The rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence has sparked a surge in the global cloud industry, which is poised to draw substantial investments from technology funds in the coming months, according to industry analysts.
Due to its flexibility and efficiency, analysts also anticipate a jump in novel applications of cloud technology. These span across personalised healthcare, climate modelling and prediction, immersive virtual experiences, autonomous vehicles, cyber security and AI-driven creative collaborations.
“It [cloud] has now become an even bigger deal as tech companies will clearly need more plasticity in terms of handling and expanding their data offerings, both internally and to their customers,” Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com, says.
“Big funds that are heavily investing in tech this year need to make sure they are betting on companies that offer competitive cloud advantages … regardless of whether these will bring profits or not … they need to show their clients they are not missing the boat.”
In the cloud industry, businesses are charged solely for the specific services or resources they utilise during a given time frame.
Shifting their operations to a specialised cloud system provided by the dominant industry players such as Oracle, Amazon Web Services, or SAP is a more cost-effective choice for businesses compared to establishing their own infrastructure of servers, hardware, and security networks, experts say.
This transition significantly reduces the overall cost of ownership.
“Cloud has become an imperative now … it is making the adoption of emerging technologies such as gen AI, intelligent automation and various other next-gen technologies easy,” says Harish Dunakhe, senior research director for software and cloud at International Data Corporation.
“Businesses are also demanding various functionalities that are exclusively available on cloud. This is because, their customers – millennials and GenZ – are pushing them to deliver more value at less price and in less time.”
Globally, the cloud computing market is booming. It is expected to jump 20 per cent yearly to reach $677.95 billion this year as businesses expedite the pace of their digital transformation, according to researcher Fortune Business Insights. It is predicted to reach more than $2.43 trillion by 2030.
“The benefits of the cloud are numerous and tangible, which is why businesses are increasingly embracing it … it is enabling the delivery of cutting-edge technologies like AI and machine learning, as well as user-friendly software solutions such as collaboration tools,” says Jad Haddad, head of digital at Oliver Wyman in India, the Middle East and Africa.
“Moreover, as organisations prioritise security, the cloud offers robust cyber security measures to address the growing concerns in this area,” he adds.
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