Top 5 Cloud Computing Trends You Need to Know in 2024

The cloud landscape is rapidly evolving, and if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to understand the key trends shaping its future. This article will walk you through the top five trends impacting cloud providers, businesses, and the skills employers are seeking. If you're still relying on outdated advice, now is the time to rethink your learning roadmap!

1. AI and Everything

AI has transitioned from an experimental technology to an integral part of our online experiences. From AIgenerated LinkedIn comments to hyperrealistic videos, AI's impact is undeniable. This trend is heavily reliant on cloud computing.

Cloud computing provides the backbone for AI, powering everything from image generation to content creation. This increased demand for AI drives growth in cloud compute, storage, and APIs. AI is also being integrated directly into cloud platforms, such as Amazon Q, an AIpowered assistant for AWS.

Key Takeaways for AI and Cloud

1. AI Skills are a MustHave: Understand what AI tools do, how to use them responsibly, and how to integrate them into your cloud workflows.
2. Cloud Infrastructure Powers AI: Grasp how cloud platforms handle scale, provisioning, and cost to stay ahead.
3. Cloud & AI Crossover Drives Hiring: Companies seek candidates with expertise in both cloud and AI.

AI is no longer a separate tool; it's intertwined with the cloud. As AI tools continue to evolve, cloud usage will only increase.

2. Cost Optimization and Sustainability

Beyond financial savings, there's a growing emphasis on the environmental impact of cloud computing. Large language models consume significant resources, including water, for cooling data centers. Companies are now being asked to consider their carbon footprint.

Start asking yourself:

• How can I optimize my workloads?
• Am I running resources that don't always need to be on?
• Can I switch to a more sustainable service type (e.g., serverless)?

3. Security as a Core Expectation

Security is paramount. A proactive approach to security is essential when building cloud solutions. Misconfigurations, such as open S3 buckets, can lead to costly data breaches.

While you don't need to be a security expert, prioritize security in your cloud deployments. Veronis offers a cloud data risk assessment to help identify security risks in your organisation.

4. Serverless Becoming the Default

Serverless architectures are becoming increasingly popular. Serverless allows you to build and deploy applications without managing underlying servers. Cloud providers handle scaling, patching, and resource allocation.

Instead of only learning how to launch EC2 instances or VMs, focus on building serverless projects using services like AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions.

The serverless market is experiencing significant growth. Adopt a serverlessfirst mindset and explore common serverless patterns to futureproof your cloud skills.

5. Shift from Multicloud to Cloud Agnostic

Many companies are realizing that the complexity of multicloud deployments isn't worth it. The focus is shifting to cloudagnostic solutions, allowing systems to move between cloud providers without requiring extensive management.

Technologies like containers, Kubernetes, infrastructureascode (e.g., Terraform), and opensource databases are facilitating this shift.

Focus on building a strong foundation in one cloud provider (e.g., AWS) while also developing skills to build applications that can be transferred between providers.