Saad Nizam, Cloud Security Architect at Check Point Software Technologies, Middle East, says serverless functions allows growing businesses to take advantage of greater computing power at a reasonable cost
What trends do you foresee for Cloud Computing in 2022?
Cloud computing has profoundly changed the way we live our lives and conduct business. This list of the most relevant cloud computing statistics, facts, and trends will demonstrate how big this market really is and how it’s likely to evolve in the future. For 2022, the major focus is going to be around edge computing, hybrid and multi-cloud expansion including advanced cloud networking, generative AI, and continued shift to tech on demand (Workstation as a Service, Function as a Service, Container as a Service are a few examples).
What sort of benefits does cloud computing bring to eCommerce stores and e-tailers?
Cloud computing helps online companies meet the constantly changing demands of their patrons. Upscaling or downscaling the solutions or services is no more worrisome. Cloud gives e-commerce giants a scalable architecture, by keeping them in sync with the market scenario. Delivering powerful performance, cloud computing has become the ultimate solution for e-tail firms worldwide.
Also, cloud-based applications are being increasingly used by firms, thanks to their ability to develop a deeper connection with customers, generate sales, and increase revenue. Cloud adoption allows the usage of Machine Learning engines to evaluate the customer consumption trends, product and price preferences, and help the ecommerce firms to provide a tailored and personalized experience to their customers.
Is edge computing helping shape up the cloud computing industry as a whole?
Definitely, Edge computing offers a range of value propositions for smart IoT applications and use cases across a variety of industries. The concept has been very successful in the past when Akamai solved the challenge of Web traffic congestion by introducing Content Delivery Network (CDN) solutions. The most popular use case now is being able to deliver improved performance, security, and productivity. It makes the cloud infrastructure more efficient and cost-effective, where real-time data is offloaded to the edge compute and the cloud infrastructure is utilized for analytics and updates.
Do you believe serverless functions have a big part to play in creating new user experiences?
Serverless technology has been here for a while and will definitely see more adoption in the future. Serverless functions allow growing businesses to take advantage of greater computing power at a reasonable cost, while large organizations can roll out new digital services without adding to the burden of their already-stretched IT teams. With the dynamic nature of the technology and lower associated cost, it enables organizations to provide their users with much higher performance as well as improved content updates, which are key enhancements in the overall user experience.
Will combining AI with cloud services enable organizations to get the most out of both applications in a cost-effective way?
Cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including machine learning, are helping businesses draw additional value from the ever-growing volumes of data they collect. AI algorithms empower businesses to glean new insights from their data and improve the way they work which also improves their TCO (total cost of ownership). Apart from this AI is very effective in security solutions which indirectly save millions for an organization in case of a breach.
With Metaverse becoming the “keyword” for 2022, do you believe the cloud has a major role to play here? What opportunities exist for both vendors and channel partners?
Metaverse has come into vogue recently and is still trying to find its ground for broader viability and use cases. The whole virtual world by default is being hosted on the cloud, as it is heavily dependent on numerous data sources combined with AI analytics to create a relevant virtual experience. I believe the technology will need a while to evolve, however, immediate applications can be seen in the current post-pandemic world, which enables vendors to create more interactive content, product messaging, product training, etc for their partners/customers which was ordinarily delivered during in-person conferences.
