COVID-19 forced the business world to evolve, and cloud computing was part of the evolution. In 2021, it’s expected that cloud computing will see several significant trends that will affect both companies and consumers.
By anticipating these trends, you can embrace new challenges and realities in the IT field.
Working Remotely
Who anticipated a massive shift to working from home last year? The newly expanded remote workforce has transformed the office, but there’s tons more at stake as more people stream from company headquarters to their bedrooms to do their jobs.
Working from home will continue the acceleration of IT services concentrated in one location. They’ll move to the cloud, where data can be tapped from anywhere with Internet service.
Devices, applications, and devices must all be revamped and redeployed. Even voice-based systems are moving to the cloud. Help desk and customer service must adapt to this reality with Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) and Contract Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS).
Also, businesses are offloading their physical hardware and going to an employee-owned system. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) will become commonplace.
Some companies are mulling the deployment of Software Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WANs) against office space costs.
New Security Threats
IT development professionals must always worry about security. More virtual services mean more security risks.
The days of keeping a firewall around a single physical space are fading. This year, security professionals will need to focus on the security protocols for residential networks and equipment. Cybercriminals are already upping their game. Are you?
Since the pandemic, phishing attacks have soared. We could see more attacks the size of the notorious ones on Equifax and Home Depot recently. Healthcare organizations face severe stress as crooks notice higher caseloads and more people working remotely. Patient records and health insurance claims are more attractive for thieves to steal for their social security numbers.
Securing remote workers’ private information on the cloud in the next year will probably occur in two ways.
First, big companies with hefty budgets will move to a security model with ‘zero trust’ that mirrors Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. DNS security and related solutions will be set up at a faster clip for smaller firms. Either way, worker security training must be a priority.
Also, 5G will expand in 2021, so security will be more difficult for cloud-based companies. 5G boosts speed and IoT connectivity for wearable devices, voice assistants, home appliances, cars, etc. What these devices can do will be a more significant concern from a security standpoint.
Let’s not joke around: Even if your fridge is connected to the network, criminals can use it as a door to attack company data. 5G lets them execute attacks even faster.
On-Site Services Hitting the Cloud
In early 2020, many predicted that companies with on-site equipment would move a lot of it to the cloud. The coronavirus sped the process.
Pragmatism was a significant part of the acceleration. Shut-down offices meant getting to equipment was almost impossible. This problem could spell catastrophe if an emergency happened. Even getting backup equipment for failed hardware could have faced massive delivery delays.
Companies figured out that going to the cloud was safer and more flexible. It can even be more cost-effective too.
Since then, the shift to the cloud has increased because businesses now know that working from home is possible for both employers and employees. Office space will probably see a reduced footprint this year as rent prices drop. More capital will be there for companies to go to the cloud.
It looks like 2021 will be another year of IT change, as pandemic effects linger. It’s on us in the IT field to embrace the difficulties and different challenges in cloud-based systems and everything else in our work.
