The Enterprise in 2017: Driven by Cloud

Featured article by David Linthicum, SVP of Cloud Technology Partners

It’s becoming increasingly evident that cloud adoption is going to become one of the most dominant forces in the IT industry over the next few years. As CIOs continue to focus on the digital transformation of their companies, the transition to cloud-based architectures will undoubtedly be at the forefront. With revenues for public and private cloud hardware, software, and services amounting to $180 billion – or 16 percent of the $1.1 trillion enterprise IT industry – it is important now more than ever that enterprises understand the process to successfully adopt, run, and manage cloud-based environments.

Here are five trends that are certain to define the industry this year.

1. Cloud Hires

In today’s technology-driven marketplace, the availability of superior cloud talent is extremely limited. To stay ahead of competition, many companies will find themselves facing steep price tags to secure experienced employees. The median advertised salary for cloud computing professionals reached $124,300 in 2016, and enterprises will be forced to pay even higher amounts in 2017.

2. Strategic Acquisitions

Competition will also lead to acquisitions, as organizations look to strengthen their cloud capabilities and diversify their offerings. 2016 saw several large acquisitions and the future will hold even more – like Cisco’s pending $3.7 billion acquisition of AppDynamics. According to IDG, U.S.-based organizations on average are budgeting $1.77 million for cloud spending in 2017, with larger firms allocating close to $10 million.

3. Increased Automation

This year, we’re going to see many large enterprises move their workloads away from traditional environments and toward the cloud. Recent McKinsey & Company surveys indicated that enterprise adoption of IaaS will reach 51 percent by 2018, while virtual private clouds will increase to 71 percent, and dedicated private clouds will soar to 63 percent. As large enterprises continue to realize the true value of automating their cloud processes, many will abandon on-premises operations to expand their cloud abilities, reduce costs, and streamline cloud services.

4. Slowed Container Adoption

Although containers provide increased portability, agility, and a more consistent delivery of applications, managing and scaling existing container-based applications is still a challenge. As a result, we’ll see slower containerization adoption than originally predicted. The Cloud Foundry Foundation found that 92 percent of users feel that containers alone are not enough for an application development platform as they are “too complex to integrate into existing environments.”

 5. Advanced Cloud Security

Hackers will find new ways to overcome the vulnerable security systems set in place for on-premises networks. However, due to the extensive levels of security and governance, they’ll have less success breaking into cloud-based infrastructures. As more and more traditional networks fall victim to security breaches, cloud-based frameworks will remain protected from targeted attacks, thanks to proactive control and extensive monitoring.

Cloud computing is redefining the technology landscape and providing unparalleled promise for organizations looking to transform their business strategies. What do you think will shake up the industry in the coming year?

As an SVP at Cloud Technology Partners, David provides core leadership in client engagements and strategic guidance for the company. Additionally, David leads key thought leadership activities for CTP including keynote presentations at most major cloud computing conferences and is a routine contributor to Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Businessweek. Dave writes the cloud column for InfoWorld and is the lead author of The Doppler, CTP’s cloud news and best practices publication.

With more than 13 books on computing, 3,000 published articles, 500 conference presentations and numerous appearances on radio and TV programs, David has spent the last 30 years teaching businesses how to use resources more productively and innovate constantly. He has expanded the vision of both startups and established corporations as to what is possible and achievable. David’s experience with cloud computing dates back to 1999 when he published a key paper about the use of infrastructure resources that can be delivered over the open Internet.

David’s industry experience includes tenures as CTO and CEO of several successful public and private software companies, and upper-level management positions in Fortune 100 companies. David has delivered over $2 billion dollars in value by transforming companies from traditional to innovative technologies, moving them to lucrative exits that benefitted investors, employees, and customers. Prior to joining Cloud Technology Partners, David founded Blue Mountain Labs, a cloud computing consulting and advisory firm (sold to Bick Ventures in Feb. 2010).

David enjoys working on his collection of motorcycles, as well as lifting weights. He thinks about playing golf, but rarely has the time. He’s been active with animal adoption charities for the last several years supporting “no kill” shelters and adoption programs that leverage social networks.

David is a graduate from George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia, and still remains active with the alumni. He has been an adjunct professor of computer science for over 10 years and teaches courses on system design and database engineering.