Cloud computing is one of the most useful tools for entrepreneurs, allowing them to offload a lot of their IT issues onto third parties, allowing them to move and scale flexibly. It’s saved companies billions of dollars and made them more effective at what they do.
But the cloud is always changing, and 2019 looks like it’s going to be no different from previous years. The people in charge of technology at your firm need to understand what’s coming down the pike over the next few months and how to put it to their advantage.
Trend #1: GDPR Will Impact Cloud Security – And Not For The Better
When the cloud was first being introduced to the market, one of the major concerns was security. Entrepreneurs worried that all those data being transmitted over the internet would lead to opportunities for hackers to break into their silos and steal information. Thanks to excellent security protocols, that didn’t happen nearly as often as many imagined. But GDPR – the European data regulations – might have put a spanner in the works.
The problem is that for firms to be compliant with GDPR, they have to be more open with how they’re using customer data. That openness is a potential security threat, according to Gartner, and one of the reasons why so few firms have GDPR-compliant cloud technology.
Trend #2: More Reliance On Hybrid Solutions
There was once a time when businesses thought that the cloud would meet all of their needs. But now they’re starting to realise that it makes sense to use both cloud and in-house solutions in combination for the optimal balance of control and security. IT support is becoming more complex and doesn’t just focus on remote computing, but integrating native solutions too.
The purpose of this is to improve flexibility. It allows firms to transition to cloud-based IT at their own pace. It’s as much a marketing tool as it is something functional.
Trend #3: Quantum Computing May Become Available Through The Cloud
All of the biggest names in tech, from IBM to Google to Microsoft are working on developing quantum computers – the holy grail of computing technology. Quantum computers promise to provide businesses with solutions to problems which, so far, have been intractable for classical computers.
For instance, e-commerce companies stand to benefit enormously from the ability of quantum computers to provide efficient route-mapping solutions for their delivery drivers. Materials science companies will benefit from the ability of these computers to accurately simulate chemistry (without having to go to the bother of actually performing experiments). And tech companies may be able to use the technology to create better AIs.
Already companies like D-Wave, have functioning quantum computers. But 2019 could be the year we see true “quantum supremacy” – the point at which a quantum computer solves a problem that a classical computer never could.
Companies won’t be able to buy quantum computers – at least not yet. Instead, they’ll rent them out over the cloud and have the outputs delivered via the internet.