While the origin story of the term "cloud computing" is still not set in stone, many of us agree that "the cloud", as we currently think about it, "began" sometime in 2006. This was the year Amazon launched a number of web-based services including storage, with Google and others quickly following suit. Over the past 15 years, the cloud has moved from toddlerhood through awkward adolescence to a more mature place. In fact, new research indicates that 50% of business workloads are expected to run in the cloud by 2023, up from 40% in 2021.

Unfortunately, many of the issues that have plagued the cloud’s early childhood still continue to this day. Security, visibility, governance and skilled labor to manage all of the moving parts continue to be difficult, and after a decade plus in the cloud, an estimated 30% of spending on cloud infrastructure is wasted. Some of the trends we expect to see play out in 2022 include: