Cloud storage has become one of the most intriguing trends over the last decade. Gradually, organizations from virtually every industry have migrated to a cloud-based storage scheme. Given edge computing’s ease of use, improved security features, ransomware defense capabilities, and cost-effective capabilities, it is no wonder that businesses have chosen the cloud.
In this discussion, we will take a look at four interesting cloud storage trends to watch in 2022. In particular, we will focus on the benefits these trends have to offer organizations across the board. So, let’s jump right into it!
1. Organizations are shifting more toward cloud than local storage
Organizations invested a significant chunk of their IT budgets on local storage in the past. This investment included servers and drives. Nowadays, that trend is practically history. Organizations all over have focused on predominantly cloud-based solutions.
Consider the following figures:
- 50% of corporate data now resides on a cloud-based solution.
- The vast majority, 90% of corporations, utilize some type of multi-cloud infrastructure solution.
- On average, enterprises have about 2.6 public and 2.7 private clouds.
It is plain to see the clear shift toward overall cloud storage with these figures. Moreover, some estimates indicate that roughly 100 zettabytes of data will reside in the cloud by 2025. This astonishing figure underscores how important cloud storage has become to organizations all around the world.
Additionally, some estimates show that public cloud storage will grow at about 53% per year. Thus, it is quite plausible that cloud storage trends will eventually lead to a fully cloud-based approach within the next decade.
2. Metadata growth will impact overall cloud storage capabilities
Metadata growth is a trend to watch. On the whole, metadata expands as cloud-based storage grows. Therefore, the entire cloud must be on alert regarding the seeming explosion of unstructured data.
So, what’s the problem with expanding metadata on the cloud?
The issue is not the metadata itself. The issue lies in the fact that metadata takes up space on physical servers, like any other type of data. Therefore, the risk lies in essentially running out of space. Now, you might be thinking, why not just add more space? The issue, however, is not quite so simple.
While it is true that the overall cost of storing data is getting cheaper, the investment required to add more storage capacity is not. Data warehouses require a significant investment in physical infrastructure and cybersecurity measures. After all, what good would a robust physical network be if it didn’t offer the best possible cybersecurity features?
The fact of the matter is that the storage crunch to our lack of understanding regarding what data ought to be stored. More often than, we believe that it is better to save everything. This approach typically leads to duplicate or redundant data. This superfluous data takes up valuable space on cloud storage systems.
Until we can get a firm grasp on how we can reduce the amount of data we truly need, edge computing will need to live with the ever-present threat of a cloud storage crunch.
3. Cloud repatriation due to security concerns is a trend expected to increase
For all of the benefits that come from cloud storage, cloud repatriation is also a real trend to watch in 2022.
So, what exactly is cloud repatriation?
Cloud repatriation consists of moving data from the cloud back to a locally-managed storage system. The question begs, why would an organization remove their data from the cloud and bring it back to a local storage scheme?
The answer typically boils down to security concerns. Indeed, it is true that cloud-based data management is easier and more cost-effective. However, cybersecurity concerns may arise. This factor is especially concerning for financial institutions, government agencies, and any other organizations that handle sensitive data.
This factor is also another situation that may motivate cloud repatriation: poorly planned cloud migration. This phenomenon occurs when organizations merely dump their information onto a cloud-based storage system without fully planning their migration. Consequently, the organization may experience data retrieval issues or security concerns.
Lastly, provider failures may become a significant concern. For instance, in 2021, Amazon’s cloud computing services experienced a failure that left countless websites offline from a few minutes to several hours. A disruption of this nature is alarming, given the sheer magnitude of its overall impact.
Granted, cloud-based server disruptions are relatively uncommon. They are, nevertheless, quite possible. This risk leaves little wiggle room for error. As a result, some experts believe that cloud repatriation may pick up in 2022. However, please bear in mind that this trend hardly means the end of cloud computing. If anything, cloud repatriation is a security measure that organizations take to avoid losing data in a service disruption or unexpected cyberattack.
4. Dynamic Cloud Provisioning
Businesses’ needs shift as their plans and priorities do. Therefore, businesses must find the best way to optimize their resource allocation. This approach is highly important as needs fluctuate based on the various elements that influence an organization’s operations.
Businesses have turned to dynamic cloud provisioning to facilitate resource allocation and optimization. Organizations alter their resource allocation and use based on their specific needs throughout the day, week, or month in dynamic provisioning.
While dynamic provisioning is a typical approach is local, on-premises resources, is it plausible to do so with cloud-based solutions. In short, the answer is yes.
Dynamic cloud provisioning allows organizations to find a balance between cloud and local, on-premises resources. As businesses’ needs change, so does their resource allocation. Therefore, it makes sense to find ways to utilize resources more effectively.
Consider the semiconductor industry. This industry relies heavily on high-bandwidth and low-latency storage to run its supply chain accurately. Nevertheless, the semiconductor industry does not always run at full speed. There are occasions where it does not require such high resource allocation.
What does this mean?
It means that cloud-based storage solutions must be ready at all times to meet the sudden demands of their projects. Consequently, failures can lead to delays and even production disruptions.
Dynamic cloud provisioning is a trend to watch out for in 2022. More and more companies are increasingly turning to a combination of on-premises and cloud-based solutions. This combination allows companies to allocate resources optimally, thereby ensuring success.
Cloud Computing Is Here to Stay
Cloud computing is not a fad. It is here to stay. More and more organizations, particularly small and medium-sized ones, have turned to cloud-based storage solutions to facilitate their everyday tasks. Cloud-based solutions are easy to use and cost-effective. These characteristics favor expanding and scaling businesses. After all, it is much easier to expand a current online storage subscription than it is to invest in brand-new storage hardware.
The biggest question, however, lies with security and reliability. While most cloud storage providers guarantee the best possible security measures and 99.99% uptime, the fact is that there is no total guarantee. There is always the risk of cyberattacks and possible service disruptions.
So, what can organizations do to safeguard their operations?
One solution appears to be nearline storage.
Organizations find an intermediate step between full cloud-based storage and on-premises resources in nearline storage. This approach allows companies to get the best of both worlds. On the one hand, businesses can safeguard sensitive information on local servers while distributing less vulnerable information on cloud-based servers.
Nearline storage allows organizations to protect the information, establish high-end cybersecurity measures, and ensure laser-fast bandwidth. Nevertheless, the biggest drawback with nearline storage is cost. Indeed, there is a higher cost attached to nearline storage as an investment is necessary to set up and maintain storage infrastructure.
For organizations that can afford it, nearline storage appears to be the best way to go. By combining on-premises and online storage, companies can also implement dynamic cloud provisioning. Depending on an organization’s specific needs, on-premises or cloud-based solutions can bear the load. Ultimately, companies can ensure they get the right amount of resources when they need them.
Conclusion
Cloud storage seems to be thriving in 2022. Despite some industries focusing on nearline storage or even cloud repatriation, cloud computing will only get more and more prominent. We can expect to see virtually all day-to-day operations run on the cloud within the next decade. Therefore, it is quite likely that one day, every part of life will run from a cloud-based storage server somewhere in the world.
