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The use of 'the cloud' in computing, hosting and storage has been growing in the past year or so with some observers calling 2012 'the year of the cloud'. It is true that the it has been slowly encroaching into various aspects of personal lives and the business world and it can be interesting to speculate on how the cloud will develop in the next few years. The 'cloud' is currently used mostly in hosting or for cloud computing, but its uses are very likely to expand and diversify in the near future. This article aims to outline some of the predictions for the future of the cloud.

Multi-Cloud Management

More and more companies are choosing to use cloud services and resources in their business. In a large number of cases many of these companies will have a range of different cloud solutions provided by different providers. What is likely to emerge from this scenario is the need for multi-cloud management. Companies are already starting to offer cloud management platforms so you can spread your resources over a number of different 'clouds' but still be able to manage them all effectively. Using a range of services, from different providers, will reduce the risk of single platform-specific issues affecting everything.

A 'Hybrid Cloud'

In a similar vein to multi-cloud management, the condensing of the way we use the cloud will also change the way we use the cloud. In the past year many observers have commented on the public cloud versus private cloud debate, but it is probable that instead of becoming more disparate, the two will come together. Mixing and matching cloud solutions and services will come to the fore as many customers will want the best of both worlds. Solutions will be offered that combine the security of a private cloud and the flexibility of a public cloud.

Gaming in the Cloud

While most gamers will choose to buy a physical copy of a new game, a growing number are downloading digital copies of games straight to their console from a platform like Steam. The recent purchase by Sony of the cloud-gaming company Gaikai has led to speculation that eventually all gaming will come from the cloud. This could potentially be a better way for gamers to have access to games and powerful processors. It could also benefit the makers of games consoles as they generally do not make profits on the consoles in the first year of sales. They tend to make consoles with high-specs that will not make profits, and instead focus on the sales of games. With cloud-gaming, the consoles would only need to be able to run an interface that will connect to the cloud - the hardware therefore would not need to be so costly.

Cloud Employment

Using cloud resources can cut down on the need for a traditional IT team, especially if the services are managed by the cloud provider. This provoked fears that a number of IT jobs in the future would no longer be needed. Though this may be partly true, the cloud will also bring in new and different jobs. In order to have a more cloud based technological society, we will need people with the skills to manage and maintain the servers and the business.

Social Clouds

Our society is now firmly based on social networks and platforms, with people sharing their lives with their friends and families across the internet. The cloud is likely to adapt to this and offer more social aspects. For example, providers may offer internal social networks or they may add social capabilities to existing cloud applications.

Cloud Advancements

In addition to providing new services in the future, existing cloud services are very likely to improve and advance. This is most likely to happen in the storage and mobile arenas. Amounts of data have increased exponentially and the costs of the usual methods of storage have also risen. New forms of storage are likely to come to the fore in response to this. Although many mobile devices already use the cloud for a number of services, this will extend even further and the cloud will become even more mobile as people will have access to cloud apps from any device.

Though cloud technology is often discussed it is still an emerging technology, the future will integrate the cloud more fully into our daily usage of the internet. Internet services will make use of the cloud in new and exciting ways and existing cloud platforms will develop and become more widespread. The way we use the cloud will change and jobs will adapt to these developments. The future of the cloud is an exciting one and only a few of its future possibilities have been listed here.

© Izzy Evans 2012

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