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Top 8 cloud migration and modernization trends for 2023

Keep your business competitive by staying up to date on the latest trends in cloud migration and modernization for 2023. Keep reading to unlock the latest trends in cloud M&M.

It’s no secret that adopting cloud technologies can transform businesses and elevate them to the top echelons of their industries. Cloud adoption for enterprises could mean migrating traditional architectures to the cloud, modernizing existing cloud-based architectures, or a combination of both.

A quick peruse of the latest statistics will highlight the irreversible growth trajectory that cloud technologies and those who adopt them are witnessing. The estimated value of the global cloud computing market will see a figure of $1,240.9 billion by 2027 (at a compound annual growth rate of 17.9% since 2022).

The COVID-19 pandemic was the grand disruptor of all things traditional. A fundamental shift in global operations hastened cloud adoption during the pandemic. Entering 2023, as the world regains some semblance of normalcy, certain trends will shape cloud migration and modernization (M&M). As such, it will be wise for businesses to stay educated about these eight key trends.

1. Conviction in cloud benefits

While businesses have previously flirted with cloud services in the past, it has often been with partial reluctance to let go of traditional systems. Now, knowledge of cloud-based technologies and successful case studies are inescapable. More businesses are fully convinced of the digital transformation benefits of cloud technologies.

The primary cloud benefits that businesses identify include the ability to maintain and stay ahead of security and compliance rules and regulations, the lightweight flexibility needed to scale big, and the protection and recovery against potentially catastrophic business disasters.

2. Strategy-driven cloud M&M

In the past, enterprises often adopted cloud services because of their futuristic allure without prioritizing strategy. Now the inverse is occurring, where businesses push cloud M&M strategy to the forefront, acknowledging that only with a carefully mapped out plan can a company successfully undergo a digital transformation.

This strategy could involve everything from framing high-level business roadmaps and objectives to simply establishing whether and when a business will migrate to or modernize its cloud infrastructure.

3. Cloud-only strategies

As mentioned above, businesses are increasingly prioritizing strategy over hasty adoption. One of the leading strategies in 2023 and beyond will be to design and use a cloud-only architecture. While companies have successfully used hybrid models (physical infrastructure + cloud services) in the past, that’s likely to become history in the upcoming years.

Most enterprises in 2023 will look to phase out of hybrid models and move to an exclusively cloud-based architecture. Those who haven’t transitioned to cloud services may likely migrate straight to a cloud-only architecture. Besides the obvious business benefits, cloud-only strategies are also integral to sustainability initiatives.

4. On-premise infrastructure continues

While cloud-only strategies are the direction of the future, investments in physical infrastructure are not entirely extinct yet. This is especially true in countries like China, India, Australia, and New Zealand. Businesses clearly favor cloud-dominant infrastructures but are realistically two to three years away from complete migration.

Therefore, for any business that aims for a complete cloud M&M in the next few years, 2023 will be a vital bridge to design and strategize a pathway from physical infrastructure to the cloud.

5. Migration of non-mission critical operations

Operations like security, networking, application development, and administration were the first in line that businesses with M&M strategies migrated to the cloud. These were part of the successful first wave of cloud M&M. As we enter 2023, the priority shifts to relocating non-mission critical operations. 

Examples of non-mission critical operations that will likely migrate to the cloud in the upcoming months include systems management, data analytics, and server virtualization.

6. Increased migration to public clouds

The public cloud end-user spending in 2023 is on track to meet a staggering figure of $591.8 billion. We can break this down into an average public cloud expense of $151 per employee in a business. These statistics paint a clear picture. Companies will employ public clouds in 2023 at a previously unseen rate.

Handing over traditional infrastructure to third-party cloud service providers offers businesses numerous benefits that would aid them in today’s brutally competitive market. Key benefits include enhanced revenue creation and profitability via reduced expenses, highly scalable models, and disaster recovery.

7. Diversity in cloud workloads

2023 is the time to shelve away all preconceived notions about what operations and workloads should be migrated to the cloud. In the past, businesses may have had logical or logistical reasons to prioritize and migrate only certain workloads. Now, companies around the world are migrating all manner of workloads.

Based on current trends, what migrates to cloud-based infrastructure in 2023 will showcase diversity. This will range from systems management, data analytics, and server virtualization (as listed above) to security, marketing, sales, data management, and everything in between.

8. Rise in multi-cloud and hybrid solutions

Most businesses with robust cloud M&M strategies have multi-cloud solutions high on their agenda. Multi-cloud solutions can be applied across a diverse range of cloud infrastructures from different third-party and public cloud providers.

Multi-cloud solutions are effective simply because they use the best of their cloud service providers without being tied to any unnecessary or irrelevant services, add-ons, and complexities. Additionally, a disruption from one provider won’t have as damaging an impact because other providers and services are always concurrently active.

Conclusion

Businesses around the world are looking at cloud migration and modernization as key ingredients for revenue creation, digital transformation, and future-proofing. They also firmly believe that implementing cloud M&M strategies is of utmost importance in navigating these times of economic turbulence and looming recessions and bypassing its dangers.

The challenges of cloud M&M are serious. Migration from legacy infrastructure to the cloud is complex, albeit important and necessary. Modernizing already migrated systems requires intricate technical work. And an infrastructure that works with multiple clouds and distributed architectures, all integrated and functioning in harmony, can appear to be a labyrinth to some.

Therefore, it’s vital for businesses to strategize their cloud M&M plans carefully and categorically with the help of experts to take their success to the next level. Knowledge and awareness about key trends in cloud M&M, like the ones mentioned above, would be vital tools for businesses to keep in their back pocket as they journey through 2023.



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