The cloud and its many benefits is not just an IT solution it’s essential for business growth, according to Tata Consultancy Services.
Global cloud services will grow over 20 per cent to $591bn in 2023, Gartner forecasts, and the rapid pace of change has left many business leaders anxious about their technology investments said Parthiv Shah, global managing partner of cloud strategy and transformation at Tata Consultancy Services.
“Technological advancements are expanding and converging with each new day, so a clear focus on investing in the right cloud infrastructure is one of the most important decisions a business will make in 2023,” said Shah.
“Leaders need to understand that the cloud is now an essential business strategy, not just an IT solution. Cloud technology trends of cloud 2.0, sovereign cloud, 5G and edge computing, industry cloud and the emerging cloud talent gap will shape business in 2023 and are most likely to influence the C-suite.”
With industry cloud, enterprises will begin reaping the rewards from their industry-specific cloud investments. Cloud computing can be uniquely tailored for specific sectors to deliver business value, not just more effective back-end IT operations. From fast-changing supply chains to energy efficient sustainability initiatives, smart businesses that are investing in industry cloud-native solutions to address common pain points can expect a significant boost in their KPIs. Consumer-facing sectors like retail and hospitality will also see growth in industry cloud activity, as they are best positioned to make immediate use of edge computing.
Cloud 2.0 will enter a new phase becoming a core pillar of business strategy.
Many initial cloud investments were made during the Covid pandemic to cater for remote working or a short-sighted goal of cost-savings. Now the global economy is forcing businesses to evaluate the true value of their cloud strategies by using metrics, and businesses are starting to shift focus to fine-tuning their cloud-value evaluation models and asking how it can support customers or diversify revenue sources. This positions the cloud as a core pillar of modern business strategy which is crucial for growth, transformation and continuous innovation.
New data privacy regulations will push enterprises into sovereign cloud, a security posture that any organisation can take to safeguard valuable data and systems from unauthorised foreign access on either a country or local level. The United National Conference on Trade and Development reports that over 70 per cent of countries worldwide have passed data and privacy laws which are prompting organisations to add sovereign cloud to their multi, hybrid, and poly-cloud strategies for regulatory compliance. This is set to make smart system integrations, interoperability, and portability more complex but imperative in 2023 and beyond.
“Innovation around 5G and edge computing will significantly accelerate business operations,” said Shah. “By bringing computation and storage closer to data sources, businesses can improve their response times and save bandwidth, while advances in the edge are set to multiply applications on the frontlines of businesses. Dramatic progress in artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality and augmented reality is also expected to deepen cloud’s role in modern business and everyday life.
“Companies that proactively develop ‘cloud-first’ strategies to address and master these new trends will be dramatically better-positioned to realise healthy returns on their investments into 2023.”
