2024 Cloud Computing Predictions: Repatriation, Mainframes, AI, Security, More

The end of each year marks a prime opportunity for looks ahead, and these cloud computing predictions for 2024 are no exception.

If we had to put it briefly, we’d say get ready, because the coming 12 months will be big for the cloud sector and its channel partners.

Consider this: 2024 is only four years out from what Gartner predicts will emerge as perhaps cloud computing’s most significant year (other than its inception). By 2028, the research firm says, cloud will shift from acting as a technology disruptor to finding its place as an indispensable part of a business’ ability to compete. As evidence, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services will have exceeded $1 trillion by 2028, analysts forecast. That’s up from what Gartner projects will amount to $679 billion in the same spending next year.

“Organizations are actively investing in cloud technology due to its potential to foster innovation, create market disruptions and enhance customer retention … to gain a competitive edge,” said Milind Govekar, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “While many organizations have started to seize the technical advantages of cloud, only a few have unlocked its full potential in supporting business transformation. As a result, organizations are using the cloud to launch a new wave of disruption driven by artificial intelligence, enabling them to unlock business value at scale.”

Gartner's Milind Govekar

Right now, most cloud users see the technology as merely a platform, per Gartner. They’re relying on it either as a way to disrupt other technologies or to enable certain capabilities. That will change, if Gartner’s cloud computing predictions come true. To that point, by 2028, more than one-half of enterprises will lean on industry cloud platforms to accelerate business initiatives. That will turn cloud into a necessity, according to Gartner.

With four years left before those predicted shifts come to fruition, other transformations will have to come about in cloud computing first. Some of those will come to the forefront in 2024. See our slideshow above for what partners and their customers need to know on the cloud front in the year ahead.