Cloud computing is undergoing a surge in adoption. In 2020, more money was spent on cloud computing than on-site data centers – a huge milestone. Increasingly, computing and storage are being routed off-site. How and why is this transition taking place? This article takes a quick look at some of the factors driving this watershed moment.

The Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has bought the world to its knees. One of the many consequences of the pandemic was a huge increase in the number of people who had to work remotely. On-site storage and computing were no longer practical for the companies who employed these people. Companies purchased cloud computing plans like never before – intent on allowing their employees to work from home using all of the same resources that they could acquire at the office. This might go some way to explaining why expenditure on cloud computing solutions finally outstripped expenditure on traditional data centers in 2020.

The Data Deluge

We live in the age of the data deluge. The current crisis of data accumulation caused by our increasingly networked society means that the days of on-site servers being capable of holding all the data companies need may be drawing to a close. Anticipation of this has no doubt led to an increase in the uptake of cloud technology.

Increased Capability

Gone are the days when cloud computing was utterly synonymous with storage. The latest cloud services are fully-fledged computing powerhouses. Development, data analysis, and design can all take place on the cloud on highly sophisticated platforms like Amazon Web Service.

A new generation of data engineers, full-stack developers, and solution architects has exponentially increased the capabilities of cloud computing platforms. For some help getting into this lucrative industry, check out the AWS solution architect learning path offered by A Cloud Guru.

Sensible Pricing

Cloud computing services like Amazon Web Service are now priced far more sensible and scalable than ever before. When cloud computing was first emerging as a business tool, companies had to pay for storage and computing power in much the same way they would pay for a server setup. Companies would have to purchase (or rent) a large amount of storage – regardless of whether they were able to fill that space up. Pricing plans went up in large increments, even if companies typically needed somewhere in between the amount of storage or computing power offered by each plan. Now, however, companies only pay for what they use. Pay as you go plans are now some of the most popular cloud computing payment plans being sold to organizations by big providers. This drives use because it is eminently easier to ensure that no money is going to waste from the perspective of the client.

Security Matters

Encryption and file transfer protocols have improved a great deal since the first cloud platforms were launched. Companies feel more comfortable than ever entrusting their precious data to cloud providers.