Beyond ‘maturity’: where next for the cloud?

Almost everyone working in business – from FMCG to technology, financial services to retail – will be familiar with the product lifecycle and the ‘halo’ moment, where an offering or solution reaches ‘maturity’.

The solution has weathered the turbulent journey from the hype around its ‘introduction’ to its ‘growth’ stages, before it enters a new phase of existence: maturity.

Cloud computing is at this point right now – you may have read a recent blog by my colleague Julie Woods-Moss that explored just this, with 85% of people believing that the cloud has lived up to the hype, delivering on its promises.

However, the question that needs to be asked when a solution reaches this point is: where next and how will the market continue to grow and flourish?

After all, maturity doesn’t equate to a finished solution. In fact, complacency at the point of maturity can be a disastrous move. As John F Kennedy famously said “change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

I’m no fortune teller, but the future for cloud is bright if the right platforms are in place to support the ever-evolving demands of consumers and enterprises looking to be more connected and generate more data than ever before.

Despite the fact that, according to Tata Communications’ research, 97% of organisations currently have cloud computing as part of their infrastructure, there is still a long way to go, as, on average, only 28% of enterprises’ total infrastructure is stored in the cloud.

This is, in part, due to some reticence when it comes to new cloud developments: our research showed a reliance on established ‘tried-and-tested’ cloud implementation types (private cloud specifically), suggesting that organisations are not always exploring other methodologies and could potentially be missing out on significant additional benefits as a result.

Moving forward, it is the role of the industry to dispel enterprise uncertainty around alternative models, such as hybrid cloud, by raising awareness and by introducing offerings that meet this demand. This is why we’ve been collaborating with Google and Microsoft Azure to usher in the next era of cloud with IZO™, the world’s most comprehensive cloud enablement platform. By harnessing our extensive global network, we are working to enable global organisations to meet the needs of their businesses by adopting the cloud confidently and securely – be it private, public or hybrid.

However you look at it, cloud will be in our future. In fact, some even say that the cloud is fast developing as a modern day utility that could evolve in a similar way to electricity – a ubiquitous force that underpins much of the way we live and work. Now is the time for everyone to get their ‘head in the cloud’ and truly understand the importance of its future – making smart choices for the next phase of the future of cloud.