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Cloud Technology Trends Every Small Business Owner Should Watch For in 2020, According to NJ’s Top Managed Service Provider 

Thirty years ago, computing was done mostly onsite. This meant you needed to have powerful hardware, data storage, and more physically on hand. Cloud technology has dramatically impacted the information flow within and outside of  the business. Now, remote servers can run software, store data, and deliver services to users around the world. Cloud computing shifted resources away from localized infrastructure and onto the World Wide Web. 

For business owners, this means more flexibility and stability and lower costs. By moving your IT infrastructure and data storage onto the cloud with a managed IT service like 3nom 360 and/or a virtual office service like 3nom’s 3seat under the management of a trusted provider, you are freeing yourself time and effort of maintaining in-house IT and giving your employees the freedom to get their work done anywhere. It is also much more cost-effective, as you don’t need to invest in hardware or hire specialists to maintain it. 

Cloud technology has had a big impact on customer service, accounting, HR, and almost every other business process. And as revolutionary cloud tech has already been, the future holds even more promise. That’s why we’re going to take a look at some developments that will have a big impact on the cloud in 2020.

“Containers” Will Continue to Take Over

Containers are already a vital component of cloud computing, and with systems like Kubernetes becoming increasingly popular, containers are only going to become more important. A container holds code (often an application), configurations, and other vital bits of data. Containers make it easier to deploy programs across various systems. 

Throughout 2020, we expect containers to make cloud deployment more consistent, and to increase efficiency, especially in operational activities. For business managers and owners, this should translate to more stable cloud performance and better operating deployments. 

Don’t sweat it if you don’t understand the above technical details, as your managed service provider, we can answer any questions you might have.

Artificial Intelligence Will Make the Cloud More Efficient

Artificial intelligence is being embedded directly into cloud computing infrastructure to streamline processes and reduce workloads. AI tools can be used to monitor and manage resources, which should lead to increased efficiency. AI can even be used for troubleshooting and self-healing.

For businesses, this means cloud technologies should become more reliable and powerful. In the long run, this could lead to a reduction in costs, but AI technology itself is expensive to develop. This is yet another reason to consider outsourcing your IT infrastructure to stay ahead of the curve and get access to the latest impactful technology, even if your operation is small. 

AI is going to have a profound effect on our society and technology as a whole. Still, for many small businesses, the impact of AI throughout 2020 will likely be subtle (for example, Google plugging AI into its search algorithms). As a managed service provider, we can help you understand what AI means for your business.

Big Data, AI, and the Cloud

Cloud computing is closely intertwined with Big Data, which companies are increasingly relying on to make decisions, uncover opportunities, and otherwise conduct business operations. Big Data refers to the vast amounts of data collected by companies across seemingly endless touchpoints. 

It’s believed that as much as 95 percent of data collected by companies is “unstructured.” This makes it difficult to work with. Likewise, the amount of data collected is so vast that storage has been a problem. Advances mean even Big Data can be loaded into the cloud and accessed from around the world.

Further, developments in AI are making it easier to work with unstructured data. Often, digging through, analyzing, and organizing unstructured data can be tedious and time-consuming. However, AI can do much of the grunt work, analyzing data and making it easier to extract business value from it.

High-Performance Computing Takes to the Cloud

Cloud has already revolutionized IT, the World Wide Web, business processes, and more. Yet one area that cloud has had only a limited impact is high-performance computing (HPC). When scientists, researchers, and others need to work with immensely complex algorithms, computations, and the like, they turn to HPC. 

Yet HPC has remained largely on-site. That’s going to change in 2020. As cloud infrastructure has evolved, it’s become possible to perform HPC through the cloud. This makes it easier to scale resources up and down. 

Currently, if on-site HPC infrastructure is not being used, it’s basically collecting dust. HPC through the cloud should make deployment more efficient, with resources being allocated as needed. 

Don’t Sweat the Technical Details

As a managed service provider, we’ve helped dozens of small and medium-sized businesses navigate the complex reality of today’s IT ecosystems. Business owners will feel the impact of many of the above trends, but so long as you have a good IT partner on your side, you can confidently step into the future. Get in touch with your personal cloud technology expert at 3nom today for a free consultation!