Four Ways the Maturity of Cloud Technology is Changing LongHeld Industry Beliefs

Is it safe to say that the cloud today is mainstream? With recent research finding that adoption rates fall well into the 90 percent range, mainstream is likely. Increasing numbers of organizations are relying on the cloud, and we’re discovering that many long-held ideas about the cloud simply don’t hold true anymore. Here are four ways in which the maturity of cloud technology has changed long-held beliefs.

Today, it’s more common for an organization to have outgrown its cloud deployment than to be moving to the cloud for the first time. This reality of needing to evolve what was initially put in place is not surprising. After all, businesses grow and evolve with time, and cloud requirements must adjust as well. For many, this can mean overhauling their existing solution as they’ve outgrown their initial deployments and can no longer expect “quick fixes” to be the answer. 

As a result, we’ll increasingly see many organizations rebuilding their infrastructure and architecting apps from the ground up for cloud – investing in agile cloud solutions and micro-services that can scale more fluidly into the future.

No two companies are alike, and no two applications within a single company are alike either. That’s why, as cloud technology continues to mature, we’re seeing hybrid and multi-cloud solutions grow in importance each year. Hybrid enables businesses to select the best mix of public and private clouds for each part of their business, potentially cutting costs and improving performance, while multi-cloud opens the door to a combination of best-fit technologies and helps prevent vendor lock-in. 

These options not only provide companies with more flexibility, scalability, support and reliability, they also allow them to find the right solution for their business…not anyone else’s. 

When the cloud first came on the scene, the number one priority was getting the “right” infrastructure. Then, as the technology become more mainstream and comparable across vendors, the price wars began. While price was a huge differentiator for a time, leading cloud providers today offer affordable options for businesses of all sizes, knocking cost down a peg on the list of priorities for organizations. Yet, not all cloud deployments are the same and some organizations experience much more success than others. What gives?

Quite simply, it’s not what’s in your tool belt; it’s how you use it. Infrastructure alone isn’t a silver bullet for solving cloud problems. For this reason, many organizations are turning to managed service providers that have a deep understanding of the cloud and how to tailor solutions to each business and application. Through this approach, they are able to turn the cloud into a competitive advantage.

It goes without saying that security remains a top priority for any company doing business online or in the cloud – which is effectively everyone. However, it involves much more than just checking the necessary boxes. In fact, even with the best intentions, there can often be a disconnect between where a business’ leadership thinks their security is and where it actually is. 

For instance, an organization may regularly mandate that audit logs are reviewed. However, if the people reviewing these logs don’t know what they’re looking for or are not following consistent process guidelines, it is quite possible that security issues or flaws could be overlooked. In today’s threat landscape, organizations must ensure that the implementation and execution of security practices and procedures are in line as well.