What does the change to the cloud look like in 2024? No matter the model or industry, it will almost certainly include generative AI. It will be used for everything, from updating applications to cutting costs.
Gartner’s 2024 predictions said: “By 2027, GenAI tools will be used to explain legacy business applications and make suitable replacements, cutting modernisation costs by 70%.”
Gartner also said that the technology can help with plans for modernisation and refactoring, as well as testing and validation.
Adrian Bradley, partner and head of cloud at KPMG, makes a strong case for the second point. He stated that not only does generative AI “hugely reduce costs and release value,” it has also “subtly changed the balance of power between cloud and non-cloud infrastructure providers.” Why? Because the public cloud is a must as more businesses need generative AI services in the cloud.
That being said, Bradley says that the future of the cloud will depend on how companies adapt to using AI services.
In this area, the hyperscalers are coming up with new ideas at a scary fast rate. A week doesn’t go by without one of the biggest cloud service providers making an announcement. As examples, The Information wrote that Microsoft is putting together a new team to make cheaper generative AI, and this week alone, Google announced the opening of a new data centre in the UK.
Those who understand this landscape the fastest and best will definitely win. Take care not to forget the basics, though. There is one thing that is certain: the functional focus will stay… “The cloud can be used to cut costs in the back office and boost sales and profit in the front office,” says Bradley.
How this looks in real life will depend on how you plan to build it and how much money you have.
Rehosting, also known as “lift and shift,” is the easiest way to do things, but it’s not very useful in the long run. The return on investment (ROI) is high and the total cost of ownership is low when you refactor or modernise an app, but projects take a lot of time, money, and knowledge.
Replatforming is in the middle. It lets you add cloud-native features like auto scaling and infrastructure as code (IaC) without having to do a huge rewrite.
If this sounds like a headache, let’s see this example.
Pluralsight is an online school that is sponsoring the upcoming Cloud Transformation Conference TechForge. One of the things that Pluralsight offers is a Cloud Maturity Matrix that helps businesses set business goals and build cloud cultures. In its 2023 State of Cloud report, the company found that many companies were in the middle of the maturity scale. Because they were focused on cloud services, they didn’t pay enough attention to strategies and outcomes.
Erik Gross, principal consultant for engineering transformation at Pluralsight, and Luis Teixeira, VP and head of CloudOps at Demandbase, talked about how tactics can get mixed up in many organisations. Lift and shift work fine when done on purpose, but most of the time they don’t.
Based on his experience at Demandbase, Teixeira shared his best advice for moving to the cloud: don’t manage your infrastructure by hand by logging into your cloud solution and clicking buttons; instead, grow and shrink your infrastructure as needed to get the most out of it and save money.
To put it another way, IaC and autoscaling. But every company is different, and there are a lot of choices and chances out there.
The Cloud Transformation Conference is a virtual event happening on February 15. People who attend will hear from people from TSB, ASDA, and the Ministry of Defence who have been at the forefront of cultural and technological change. It can be used for everything from turning legacy apps into cloud-native ones to turning a big company into a startup unicorn.
When you do this right, remember that the benefits are many and last a long time. PwC says that businesses that have already modernised their operations and business through the cloud are getting twice as much value as businesses that are still using old systems and methods.
Companies that put all of their eggs in the cloud “also expect to see measurable returns on investment within the next 12 months,” in areas like speed and safety. Like Gartner, PwC says that companies that don’t have a good cloud and data strategy will fall behind and not be able to use the benefits of new technologies like AI and GenAI that depend on the cloud.
Bradley says it all in a few words. “The best businesses go to the cloud to build the skills they need to compete, stay strong, and make customers happy.” Now, what do you wait for?