Gartner’s top 6 trends that will shape the future of the cloud

Gartner believes the top trends shaping the future of cloud adoption over the next four years include cloud dissatisfaction, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), multicloud, sustainability, digital sovereignty and industry solutions.

These trends are accelerating the shift in how cloud is transforming from a technology enabler to a business disruptor and necessity for most organisations, said Joe Rogus during the opening keynote of the Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations and Cloud Strategies Conference in Sydney on 13 May.

“Over the next few years, cloud will continue to unlock new business models, competitive advantages and ways of achieving business missions,” he said. “The next few years will bring challenges but also abundant opportunities.”

According to Gartner, the six trends that will shape the future of cloud, ultimately resulting in new ways of working that are digital in nature and transformative in impact include:

1. Cloud dissatisfaction

Gartner predicts 25 per cent of organisations will have experienced significant dissatisfaction with their cloud adoption by 2028, due to unrealistic expectations, suboptimal implementation and uncontrolled costs.

To remain competitive, enterprises need a clear cloud strategy and effective execution. Gartner research indicates that those that have successfully addressed upfront strategic focus by 2029 will find their cloud dissatisfaction will decrease.

2. AI/ML demand increases

Demand for AI/ML is set to surge, with hyperscalers positioned at the core of this growth.

They will drive a shift in how compute resources are allocated by embedding foundational capabilities into their IT infrastructure, facilitating partnerships with vendors and users and leveraging real and synthetic data to train AI models.

Gartner predicts 50 per cent of cloud compute resources will be devoted to AI workloads by 2029, up from less than 10 per cent today.

3. Multicloud and cross cloud

Many organisations that have adopted multicloud architecture find connecting to and between providers a challenge.

This lack of interoperability between environments can slow cloud adoption, with Gartner predicting more than 50 per cent of organisations will not get the expected results from their multicloud implementations by 2029.

Gartner recommends identifying specific use cases and planning for distributed apps and data in the organisation that could benefit from a cross-cloud deployment model.

This enables workloads to operate collaboratively across different cloud platforms, as well as different on-premises and colocation facilities.

4. Industry solutions

There is an upward trend toward industry-specific cloud platforms, with more vendors offering solutions that address vertical business outcomes and help scale digital initiatives.

Over 50 per cent of organisations will use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives by 2029, according to Gartner.

It recommends organisations approach industry cloud platforms as a strategic way to add new capabilities to their broader IT portfolio, rather than a total replacement. This allows organisations to avoid technical debt, drive innovation and business value.

5. Digital sovereignty

AI adoption, tightening privacy regulations and geopolitical tensions are driving demand for sovereign cloud services.

Organisations will be increasingly required to protect data, infrastructure and critical workloads from control by external jurisdictions and foreign government access.

Gartner predicts over 50 per cent of multinational organisations will have digital sovereign strategies by 2029, up from less than 10 per cent today.

6. Sustainability

Cloud providers and users are increasingly sharing responsibility for sustainable IT infrastructure.

This is being driven by regulators, investors and public demand for greater alignment between technology investments and environmental goals.

As AI workloads demand more energy, organisations are also under pressure to better understand, measure and manage the sustainability implications of emerging cloud technologies.

Seizing the opportunities

The use of cloud platforms fundamentally changes what organisations can do, explained Rogus.

It allows for new products to be built, new services, and generate entirely new value with the cloud.

Rogus noted for “those in infrastructure, this is a pivotal time”.

“Infrastructure has a more important seat at the table, but we must adopt flexible governance and product ownership models,” he said. “We need to listen to our users and be a valuable partner to them.

“This is no longer just about migrating users, it’s about leveraging SaaS [software-as-a-service] as a platform, so you can tailor your commercial, off-the-shelf offerings to meet specific needs.”

According to Rogus, this naturally leads to composability, where building blocks can be used to provide industry cloud platform.

“This allows you to extend activities, become more agile and stay competitive,” he said. “Self-service will also play a key role here.

“Platform engineering principles are crucial at this stage and you need to meet users where they are and provide access when and where they need it, think distributed cloud.”

In this scenario, organisations may be locked into a cloud provider but still bring their intellectual property into an on-premises environment, enabling the operation of applications that must remain within their data centre.

“Platforms are never ‘done’, they require continuous care and improvement,” said Rogus. “You’re always enhancing them to increase their value.

“The concept of a platform is always evolving it’s never static. Therefore, you should continually market it, refine your requirements, and hire to support its growth.”

Digital transformation means that all business requirements are aligned with the cloud, and both are interlinked, driving each other forward, noted Rogus.

“At this point, it’s about fusion teams,” he said. “This is where you move away from the siloed approach and bring business users closer.

Rogus noted that fusion teams are blended groups of IT technologists, citizen technologists, and technology users who work together to improve and build upon the platform, gaining value as they do so.

“Between today and tomorrow, take in all the stories, best practices, and data that will equip you with insights to tackle these challenges confidently,” he said. “Let’s move up that value chain pyramid and seize the opportunities ahead.”