For a decade, the cloud has been the fastest growing tech wunderkind and has been impossible to ignore. But since the COVID-19 crisis hit the world, the cloud computing market has been on a steep upward trajectory. Cloud adoption, infrastructure, development, and spending – every aspect of the cloud has been rapidly growing, and we can see no end to it. At least not in the next few years.

What we do see, though, is that already in 3 years’ time, the total global data storage will exceed 200 zettabytes of data and at least half of it will be stored in the cloud. Add the undeniable growing trend of remote working, the ever-changing security environment, the development of machine learning, and it becomes clear that the cloud’s importance cannot be overstated.

As IT insiders, we know how difficult it is to keep up with the rapid pace of developments in cloud technology. To help you distinguish important changes from short-term hypes, and to provide you with insight into making better choices, we have selected the three most significant news of the last few weeks.

Cost management versus cloud innovation

Despite the ongoing pandemic, another holiday season is upon us, and predictions are that online sales will hit an all-time high of $206.88 billion in the run up to Christmas. The growth in online demand has meant e-commerce operators, banks, and logistics companies are increasingly reliant on cloud strategies and investments to rapidly scale while remaining resilient and secure. This comes with a price tag, and it’s a complex one.

Sustainability Focus: Cloud Efficiency, Not Carbon Emissions

There is no doubt that carbon emissions of data centres and growing internet traffic has an impact on nature. This article will take a look at hidden carbon costs, risks associated with the rising energy consumption of data centres, what the major cloud providers are already doing, and how resource efficiency in the cloud is achievable.

Supercomputer

There was a time when supercomputers were accessible only to a small number of government agencies and scientific organisations. This changed on the 24th of November when a UK-based cloud management company created a virtual supercomputer for less than £45,000. With access to this on-demand supercomputer based on AWS services, the researchers were able to analyse and screen 337 million compounds in 7 hours. To replicate that using their on-premises systems would have taken two months.

Every month, our insiders team hand-picks three most important news stories about the changing cloud technology and growing industry. Our Cloud Newsletters help you distinguish important changes from short-term hypes and provide you with insight into making better choices. Subscribe here.