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Overview:

* With the adoption of remote work, cloud computing usage grew exponentially, further advancing the technology worldwide.

* According to a Gartner study, by 2025, 85% of companies worldwide will use cloud services, fueling the economy even more.

* But do you know what we can define as cloud computing, the business models, and the benefits of using this technology?

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Given the constant growth rate over the past years, it’s easy to see we are already living in the future of cloud computing.

But what comes next?

Especially due to social isolation and the adoption of remote work, it has never been easier to use productivity services, team management systems, and develop new technologies—all through web services.

That is what cloud computing is about.

Already a standard part of daily life, cloud computing is based on providing technology services—servers, databases, software, applications, and storage—over the internet, both for users and for new companies.

This allows industry giants like Microsoft and Amazon to deliver innovations quickly, provide more flexible resources, and generate economies of scale for startups.

A recent Gartner study also highlights key trends for the coming years and what the future of cloud computing looks like for companies.

Because of that, in this article we will cover the main concepts behind “the cloud” on the internet and how experts analyze this scenario.

Before diving into those insights, it’s important to clarify the main aspects of cloud computing.

Keep reading for the key details.

First, what are the types of cloud computing?

Before anything else, you should know there are three types of cloud computing: public, private, and hybrid.

Each of these service models has its own characteristics, along with advantages and disadvantages.

Because of these differences, it’s important to analyze which one makes the most sense for your business so your needs are properly met.

See details below.

1. Public cloud

Over the years, public clouds have become the most common way to implement cloud computing in companies.

This model provides resources like storage, databases, and servers through third-party providers, managed by the providers themselves.

Unlike private clouds, multiple companies can use the same service.

Access is entirely web-based, and your company can use resources by creating an account after signing a contract with the provider.

Advantages include lower costs, high reliability in terms of data security, and not needing to manage maintenance—since providers handle that.

2. Private cloud

Private cloud works differently.

In this model, the goal is to provide cloud computing exclusively for your company.

So, instead of everything being fully web-based, some companies choose to build dedicated data centers on their premises.

As a result, cloud resources are dedicated solely to your organization, making it easier to customize resources and meet specific technology requirements.

In Brazil and worldwide, private clouds are often used by government agencies and financial institutions, for example.

Like public cloud, private cloud also has positive points.

As mentioned, the first is flexibility to customize resources based on what you really need.

You also gain more control over your data, since only your company has access to the service. On the other hand, it is a much more expensive model.

3. Hybrid cloud

To capture the best of both models, many companies choose a hybrid cloud approach.

In this scenario, your company can have local infrastructure while allowing data and applications to be moved to a public cloud at any time, shifting between environments.

This model is widely used to meet business requirements such as data privacy and other regulatory needs, especially in government contexts.

Because it combines the two models above, key advantages include better cost-benefit and high flexibility—you can use both approaches whenever necessary.

What are the benefits of cloud computing?

Given the trend that cloud computing has a positive future and will be widely adopted by companies, it’s important to understand why.

To do that, we need to cover the main benefits of using cloud computing, regardless of your company size.

The main benefit is cost reduction.

Cloud computing eliminates spending on hardware and software purchases, as well as the responsibility of configuring and running local data centers and servers.

It also reduces ongoing electricity and cooling costs and removes the need to allocate internal technology professionals to manage the entire infrastructure—lowering overall expenses.

Another major benefit is agility in service delivery.

Because resources are provided via the web, there’s no need for extended execution and setup times before your company can access the services.

This improves productivity, since you don’t need to spend time implementing the full technology structure.

In addition, building secure networks for data transmission is a key focus for cloud providers.

That means they can offer a broad set of security technologies that help protect data and applications against threats.

And in terms of safety, cloud computing can also reduce backup and incident recovery costs, since data can be stored across different servers simultaneously.

Cloud computing applications

Even if it’s not always recognized, cloud computing is present in daily life for everyone.

We use email servers, online spreadsheet and document editors, photo storage, and even streaming services for movies and series.

All of that is cloud computing.

Whenever we don’t need to install something and use services connected to the internet, we’re using this technology.

Through cloud services, many companies can deliver custom software, build mobile apps, and APIs, as well as run tests and reduce development time.

Cloud computing also enables large-scale backup systems, helping ensure you don’t lose critical business resources if malicious attacks happen.

Overall, cloud computing centralizes data and provides companies with a wide range of tools that enable deeper analysis.

It also offers essential resources to measure and increase team productivity, especially in corporate environments.

Another interesting aspect is the immense variety of services available—from retail and e-commerce solutions, to secure gaming server infrastructure, all the way to artificial intelligence and machine learning development.

Service types

Within each cloud model mentioned earlier, there are different service types designed for different business needs.

Today, three stand out: SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

1. SaaS – Software as a Service

Perhaps the best known—and most used by companies—SaaS is characterized by providing apps and software on demand to businesses.

In this model, your company can access cloud resources through a subscription without worrying about maintenance, software updates, or security patches, since all of that is managed by the provider.

2. PaaS – Platform as a Service

Another service type is PaaS. Unlike SaaS, this model does not provide on-demand software; instead, it provides a platform for building new technologies.

PaaS was designed to help developers create mobile or web applications faster and more naturally, without needing to manage server infrastructure configuration, storage, or databases needed for development.

3. IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service

Last, but also fundamental to technology development, is IaaS. This model focuses on delivering infrastructure solutions to companies.

It includes servers and virtual machines, storage, networks, and operating systems.

So, what is the future of cloud computing?

As discussed earlier, several factors enabled cloud computing to grow and develop, along with the consolidation of this sector in daily life.

So what should we expect over the next years?

According to a detailed Gartner study, technological innovation and the development of native apps, hybrid apps, and PWAs will increasingly follow a “Cloud First” approach rather than conventional models.

The research indicates that by 2025, 85% of companies worldwide will adopt a cloud-first principle.

A Statista forecast also projects that investments in cloud computing will exceed US$ 350 billion by 2022.

This increased investment should make cloud services from companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft more complete and less fragmented.

In other words, in the coming years we are likely to see full stacks and more attractive offerings, rather than only isolated components such as databases and servers.

As a result, major economic development is expected across sectors, since cloud computing can serve all kinds of businesses in an agile way, increasing productivity and outcomes—and raising competition.

Because of this forecast, it’s important for companies that already use these solutions to start evolving internally, adapting to change and keeping up with technology to stay competitive.

All of this progress will also be supported by the arrival—and consolidation—of 5G in different countries.

The technology will offer high data transfer rates and can bring significant changes to how we understand “the cloud” on the internet.