Large Enterprise Cloud Transformation

In the recent times of technological advancements, digital transformation has become critical for the success of business organizations, especially large enterprises. Cloud transformation, which is the process of moving business servers from local to the cloud, has recently gained popularity among business organizations.

The COVID-19 epidemic revealed that businesses of all sizes must speed up their cloud transformation to keep up with an ever-changing business landscape. Cloud transformation facilitates and accelerates digital transformation by enhancing and improving an organization's operations, processes, and services, making digitalization easier and faster. Cloud's scalability and flexibility make it easy to adapt to changing business priorities while lowering the risk of squandered IT resources, which traditionally stifled investments in new digital services.

This article details what cloud transformation entails, the purpose of cloud transformation and the latest trends in cloud transformation. Moreover, the article discusses some of the best cloud service providers and the key challenges encountered in the cloud transformation process.

?What does cloud transformation entail?

Cloud transformation is more than just switching to a cloud-based solution; thus, it can be a protracted process. Cloud transformation entails:

??????????????????????????I.?????????Apps and software programs migration

????????????????????????II.?????????Using the cloud to store enterprise data

??????????????????????III.?????????IT infrastructure transformation

What is the purpose of cloud transformation?

Cloud transformation is a powerful and efficient way to restructure your entire organization in all areas, from technology to processes to people. It allows your organization to optimize operations while also driving growth and innovation, such as creating improved customer experiences and new business models and products.

Many advantages of cloud transformation include more efficient data sharing and storage, shorter time to market, and more organizational scalability and flexibility. Furthermore, cloud transformation can aid in the unification of network security. As a result, your organization becomes more competitive and robust, resulting in increased revenue.

Latest trends and Techniques in Enterprise Cloud Transformation

As large enterprises aggressively opt to cloud services, they are also looking forward to the current trends and techniques in cloud computing that will help them leverage their investment in the long run. The cloud-based Infrastructure-as-a-Service (or IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) have become popular and are expected to increase exponentially by 2025. Some of the current trends in Cloud Computing include:

1.????Serverless Computing

As introduced by Google Cloud, Serverless Computing is an intriguing innovation in Cloud Computing. Serverless Computing, which is based on a "pay-as-you-go" approach, provides enterprises with both flexibility and scalability when deploying apps without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. It's also known as "functions-as-a-service," which means businesses don't have to lease servers or pay for fixed quantities of storage or bandwidth.

Amazon (AWS Lambda), Microsoft (Azure Functions), and IBM Cloud Functions are among the companies offering serverless cloud services. Notably, the servers remain – but it does create another degree of abstraction between the user and the platform, removing the need for the user to deal with configurations and technicalities. Serverless computing in cloud computing will play an important role in the broader trend of generating new user experiences that make innovation more accessible throughout the cloud and the entire digital landscape.

2.????Quantum Computing

Quantum Computing has attracted the attention of big IaaS providers, such as Amazon and Microsoft, as one of the developing trends in Cloud Computing. Quantum Computing, in developer terms, is the simultaneous computation of numerous variables that can answer problems rapidly and accurately. Because of computer hardware and architecture developments that allow data to be handled quicker than previously. Quantum computing has emerged as one of the top trends in Cloud Computing, and it has the advantage of lowering energy usage, which is good for the environment. Quantum Computing is predicted to be one of the next technology developments in Cloud Computing, and it has the potential to increase computing power to new heights.

3.????Hybrid Cloud Computing

Enterprises deploy workloads across different IaaS platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, as cloud applications become more portable. As a result, one of the most recent Cloud Computing trends is hybrid Cloud Computing, which combines local servers with private and third-party public cloud services. Application containers have recently been one of the most prominent developing technologies in Cloud Computing because they make managing and even migrating application code easier. Kubernetes has become the preferred platform for producing containers since its introduction, and it is expected to be one of the finest future technology developments in Cloud Computing.

4.????Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning

According to Statista's industry data, the global market for Artificial Intelligence (AI) will reach $89 billion by 2025. In recent years, the emergence and use of AI-related technologies have fueled cloud technology trends. In a real sense, AI-powered self-learning algorithms are fueling the automation of commercial processes. Additionally, as AI becomes cleverer, businesses will need to develop intelligent processes within their systems that are both faster and more accurate. AI systems generate massive volumes of Big Data, which can only be scaled up through Cloud Computing solutions, whether through skills like Machine Learning or Facial Recognition. Most industry experts predict that AI and Machine Learning will drive Cloud Computing tool and platform adoption when it comes to top Cloud Computing developments.

5.????The Emergence of Digital Natives

Millennial workers that are tech-savvy and comfortable working with web technologies will make up the majority of the workforce in the next decade. Digital natives, or new technology professionals, are well-versed in Cloud Computing's future trends and regularly use them for work and communication. One of the fascinating trends in the Cloud Computing sector is the incorporation of digital natives into the modern workplace. Digital natives can be an asset to any technology-enabled firm because of their expertise in social media and communication technologies. Organizations must still combine digital natives with existing team members to establish a more diverse and stronger workforce. They are also embracing new cloud computing technologies and digital techniques such as reverse mentoring to train older employees in cloud-based services.

