3 Digital Trends for 2021

To put the world of The Cloud into perspective, Gartner predicts that we will close out 2021 with worldwide public Cloud revenue coming in at $332 billion. That’s up 23% from 2021. And, of course, like any growing technology, there is what’s happening today and then what’s coming in the future.

And with that, here are just a few trends in the digital space for 2022:

1. Sustainability. Greener digital habits is a natural evolution of things. Managing the heat, power, and infrastructure bring a growing concern for the impact on the environment. The estimates from the Department of Energy state that 2% of all electrical consumption comes from data centers in the United States. To put it in perspective, they consume 10 to 50 times more energy than an average office building. Some online organizations are moving to solar or wind power, and for others even the smallest incremental reduction in power usage can mean massive long-term offsets.

2. Hybrid Offerings. Traditionally, online platforms can be on a public platform with an affordable, pay-as-you-go model or you can choose a more pricey, private option. Some primary providers like Microsoft and Amazon are offering a hybrid approach to help meet the unique demands of their customers. So, information that needs fast access can be public and the more sensitive, less-accessed information can be moved to a private environment where things can be more protected and closely monitored. Hybrid will become more of a standard offering moving forward, as it also helps minimize the problematic “multi-cloud” complexities some businesses face as well.

3. Artificial Intelligence. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has described AI as “more profound than electricity or fire” when it comes to how it will affect humankind. Machine learning (ML) and its algorithms require serious processing power and bandwidth, so the digital space is a natural home for it all. Some of the most common AI we see today like Siri and social media personalization already live online, but as AI continues to grow so will its need for faster computing support.

There’s no denying the ever-increasing growth for the online industry. How we adapt to its offerings and embrace its possibilities will define our future success in the world of IT.