3 Cloud Trends for IT Infrastructure in 2023

Cloud adoption in the business world is surging as companies struggle to keep up with the ever-expanding demand for greater digital bandwidth and data storage. Along with the rise in cloud adoption, new technologies have burst onto the scene to boost the power and capabilities of cloud applications.

In this article, we discuss some of these technologies and how they’ll drive companies to improve, innovate, and prepare their IT infrastructure for future cloud demands.

Emerging Cloud Trends and Technologies

As more enterprises take the plunge into cloud computing as part of their IT strategy, several key technologies are gaining ground. From cloud-native applications to edge computing to Kubernetes, there is no shortage of new and more powerful cloud applications and technologies on the horizon.

Cloud-Native Applications (CNPs)

Cloud-native application development first came on the scene in 2015 and has been gaining popularity ever since due to its faster development cycle, greater agility, and scalability compared to server-based platforms. Such applications are typically broken down into multiple, self-contained services through the use of technologies and methodologies, among those DevOps, containers, microservices, and more. This approach enables teams to deploy and scale components independently, so they can make updates, fix issues, and deliver new features without any service interruption.

What’s the difference between “cloud-native” and “cloud-based” applications?

While the terms “cloud-native” and “cloud-based” are often used interchangeably, there is a distinct difference between the two. Cloud-native applications are born in the cloud and are designed to take advantage of the elasticity and distributed nature of the cloud. In contrast, cloud-based applications leverage the cloud, but are built on traditional servers hosted in on-premises data centers, and thus, can be more challenging when it comes to ease of use, implementation, upgrades, and overall maintenance. 

According to Google Cloud, portability is among the key characteristics of cloud-native applications. Since they are designed to run almost anywhere, cloud-native applications can be easily moved from one environment to another without making changes to the entire application.  

With the ability to deliver new software updates quickly and seamlessly, cloud-native applications are helping to accelerate innovation and digital transformation across many organizations. Experts predict that cloud-native platforms will serve as the foundation of the vast majority of new digital initiatives in the next few years. By 2025, Gartner estimates that over 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms, up from 30% in 2021, so expect to see companies investing more in cloud-native apps in the year ahead.

Edge Computing

As the world’s thirst for data transmission continues to skyrocket — urged on by greater adoption of 5G, Internet of Things (loT), big data, and dynamic content — edge computing is growing by leaps and bounds. Why? Simply put, edge computing brings computing resources physically closer to the end-user, thereby reducing the volumes of data that must be moved and the distance the data must travel. This results in lower latency, reduced transmission costs, and fewer traffic delays.  

Which industries should adopt edge computing?

Many industries have found edge computing attractive, particularly when the need for instant data processing is a must. Content providers like Netflix or Amazon — which benefit from caching content such as music, video streams, and webpages at the edge — fall into this group because they can offer lower latency and greater content delivery.

Other examples of edge use cases include self-driving cars, autonomous robots, smart equipment data, and automated retail. In addition, industries such as manufacturing and healthcare, where employee and patient safety is dependent on reliable data transmission, are also adopting edge computing. 

Most edge computing share similar key characteristics including:

• Location. Edge data centers will generally be placed near whichever end devices they are networked to.
• Size. Edge data centers will have a much smaller footprint while having the same components as a traditional data center.
• Type of data. Edge data centers will typically house mission-critical data that requires low latency.
• Deployment. An edge data center may be one in a network of other edge data centers or be connected to a larger, central data center.

Experts predict the global edge computing market will reach $12 billion by 2028, up from $3 billion in 2020, making edge computing a continued trend to watch in 2023.

Blockchain and Kubernetes

Blockchain technology continues to transform how companies store data, record transactions, and share critical information via a secure, tamper-free database. But what is blockchain technology and why is it important? IBM describes blockchain as a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. One of its key characteristics lies in its ability to record information in a way that makes it nearly impossible or difficult for the system to be changed, hacked, or manipulated. 

Isn’t blockchain only relevant to the financial industry?

While particularly attractive to the financial sector, many other industries are finding blockchain technology beneficial. Among these are cybersecurity providers, which appreciate blockchain’s decentralized system because it offers no single point of entry for a wide-scale attack.

In supply chain management, blockchain technology can trace all the steps along the product’s route, allowing users to more easily pinpoint errors since all transactions are permanent, verifiable, and viewable independently.

In the insurance industry, blockchain technology’s decentralized system can help insurers identify false claims and prevent forgeries, while in the transportation sector, utilizing blockchain technology enables traceability and easier tracking of the shipment of goods.

Where does Kubernetes fit in?

As part of the blockchain trend, many organizations use Kubernetes (also known as K8s), an open-source container orchestration platform, to simplify the deployment of blockchain applications. Originally developed by Google, Kubernetes Container Platform Market Share was 77% in 2019, making it the de-facto standard in the Application Container Industry. Indeed, it provides orchestration for more than three-quarters of containerized applications today.  

Several factors contribute to Kubernetes’ popularity, one of the most important being that it is a completely open-source platform. This has resulted in the creation of an expansive, dynamic ecosystem of tools surrounding Kubernetes, making it easier for developers to use it with various storage systems or networking architectures. Other factors influencing its popularity are Kubernetes’ ability to run anywhere (in the cloud, on-premises, or in a colocation facility) and its minimal fragmentation. In general, Kubernetes skills and resources are reusable across any environment or configuration, keeping its likely adoption across a wide array of businesses on an upward trend in 2023.  

In summary, many tools are emerging that will boost the capabilities of cloud use in the business sector. For a full view of what we think lies ahead for cloud tech in 2023, download our white paper “Cloud Predictions for 2023: The Future of Public, Private, and Multi-Cloud.” 

If you’d like to learn more about cloud tools and strategies to make your business more productive and efficient, Maven Wave can help. We have the expertise to guide businesses through every stage of their cloud journey.

To learn more about Maven Wave’s innovative, cloud-powered digital solutions, contact us.