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Cloud Trends to Watch in 2024

Grant Duxbury
Aptum

There has been no shortage of change in the technology landscape throughout the past several years. As we enter another new year, we'll continue seeing advancements in how enterprises apply the cloud to their operations. Businesses are taking more advantage of the opportunities offered by the cloud, aside from time and cost savings.

This next year is poised to be one of growth and innovation in how companies apply the cloud to their infrastructure. Here are a few key trends we predict will shape the cloud in 2024.

1. Cloud Diversity + The Role of Managed Service Providers

Cloud scale and usage based on economy will actively grow as more services try to centralize their control and lifecycle management. Rather than managing multiple deployments for multiple customers, service providers will look to centralize product delivery into as-a-service models.

As-a-service models can offer more flexibility in many cases, but there are some complexities in navigating how to choose if as-a-service is right for your business and infrastructure. As-a-service models can have more lock-in with fewer options to exfiltrate data. It may be less cost-effective for some organizations, as depending on the services they require. Consumers no longer control the ability to "not" use a service, which can in turn increase costs. Ultimately, organizations need to evaluate an as-a-service model to determine if the costs and level of flexibility are right for their needs.

In this increasingly as-a-service market, we'll see the role of managed service providers (MSPs) evolve. MPS will need to "up their game," so to speak, in this increasingly competitive market. Rather than taking shortcuts, it's imperative to remain stable within the ever-changing landscape.

2. The AI Evolution

AI has caused quite a stir in nearly every industry, including cloud providers. Companies will continue exploring how AI can benefit their business in the new year, but need to be cautious and strategic in their approach as AI becomes more accessible.

Reducing the barrier of entry will allow companies to explore the use of AI, but it may come with negative impacts. If organizations do not have a solid grasp on the technology and requirements, they could become too dependent on AI without having a proper exit strategy in the event the technology fails.

Where AI can most benefit organizations in its early stages is automating repetitive tasks, such as auditing and reviewing costs associated with a service. Utilizing AI in instances where issues can be solved through both human and AI is key. Deploying newer technologies in areas where the effort could not be reproduced by a team could negatively impact operations.

3. Cloud Efficiency: Using FinOps

FinOps is going to be a key area for organizations in 2024. The rampant cloud and as-a-service adoption period in the name of progress is coming to an end. As companies shifted to the cloud throughout the past three years, many did not take account of the financial implications of their approach when shifting to the cloud.

Organizations in 2024 are going to aim for more efficiency – both financially and operationally. We'll see more businesses assessing their fundamental needs, then driving cost and operational efficiencies within those areas. The sort of "all-you-can-eat buffet" services are going to be less palatable for most organizations, with more focus on efficiently adopting cloud and as-a-service where they are most needed. Overall, businesses will want more accountability for how investments are being made – making FinOps an ideal strategy.

4. Enhancing Sustainability in Cloud Computing

While not necessarily driven by the cloud specifically, sustainability will be a priority for organizations next year. Minimizing their impact on the environment has already become fundamental to many businesses and industries, and this will only increase as they look to conserve energy and resources – whether from internal or external directives. Cloud services will evolve to meet customer demands when it comes to sustainability, as organizations look to better manage their scope of services and operational dependencies.

As organizations strive to increase sustainability, it's also important to view it from a holistic perspective – taking into account people, planet and profit. Internally, an organization's employees are an integral part of their sustainability approach, ensuring there is a good environment and open communication. From a typical sustainability approach, organizations must consider their impact on the planet, such as energy consumption. And while it's profitable to be sustainable, it's important to develop the right approach. Adopting the right patterns allows companies to compute effectively and become more sustainable.

Grant Duxbury is Global Director, Advisory & Consulting Services, at Aptum

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Cloud Trends to Watch in 2024

Grant Duxbury
Aptum

There has been no shortage of change in the technology landscape throughout the past several years. As we enter another new year, we'll continue seeing advancements in how enterprises apply the cloud to their operations. Businesses are taking more advantage of the opportunities offered by the cloud, aside from time and cost savings.

This next year is poised to be one of growth and innovation in how companies apply the cloud to their infrastructure. Here are a few key trends we predict will shape the cloud in 2024.

1. Cloud Diversity + The Role of Managed Service Providers

Cloud scale and usage based on economy will actively grow as more services try to centralize their control and lifecycle management. Rather than managing multiple deployments for multiple customers, service providers will look to centralize product delivery into as-a-service models.

As-a-service models can offer more flexibility in many cases, but there are some complexities in navigating how to choose if as-a-service is right for your business and infrastructure. As-a-service models can have more lock-in with fewer options to exfiltrate data. It may be less cost-effective for some organizations, as depending on the services they require. Consumers no longer control the ability to "not" use a service, which can in turn increase costs. Ultimately, organizations need to evaluate an as-a-service model to determine if the costs and level of flexibility are right for their needs.

In this increasingly as-a-service market, we'll see the role of managed service providers (MSPs) evolve. MPS will need to "up their game," so to speak, in this increasingly competitive market. Rather than taking shortcuts, it's imperative to remain stable within the ever-changing landscape.

2. The AI Evolution

AI has caused quite a stir in nearly every industry, including cloud providers. Companies will continue exploring how AI can benefit their business in the new year, but need to be cautious and strategic in their approach as AI becomes more accessible.

Reducing the barrier of entry will allow companies to explore the use of AI, but it may come with negative impacts. If organizations do not have a solid grasp on the technology and requirements, they could become too dependent on AI without having a proper exit strategy in the event the technology fails.

Where AI can most benefit organizations in its early stages is automating repetitive tasks, such as auditing and reviewing costs associated with a service. Utilizing AI in instances where issues can be solved through both human and AI is key. Deploying newer technologies in areas where the effort could not be reproduced by a team could negatively impact operations.

3. Cloud Efficiency: Using FinOps

FinOps is going to be a key area for organizations in 2024. The rampant cloud and as-a-service adoption period in the name of progress is coming to an end. As companies shifted to the cloud throughout the past three years, many did not take account of the financial implications of their approach when shifting to the cloud.

Organizations in 2024 are going to aim for more efficiency – both financially and operationally. We'll see more businesses assessing their fundamental needs, then driving cost and operational efficiencies within those areas. The sort of "all-you-can-eat buffet" services are going to be less palatable for most organizations, with more focus on efficiently adopting cloud and as-a-service where they are most needed. Overall, businesses will want more accountability for how investments are being made – making FinOps an ideal strategy.

4. Enhancing Sustainability in Cloud Computing

While not necessarily driven by the cloud specifically, sustainability will be a priority for organizations next year. Minimizing their impact on the environment has already become fundamental to many businesses and industries, and this will only increase as they look to conserve energy and resources – whether from internal or external directives. Cloud services will evolve to meet customer demands when it comes to sustainability, as organizations look to better manage their scope of services and operational dependencies.

As organizations strive to increase sustainability, it's also important to view it from a holistic perspective – taking into account people, planet and profit. Internally, an organization's employees are an integral part of their sustainability approach, ensuring there is a good environment and open communication. From a typical sustainability approach, organizations must consider their impact on the planet, such as energy consumption. And while it's profitable to be sustainable, it's important to develop the right approach. Adopting the right patterns allows companies to compute effectively and become more sustainable.

Grant Duxbury is Global Director, Advisory & Consulting Services, at Aptum

Hot Topics

The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...