Just a few years ago, a “cloud” was a collection of water droplets in the sky. But today, you mention “the cloud” and we think of something very different — technology designed to make data accessible from virtually any location on the planet. The cloud has become an integral part of our modern technology lexicon — and for good reason. There are many benefits of cloud services, including cloud data management, cloud computing and other cloud-based technologies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of everyday life, including the cloud. In fact, the COVID impact on cloud services is quite dramatic, with cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Microsoft Azure seeing unprecedented demand. The same is true of Snowflake Cloud Data Platform, which offers cloud computing, cloud storage and cloud-based data warehousing services. But precisely how has a virus altered our usage of cloud services and prompted the advancement of cloud technology?
The COVID-19 Impact on the Cloud Computing Market
COVID cloud adoption has surged in recent months, with cloud computing, data storage and other cloud services rapidly gaining popularity. Many companies have shifted to a remote working environment in an attempt to meet social distancing recommendations and government stay-at-home requirements. The same is true of schools, from K to 12, to colleges and universities.
A recent Forbes.com article summed it up aptly in a quote from Devan Adams, Omdia principal analyst. He explained,
…data center operators are experiencing massive surges in consumer usage of compute resources due to school closures, social distancing, and government work-at-home mandates. This is making it increasingly imperative to provide a reliable, scalable and secure cloud. The new rules for society have created new norms, resulting in increased demand for e-learning, remote working, binge television watching and other at-home activities.”
It’s virtually certain that the COVID impact on cloud services has included advances and refinements in the realm of cloud computing and other cloud services. Increased demand and rising popularity usually leads to evolution and growth in one form or another. The epidemic has also provided a great opportunity for a shift to cloud-based platforms and other cloud solutions, as many service providers offered expanded trials and price breaks in the early stages of the pandemic.
Technology Seeing a Negative Impact from the COVID Pandemic
Of course, not all companies in the technology sector have seen increased demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Adams told Forbes, “… IT infrastructure services — i.e., IaaS, CaaS, PaaS — are experiencing equally negative effects as many small-and-medium businesses (SMBs) either temporarily shut down or prepare to close their doors permanently as they are unable to remain financially viable.”
The decreased demand for web-based service providers has presumably stunted much of the pre-pandemic growth and evolution that was occurring in these IT infrastructure sectors.
In fact, even cloud solutions could see negative effects from the pandemic if the cloud race takes a turn. Industry observers told Forbes that
narrowing the market to just select major cloud providers could reduce both investments and the research needed to innovate. Prices may rise and make it more difficult to migrate data to competitors due to the dreaded threat of ‘lock-in.’ More dangerously, there is a potential for monopolistic behavior or price collusion, as seen in other titan dominated industries. Luckily for enterprise organizations, while these hypothetical threats are based on some rationale, that is not the way things are playing out.”
So for the time being, the COVID cloud services growth seems to be headed in a primarily positive direction.
Leveraging the Many Advantages of Cloud Data Platforms Such as Snowflake
If you’re ready to leverage the power of the cloud, you’ll need a digital transformation and development team with experience in the realm of cloud integrations and cloud data platform configuration and cloud integrations. 7T is a part of the Snowflake Service Partner Network — a recognition of our expertise with Snowflake cloud solutions. Whether you’re seeking to use cloud hosting for mobile apps and software platforms, cloud data solutions or cloud integrations, 7T’ss team has the experience required to make it happen. We also deal in a range of other technologies, including CRM development, ERP development and beyond, so we’re well-equipped to assist with multi-phased development projects.
7T has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and Austin, but our clientele spans far beyond. If you’re ready to harness the power of the cloud, Snowflake and other innovative technologies, contact the digital transformation experts at 7T today.