2020 has brought us not only COVID but consideration of cloud technology to have more chances of survival which remains a must in 2021, too. Such a big change of data storage isn’t easy, and after all previous insanities - this year’s purpose is to clean the mess of a sudden but necessary change.

2021 is expected to show more demand in cloud deployment and usage, which will reinforce the remote work as efficiently as the traditional office environment. Businesses utilize the moment of an unexpected demand to rework their strategies and revoke certain benefits to take full advantage of a spike. That being said, many providers find themselves in the midst of the cloud market boom.
It's the second year of unbelievable luck for providers as cloud stands in the top three priorities for IT investment plans. The high demand might decrease later this year as previously financially sacrificed solutions that were pushed back will retake the attention.
There are four trends we're looking forward to in 2021 as cloud integrates into every aspect of business life:

1. Taking control over cloud security

Businesses might take action to strengthen their cloud strategy and security is the priority to look into. The very foundation of cloud services has always been security, and the question of control over it is the most important inside business infrastructure. It's necessary to review or build the control plan over the cloud to endorse the workflow.
As per Sophos survey, nearly 96% of respondents who work in IT departments are expressing concern regarding cloud security, and see the extreme need to maintain and improve it. Senior vice president of INAP Jennifer Curry mentioned that VPN was considered before as the ultimate solution and security measure, but remote work showed the possible breach: shifting the workforce from the office gives the access to sensitive data through various laptops and networks that put it under menace.
The story of Equifax brought fear over the security of the most sensitive data – financial information. And various financial services that use the cloud are interested in maximum security in the first place. History has made it clear that cyberattacks only become more sophisticated. A strong security plan is the only thing that gives a chance to stand against cybercriminals and protect businesses. For this matter, hybrid cloud is a way to balance costs and a security approach.

2. Increased profit of tech giants

The boom of the cloud market also gave the rise of wealth for vendors. According to market predictions, the growth of the global cloud infrastructure can hit the $120 billion mark this year. The market possibilities are wide open to help companies increase the profit via transitioning to SaaS or to capitalize differently in the terms of a new COVID-era.
Legislations that were signed in December and more might come soon, gives small businesses the financial support and resources to anchor the path for cloud investments, endorsing the market growth. Also, qualified companies may get allowances for software and cloud upgrades according to the PPP-2 (The Second Paycheck Protect Program).
But who is getting profit out of this? The world's tech giants like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce and Google are expecting a significant increase in investments this year, mainly because of other big companies’ innovations.

3. Training the workforce

While the business is growing, innovations are applying, and profit is increasing – the very base of it – the workforce is who needs the attention. The staff also should be the company’s investment because the tech knowledge takes its place. The training and knowledge spreading needs to stay free and efficient in such circumstances.
Businesses will look for cloud architects and professionals from within to broader training initiatives: both enterprises and cloud providers need to cooperate on multi-cloud strategies to deliver ultimate results. Last December Amazon reported their new goal ‘to help 29 million people around the world grow their tech skills with free cloud computing skills training by 2025’. The scale of such a project is enormous and aims to improve cloud knowledge significantly to open the way for advanced technologists and innovations.
Moreover, edge computing will also be on the rise, accompanying the boom of business digital transformations. Such innovation means a deeper focus on AI operated devices while data centers remain essential strengthening the position of cloud systems.

4. Taking off of unnecessary cloud workloads

Many companies were pushed to transfer all application data to cloud storage by COVID restrictions, which also brought the stack of outdated and irrelevant data. Almost a half of all business accelerated the cloud plans transition leading to not only malfunctions but also some loose ends untied. Looking into all cloud deployments made last year, almost 93% of them contain service misconfigurations.
The correction of cloud work to improve the work efficiency, minimize costs and maximize outcome might strike back on the cloud resources. The past year showed the importance of a fast business adaptation and cloud was one of the decisions and quick solutions. However, there might be a different option in the long run that can satisfy the needs of any company, and hybrid cloud has already been named as a possible ideal solution.
The cloud knowledge isn't concentrated only on IT departments: C-suits of big companies are also weighing pros and cons of the cloud, watching closely to the performance and efficiency, making sure that the chosen vendor meets every need and criteria of the company’s requirements and benefits it.