: This technology reduces the need for dedicated servers and allows applications to run based on a specific request; it is ideal for real-time processing. 
  
  
• Edge computing: Allows for information processing close to the origin, reducing delay for applications that require a fast response; examples include autonomous cars such as Tesla or video consoles that process data locally. 

This type of infrastructure allows multiple solutions to scale dynamically for different types of information loads and respond swiftly and appropriately. 

Cloud Security

• Data encryption: In the context of constant cyber attacks, it is imperative to safeguard sensitive information with proper encryption techniques that limit or block access to such information. And as these attacks become more complex, so should our encryption methods.
  
  
• Authentication: Just as the previous measure protects our data, authentication will safeguard access to our cloud resources with efficient access control measures. New standards are emerging, such as MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), which goes beyond the traditional "username and password". MFA, SSO, biometric verification, and sharing analysis provide further security against social engineering and brute force attacks. 
  
  
• Disaster recovery: Even with the precautions listed above, natural disasters or hardware breakdowns can disrupt service continuity. Solutions have to create disaster recovery plans to ensure their continued operation. To keep downtime and data loss to a minimum, it's important to use infrastructure that is dispersed out geographically, automatic data recovery, and specific failover systems. 

The ‘Green Cloud’

'Green Cloud' refers to a sustainable approach to cloud computing. The biggest cloud and service providers are working on developing and sustaining environmentally friendly solutions. Leading public cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP all seek to cut down on CO2 emissions and the overall environmental impact of the facilities they develop for prospective clients. Amazon, Azure, and Google plan to use renewable energy for 100 percent of their energy costs.

This trend set by these huge companies also benefits businesses that rely on them to fulfill their own environmental goals and minimize their respective energy footprints. According to estimates, using cloud technology and services can save up to 10% on the cost and time required for achieving initiatives. 

In conclusion, 2024 looks like it will be a big year for progress in the cloud. These trends show how different industries are using the cloud's flexibility, efficiency, and effectiveness to find new business opportunities and improve their IT systems so they can stay ahead in this sea of data and changing technology. Being flexible and adopting these trends into our strategies in the right way gives us an invaluable benefit in this ever-changing technological landscape. 

Tekton cloud computing architects, consultants, and specialists can help your firm design the ideal cloud solution for all of your business needs. You can contact us for additional information on how to use our enterprise cloud services.

Contact us at +1 (650) 215 8525 or email us at hi@tektonlabs.com