The cloud in 2025: a meta-analysis of trends and predictions

Simon Edward • 30 December 2024

What could 2025 hold for cloud technology? We analyse tech blogs and outlets to see what could be in store.

Over the last few years, cloud adoption has gone through the roof. Already picking up pace in the 2010s, it went into overdrive during the COVID-19 pandemic and shows no signs of slowing down.

But the current cloud landscape isn't just offering the same solutions in different packages. It's continually embracing cutting-edge technologies to unlock new efficiencies and enhance performance.

What, then, could 2025 hold? We've got our own ideas, but for this article, we turn our attention to what other tech blogs, news sites and analysts are saying.

If these sources are right, 2025 will be a year that sees increased adoption of edge computing, multi-cloud strategies, AI and machine learning, enhanced security and compliance solutions, and serverless computing.

So, let's explore these trends and predictions. The future is never easy to read, but it seems clear that in the near future, there will be more innovation in the cloud space.

1. Edge computing

A cloud service is only as good as its bandwidth and capacity to process data. The more data is processed, the more traditional cloud architectures struggle to keep up.

One solution to this is edge computing. This brings data processing closer to where it's generated. Could 2025 be the year when edge computing reduces latency and improves cloud-based performance once and for all?

Forbes, for instance, predicts "significant advancements and strategic investments in edge technologies, driven by the need for cost efficiency, reduced latency, uptime and enhanced data processing capabilities".

The article points to the decentralisation of data as a key driver of edge computing. "More than 40% of larger enterprises," says Forbes, "are expected to adopt edge computing as part of their IT infrastructure by 2025."

The result could be more distributed cloud infrastructure in manufacturing and smart cities.

Meanwhile, Republic focuses on reduced latency in "time-sensitive applications" like autonomous vehicles and remote surgeries. It also suggests that "localised processing will not only enhance performance, but also lower energy consumption by minimising data transmission to central clouds".

2. Hybrid and multi-cloud adoption

Multi-cloud environments are already a familiar sight in enterprises across the world. But if tech digest CXO Today is to be believed, we're heading for a significant uptick in 2025.

The eternal quest for flexibility and cost-efficiency is leading more and more companies to use a combination of cloud providers.

"These approaches," says the site, "offer operational flexibility by enabling workloads across on-premises, private and public clouds, ensuring businesses leverage the best of each."

They also help businesses avoid vendor lock-in, "enhance resilience and continuity", and allow "cost-efficient workload allocation without compromising performance".

3. AI and ML integration

This is the only entry on our list that has penetrated the mainstream. People who don't know their private from their public cloud are still aware of AI's increasing prominence in IT.

IoT World Today reports that "AI, including predictive and generative AI, machine learning and natural language processing, has been ranked as likely to be the most important technology of 2025 in a global survey of technologists".

The precise line of travel is unclear, but these tools are likely to become more integrated into cloud platforms, providing advanced data analytics, predictive modelling and sophisticated threat detection.

AI can also play a valuable role in data-driven decision-making, the automation of repetitive tasks and the creation of tailored services and marketing materials for customers.

More specifically, it can help automate routine tasks such as patch management and scaling. It's likely these tools will grow in sophistication, becoming more and more able to support complex workloads.

4. Enhanced security and compliance

Many outlets point to the advances in security and compliance that 2025 could hold. As networks become more complex, the need for robust security becomes ever more critical.

DevOps has been around for a while, rolling Devs and Ops into one. But security isn't always integrated into the process. Developer highlights the rise of DevSecOps, literally sandwiching security between the two ends of the development cycle.

This could mean that businesses are able to create and roll out apps at speed without any compromise to security – and without being put at risk of hefty fines.

Arabian Business believes another established approach to security will be adopted more in 2025. Zero-trust architecture is the practice of verifying every user and device whenever it joins the network.

Together, these developments could lead to enhanced security and compliance across the board.

5. Serverless computing growth

Serverless computing, often shortened to "serverless", is a cloud computing model that allows developers to build and run applications without managing the underlying infrastructure.

It's a complex model but essentially involves developers uploading code and cloud service providers provisioning, scaling and managing the infrastructure.

ET CIO highlights the growth of serverless in 2025. "Experts," it says, "predict that serverless computing will drive innovation across industries for the next few years, enabling organisations to deploy services at unprecedented speed and agility."

Developers will be able to "focus on writing, testing and managing codes" while offloading server and backend management. The results will be "faster time-to-market, enhanced scalability and lower operational costs in development and implementational processes".

An increase in serverless services could also introduce cost savings. Instead of purchasing a fixed allocation of resources, businesses can pay just for the resources they use.

Conclusion

The 2020s are an exciting time for cloud technologies. As adoption continues to grow, more and more novel and cutting-edge technologies are being explored by businesses of all shapes and sizes.

We can't tell you exactly what the cloud landscape will look like in 2025. But if these tech firms are anything to go by, it seems that the cloud will become only more agile, flexible and cost-effective.

Looking for a cloud advisory consultant to help make 2025 your year of growth? Get in touch with Ascend Cloud Solutions today for an expert consultation.

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