2021 predictions: The year of the cloud

The cloud is evolving rapidly and 2021 is going to be another year of transformation – one that will enable enterprises to be more agile, resilient, and adaptive than ever before. Have a read below to see my top predictions for cloud in the new year.

From exploration to innovation

Today, organizations realize that sitting on the sidelines is not an option. When it comes to cloud, it’s a case of disrupt or be disrupted. Proactivity is key and the future of cloud is one that is woven into the very fabric of business as legacy systems become obsolete.

More organizations will upheave their infrastructure, modernizing and replatforming their applications, to move to this model. While the journey is complex, the result will be innovation, growth, and improved agility.

Multi-cloud becomes the norm

Cloud-agnostic strategies are becoming more commonplace as organizations look to improve their autonomy and avoid vendor lock-in. In response, leading vendors are designing solutions to be more compatible with one other, enabling seamless integration for enterprises.

This is setting a precedent across the market. We should see more and more vendors integrating their cloud services next year, collaborating to capitalize on the growing multi-cloud trend.

Native applications take the lead

Organizations have typically adopted the cloud somewhat haphazardly – using it tactically and to plug holes, rather than creating a long-term roadmap for transformation. In light of the pandemic, organizations realized that more functionality was a must. To unleash the full potency of cloud applications, native applications were key – rather than the traditional lift-and-shift process.

With this mindset in place, we should see cloud-native applications take center stage in the months ahead. Built specifically for the cloud, these will provide organizations with the agility, resilience, and scalability they need to evolve and digitalize.

“Bill shock” encourages economic thinking

The sharp rise in demand for cloud services this year led many organizations to rapidly expand their deployments. However, left unmonitored, many then faced an unwelcomed case of bill shock – where the pay-per-use model of the cloud led to a huge deviation from planned budgets.

2021 will see more organizations strategically analyzing what is and what should be used in the cloud. This is known as cloud economics. It is a fiscal model for tracking cloud use and spending, involving a deep assessment of what’s being used combined with a transformation of infrastructure to optimize costs and efficiency. Cloud economics is an ongoing process, where organizations regularly monitor cloud use to ensure optimum productivity and make improvements where needed. Next year, we expect economics assessments to become a key part of enterprise vocabulary.

To find out more about Capgemini’s cloud economics assessment, click here

The cloud can be a wonderful catalyst for innovation, more efficient application development, better customer experiences, and greater business value. Next year promises to be an exciting one, as more organizations move from cloud-first intent to reality.

Take the next step on your journey with speed and confidence. Contact Capgemini today to ask us for sector-specific references and to arrange a personalized demo of the Capgemini Cloud Platform.