Best Cloud Service Providers in 2022

A cloud service provider is a third-party organization that provides cloud-based platform, infrastructure, application, or storage services to business organizations. There are many cloud service providers, including AWS, Azure, Google, IBM, Oracle, VMware, and SAP, among many others. However, this article section will discuss the five best cloud service, providers.

1.????Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the most comprehensive and widely used cloud platform globally, with over 200 fully-featured services available from data centers worldwide.

The platform comprises infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and packaged software as a service (SaaS) product. AWS services can provide a company with computing power, database storage, and content distribution resources. Hundreds of services are available through AWS. Virtual Private Cloud, EC2, AWS Data Transfer, AWS Key Management Service, Amazon CloudWatch, Simple Notification Service, Relational Database Service, CloudTrail, and Simple Email Service are just a few available services.

AWS prioritizes cloud security above anything else. As a customer, you'll have access to a data Centre and network architecture designed to satisfy the needs of the most security-conscious businesses. Infrastructure security, DDoS mitigation, data encryption, inventory and configuration, monitoring and logging, identity and access management, and penetration testing are all available through AWS security. Moreover, AWS offers more than 40 compliance certifications worldwide, including ISO certification.

2.????Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is one of the most rapidly expanding clouds available. Although Azure came out years after AWS and Google Cloud, it is still vying for the best cloud services provider title. Azure is one of the world's most profitable cloud services.

Azure offers a wide range of services, including AI + Machine Learning, Analytics, Blockchain, Databases, Developer Tools, DevOps, Identity, Integration, IOT, Management, Media, Microsoft Azure Stack, Mobile, Networking, Security, Storage, Web, and Windows Virtual Desktop.

Azure provides cutting-edge security products and services, and it has more data centers than any other cloud service around the globe.

3.????The IBM Cloud

IBM Cloud is a suite of cloud computing services for businesses developed by IBM. The IBM cloud offers IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS services via public, private, and hybrid cloud architectures, similar to other cloud service providers. Compute, Network, Storage, Cloud Packs, Management, Security, Database, Analytics, AI, IoT, Mobile, Dev Tools, Blockchain, Integration, Migration and Private Cloud are just some of the technologies that IBM offers.

4.????Google Cloud

The Google cloud platform is the company's cloud. Google Cloud, like AWS and Azure, provides services in various categories, including compute, storage, identity, security, database, AI and machine learning, virtualization, DevOps, and more. Google Cloud Services are available in over 200 countries and 20 regions.

5.????Oracle Cloud Services

The Oracle cloud platform is the company's cloud solution. IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and Data as a Service (DaaS) are available on the Oracle cloud.

Oracle provides Compute, Storage, Networking, Governance, Database, Load Balancing, DNS Monitoring, Ravello, and Fast Connect as IaaS products. Data Management, Application Development, Integration, Business Analytics, Security, Management, Content and Enterprise are the Oracle PaaS products. CX, HCM, ERP, SCM, EPM, IoT, Analytics, Data, and Blockchain Applications are Oracle's SaaS products.

Challenges of Large Enterprise Cloud Transformation

Even though there are numerous advantages to using the cloud, still, there are significant problems associated with this transformation, particularly if your company hasn't used cloud services before. This section of the article discusses some of the cloud transformation challenges.

1.????Monetary Costs

The expense of cloud transformation is offset over time by higher efficiency, lower administrative costs, and streamlined operations. However, getting there is costly. Financial issues affect practically every aspect of transformation. The following are the top cloud transformation costs:

?I.?????????Cloud-based application architecture rewrite

?II.?????????Investing in the people and technologies needed for a successful migration

?III.?????????Training employees on the new systems.

?IV.?????????Latency, interoperability, reliance on non-cloud apps, and downtime are all performance challenges.

?V.?????????Bandwidth is expensive.

2.????Data Security Concerns

Cybersecurity should be a key component of your overall business strategy, whether an enterprise uses on-premises technology or cloud services. Cloud service providers keep their platforms secure and strictly adhere to all compliance rules. On the other hand, customers are in charge of the security of the systems and data they store in the cloud. To reduce risk and protect your organization's data, enterprises should implement cybersecurity strategies. Some of the strategies for defending cloud data against cyberattacks include:

I.?????????Data encrypted.

II.?????????Application of least privileges access control rights

III.?????????Conduct regular access and configuration security audits.

?IV.?????????Make use of third-party knowledge to detect and prevent attacks.

3.????Limited Cloud Expertise

Cloud services enable an enterprise to stay up with the rate of change as technology evolves. However, if an enterprise cloud transformation program does not involve proper cloud service training, its solutions will not be as effective. A successful cloud transformation strategy must incorporate the development of cloud skills across the entire organization. Else, the enterprise should consider hiring cloud transformation experts to assist.

4.????Compliance Problems

Staying up to date on compliance requirements and ensuring regulatory guidelines are followed in an organization is a crucial part of cloud expertise. The PCI DSS and other compliance regulations such as the GDPR and ISO standards should be considered. IT personnel should comprehend the significance of security compliance in a cloud-based environment and how to adhere to these rules and regulations when using cloud services.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cloud transformation is critical to large enterprises in the current digital transformation era. An enterprise should select the best cloud service provider during cloud transformation. Even though cloud transformation is associated with some drawbacks, its advantages cannot be underestimated. Cloud service providers and experts should join hands to reduce the cloud transformation challenges since cloud transformation is inevitable with the recent technological advancements.?