It has been a notable year for the cloud. In 2021, companies continue to rely on cloud technology to support their remote workforces and maintain business as usual. As we enter the second half of the year and reflect on IT trends that have emerged so far, the outlook for the cloud market remains rosy as adoption continues to accelerate. Below, we've outlined the trends and best practices we are currently seeing.
Synchronization-as-a-service is streamlining cloud migration.
More and more IT pros and cloud vendors understand the value of leveraging IT Service Management solutions (ITSM) to elevate the cloud migration process. ITSM helps IT teams improve the speed of the cloud migration process by enabling the synchronization of tens of millions of records and creating seamless adoption of ServiceNow functionalities. With its numerous benefits that complement the cloud market, the ITSM market is predicted to grow to $12.2 billion by 2025, according to MarketsandMarkets Research.
Due to the pandemic, quicker migrations may become the norm.
Reflecting on 2020, COVID-19 forced businesses to step out of their comfort zone and implement cloud migrations quickly to accommodate their remote employees due to stay-at-home orders. The year became a test case on whether cloud migrations can be accomplished quickly and within tightly compressed schedules. Interestingly enough, state and local governments, often the most hesitant to adopt the cloud, were some of the first to turn to the technology as they faced work-from-home mandates and had to deliver complex, urgent public services. In addition, IT departments had to also quickly pivot, implementing work-from-home arrangements and then needing to be in the cloud immediately. For all the stress and forced dependence on the cloud during the pandemic, the good news is it delivered – and businesses took note! In the future, more companies will become comfortable with new cloud solutions and move data from one solution to another. In addition, the practice of migrating over a weekend may become the norm as organizations put more trust and confidence in the migration process.
Exchange Server attacks reinforce the value of the cloud.
The Microsoft Exchange server attacks in March 2021, and the additional vulnerabilities exploited in April, were an alarming wake-up call for IT pros. As the attacks carried on, IT teams managing on-premise Exchange servers may have felt like they were playing a high-stakes, unwinnable game of whack-a-mole. However, the companies (and their IT teams) using Microsoft Exchange in the cloud remained unbothered during the attacks because their servers were protected and watched over by cybersecurity experts. There is no doubt that attacks on Exchange Servers and other infrastructure will happen again. However, the cloud both strengthens security during such incidents and eliminates internal IT teams getting overwhelmed because the cloud provider manages security instead.
IT optimization will remain prioritized.
As organizations continue to cater to employees who want to stay remote, technology will be a key player in facilitating communication and collaboration among remote or hybrid workforces. Looking to the remainder of this year and the next, forward-thinking businesses will prioritize investment in IT optimization, such as automation technology, to reduce repetitive tasks and strengthen the agility of IT teams. Specifically, companies will leverage technology to understand and analyze people's use of software to drive better workflow efficiency and employee productivity.
The significant weight and dependence upon the cloud is an impressive testament to all that it delivers. We predict the forecast for the cloud will remain bright as cloud-powered companies transition into better positions that embrace and anticipate the future of remote work.
