Forecast: Clear with a (huge) chance of cloud

After a tumultuous two years the global economy is slowly but surely recovering, with global GDP expected to reach its pre-COVID path by late 2023. The outlook for Asia is also optimistic, with GDP growth in the Asia region (excluding Japan) outperforming at 5.7% and Australia poised to raise its 2022 economic growth forecast.

As businesses emerge from the exponential digital transformation in the past year, where worldwide spending on cloud computing is expected to grow 23%, the cloud and data centre industry is adapting to the changing needs of customers faster than ever before.

Reflecting on 2021, these are the three areas that will take centre stage looking ahead to 2022.

Diversifying cloud solutions

As we look forward to 2022 and beyond, businesses will continue to embrace the power of the multi-cloud approach, meaning the use of two or more different cloud providers as data shows 93% of companies in Asia Pacific are embracing a multi-cloud strategy. Particularly for organisations operating on an international scale, a go-to-market strategy with multiple local cloud providers across the globe means a greater chance of success in every market. With the current shortage of manpower and on-prem cloud infrastructure being a thing of the past, an open cloud with open standards is critical for success.

This approach also provides a level of flexibility that allows organisations to pick and choose the ideal cloud solution for each of their business areas. Not only does this invite innovation, but it guarantees software independence and encourages reversibility, which defines success in the technology industry.

Operating on multiple clouds means organisations can dictate which technologies are suitable to be deployed, as opposed to relying on a vendor to provide the required services. From a security standpoint, multi-cloud environments can help to assist disaster recovery procedures and reduce the likelihood of a complete system shutdown in the event of a compromise.

Building a transparent, reversible and interoperable cloud, and guaranteeing sovereignty for users’ data, will become the driving forces for the industry as it heads towards dependence on a multi-cloud approach in future.

Rethinking data protection in the hybrid age

Since the early years of cloud, data protection remains both a concern and an essential priority. With new data protection regulations emerging in India and China, as well as the existing General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), businesses are continuously assessing their compliance practices to ensure regulatory compliance on a local and global scale, as well as the safety and security of data.

This is even more pertinent in the era of COVID-19, which brought an explosion of digital transformation, with companies increasingly turning to digital capabilities, embracing hybrid working and handling more sensitive data than ever.

Many organisations are adopting a multi-local approach as operating data centres in multiple locations worldwide become the norm, allowing for more local oversight and adherence to data protection and security protocols. With each new site comes the increased need for total end-to-end management, and security protocols to match. From the location selection to the manufacturing of full range servers, businesses can ensure their data is as close to them and their end users as possible, whilst ensuring full compliance with required data protection regulations.

Smart organisations will continue to strengthen and solidify their data protection infrastructure to respond to expectations for airtight data security from Australian businesses and consumers.

Sustainability key to cloud and data centres

With the challenges of climate change now at our doorstep, it is no longer an option to ignore sustainable efforts and ‘greenwash’ for reputation’s sake. Sustainability efforts need to be at scale, not just at a proof-of-concept stage. The industry must continue to manage its environmental impact with full accountability to move towards a more sustainable future.

As global organisations commit to be carbon neutral, it has become a global challenge to ensure all their locations worldwide adhere to the same commitment. Progress can be seen in organisations’ commitments to limit the environmental impact of data centres and cloud activity, with providers looking to reduce IT component waste, better optimise data centre energy consumption and develop innovative, more effective cooling systems.

Whilst implementing measures is critical, data centres must monitor their output across key environmental indicators such as power, water and carbon usage, keeping within suitable parameters. To have a sustainable model, the industry not only has to look at carbon and power efficiency, but also water unit efficiency for effective water cooling. Local government support is needed to ensure the availability of local energy grids to support the same cause, as with consumers who also need to play a part by being aware of the carbon footprint they create with every email, text and post on social media.

We expect to see a significant shift in the uptake of green technologies to meet the goal of converting to 100% renewable energy in the industry in the next few years. We will also see more local green projects in Australia supported by local energy grids in 2022, as well as large partnerships with wind farms.

As more companies have a better understanding of the importance of technology and continue to embrace it wholeheartedly, we believe Australian businesses can lead the global charge in 2022 and beyond towards multi-cloud capabilities, more effective data protection and sustainability.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/dlyastokiv