(Finance) – It is October 26, 1997 when the university professor Ramnath Chellappa pronounces for the first time in scientific field the words “cloud computing“In an academic conference in Dallas entitled” Intermediaries in Electronic Markets “where the academic defines cloud computing as” a new IT paradigm in which the boundaries will be determined by economic logic rather than by technological limits “.
A symbolic date for one technology that has had a radical impact on the IT universe going to rethink corporate IT infrastructures. In terms of functionality and numbers, it can be said that cloud computing was the invention that changed the IT sector forever: today 60% of Italian companies use the Cloud (in 5th place in Europe) for a market that globally is worth 484 billion euros with a turnover forecast for 2030 in excess of 1,500 billion euros (+ 15.7% annual growth).
The advent on the market of DVDs destined to supplant the old VHS, the debut of flat screen TVs, the first SMS strictly 160 characters and the dawn of the internet where Netscape was the most used browser. 1997 was a particularly prolific year in terms of technological progress, also thanks to an intuition destined to change the IT world.
The figures speak of a global market of 484 billion eurosas stated in the recent report by Grand View Research, which also forecast a turnover for 2030 of over 1,500 billion with a + 15.7% annual growth. On the anniversary of the cloud, what is the situation in Italy and in Europe? According to Eurostat, 60% of Italian companies declare that they use cloud services for a market that the Cloud Transformation Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano quantifies at 4.5 billion euros (+ 15% compared to 2021). The figure of cloud adoption by Italian companies (60%) is higher than the European average (42%) and positions the Beautiful country in 5th place on the continent, ahead of Germany (40%) e France (30%), in a ranking headed by Sweden (75%) and closed from Bulgaria (13%). The Eurostat report specifies that 79% of companies use the cloud for e-mail (Italy is first in this ranking with 96%), 68% for storage and 58% for security applications. Important but lower numbers for software applications for more advanced purposes, such as finance / accounting (48%), CRM (27%) and corporate resource planning (24%).
“The cloud is a revolution that hasn’t stopped benefiting yet. It is not a simple technology: it is a new way of innovating for businesses and people” – he claims Federico Soncini Sessa, CEO of Mia-Platform – 100% Italian tech company specialized in the construction of cloud-native digital platforms.
What are the benefits of cloud computing for businesses and individuals?
In a hyper-competitive and dynamic market, companies need to be able to evolve in a timely manner to adapt to market changes and the ever-changing needs of consumers. To overcome this challenge they must be able to rely on innovative, reliable and safe technological supports. In the field of Cloud Computing, new technologies are emerging such as APIs, microservices and digital platforms that support companies in the digital transformation path, and help them to effectively face the challenges of the market. Inspired by the “Composability” paradigm, these new technologies can be assembled, integrated and reused just like Lego bricks, allowing companies to be faster and more creative in releasing new applications and digital services, with cost savings and development times.
In which industry is cloud computing most active?
To maintain a solid competitive advantage, companies are transforming themselves from mere consumers of technological tools to creators of new technologies. For several years the financial world has exponentially increased investments in digitalin the wake of the change that has gone through the sector with the introduction of the PSD2 legislation on payment services, which entered into force in 2016 and implemented by the Member States two years later.
According to the ABI Lab Report of March 2022 on the main trends in progress in banking sector in Italy, Cloud Computing is considered a strategic driver by the major players in the market, which in the course of 2022 will be able to dedicate 64% of the total IT investment expenditure to the Cloud (total expenditure equal to 5.3 billion euros). The PSD2 regulation has also triggered a process of continuous innovation and rapid integration between the players in the ecosystem, which sees traditional institutions in the sector collaborate closely with new fintech players, who integrate their products within the offerings of incumbent companies with a view to Composability.
There is a lot of talk about 5G and how it can be applied to cloud computing. Together, do these two technologies have the potential to remodel complex and distributed systems?
5G allows a wider distribution of Cloud-based systems and microservices on the network, and consequently creates a greater proximity of services to the consumer, with ever faster response and use times. Thanks to 5G, it becomes easier to evolve and distribute a cloud-based microservices architecture on the network, with significant advantages in terms of speed and efficiency in the provision of proximity services to the consumer.
Can the combination of artificial intelligence and cloud computing in the IT infrastructure increase productivity?
Artificial intelligence can increase the productivity of IT infrastructure thanks to its capabilities for automating repetitive and complex tasks. This allows companies to be more efficient and faster in transforming to respond to market changes, and to enhance data analysis capabilities to support strategic decisions. To give some examples in the field of software development, thanks to AI it is possible to: increase the productivity of development teams by automating applications with RPA (Robotic Process Automation) systems; modernize corporate legacy systems, adopting Low-Code / No-Code logic (development methodologies that allow you to develop applications with little or no coding); assembling packages of software components in an intelligent and automated way for the creation of new applications.
Flexibility, security, access ability from anywhere in the world in self-service mode, tailor made prices according to the required needs: these are just some of the advantages related to cloud computing and the infinite possibilities that providers have to provide remotely accessible services and significantly accelerate time-to – business market. In 25 years, cloud computing has had a radical impact in the IT universe by rethinking corporate IT infrastructures: let’s see 10 curiositiesaccording to a survey conducted by Espresso Communication for Mia-Platform on the main international newspapers, which have marked the history and evolution of cloud computing to date.
A SEA OF DATA According to the American company Cybersecurity Ventures, more than 200 zettabytes (the equivalent of 1 trillion bytes) managed by public and private providers will be stored by 2025. In addition, from 2022, more than 60% of corporate data will be stored in the cloud.
FIRST TIME If the prof. Ramnath Chellappa was the first person to bring the term cloud computing to public prominence, at the end of 1996 this term had also appeared in an internal Compaq document written by George Favaloro and Sean O’Sullivan.
ITALY FIFTH IN EUROPE 60% of Italian companies declare that they use cloud services, a figure higher than the European average calculated by Eurostat (42%) which places Italy in 5th place ahead of Germany (40%) and France (30%). Sweden leads (75%) while Bulgaria closes (13%).
GREEN CLOUD An Accenture study found that companies migrating from physical servers to the cloud generate a 65% reduction in energy consumption and an 84% reduction in carbon emissions. Computing centers move to colder areas or even underwater.
STARS AND STRIPES According to Gartner, the country with the highest cloud spending is the United States: in 2022, 14% of total IT spending will be allocated to cloud services. The US also has the largest number of data centers in the world with 2,653, followed by the UK (451) and Germany (442).
WHO EARN MORE The financial, insurance and banking sectors represent the main industry that generates revenues from cloud services with 25%. In second place are Information Technology services, while telecommunications closes the podium of Grandview Research.
CLOUD EMPLOYEES E-mail, file storage services, use of software, security, CRM but not only. On average, a company employee uses 36 cloud-based services in their daily routine.
ETHERAL AS A CLOUD Why did you opt for the term cloud? This word was chosen to indicate a mass, apparently impalpable and ethereal, located in a distant dimension. Just like a cloud.
CLOUD GAMING Business also in video games. According to a Newzoo report, there are 31.7 million players worldwide who will spend $ 2.4 billion on cloud-based services and games by the end of 2022. Europe is worth 30% of this market behind Asia and the Pacific. with 36.5%.
SMART WORKING ACCELERATOR Research by the American staffing consulting and research firm Robert Half states that one in three smart workers would rather quit their jobs than return to the office. Cloud computing technology has made remote working more accessible.