Cloud computing services are revolutionizing the computing industry. In a very short space of time, companies have migrated more and more of their infrastructure and IT services onto cloud computing platforms. So much so that according to recent studies a significant number of companies now rank cloud computing investments as a top-three priority when deciding where to spend their money. Cloud services certainly offer many benefits to companies, but they also require a lot of expertise and investment to implement; an investment many companies don't have available. Managed IT services, however, allow a company to outsource the deployment and management of cloud infrastructure to specialists, granting them all the benefits, but at a fraction of the initial investment cost.Cloud business process services (BPaaS) The business process as a service is a massively growing market expected to exceed US$71 billion in the next few years, with cloud-based IT services overtaking traditional IT spending for the first time in 2020. BPaaS is the utilization of cloud computing services (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) to automate your business operations and processes. Automating your business processes through cloud computing services comes with several advantages that can have a significant impact on your business' bottom-line. It allows you to reduce costs through easy and simple deployment, optimization of the processes, and wraps it all in an easy-to-predict monthly fee.Cloud application infrastructure services (PaaS) The PaaS market is a thriving industry with no signs of stopping. Over 350 vendors now occupy the PaaS space, and all signs point to that number doubling over the coming years. Another trend in PaaS is the transition to, and implementation of, new technologies targeted at a cloud-native design philosophy. The result of this is that the distinctive lines between cloud computing and 'computing' are merging and blurring, with what was once defined as a cloud computing service becoming the default usage form. This also means enterprise IT departments are witnessing a change in their role from a static delivery role to a dynamic service-based provider role. Cloud system infrastructure services (IaaS) Cloud computing infrastructure is a growing trend in business infrastructure delivery, but the transition to cloud-based infrastructure can be costly and expensive. As a result, this has led to an increase in hybrid cloud services where companies can move their infrastructure to the cloud piece-by-piece in a staged style that fits with their business needs.

View of lights on Earth from outer space; image by NASA, via Unsplash.com.

Another important consideration when moving your infrastructure into the cloud is data security and legal compliance (eg., GDPR). As the services become more appealing, businesses are rushing into transitions without fully considering the security and legal impact cloud computing may have. Cloud archival With more data being stored digitally, and even more in the cloud, the need for good backup systems and archival systems is growing. Businesses have an ever-growing need to store data in a reliable, secure, and easy to recover way. Cloud archival services allow a company to back-up their information off-site and therefore protected from localized incidents such as flooding or fire, without the costly investment of buying their own data center space, hardware, and the headache of complex configuration. Final remarksCloud computing and managed IT services are a huge growth area throughout the business world. They offer many advantages to companies looking to be on the cutting edge of technology, but it is also a fast-growing and changing field. Keeping apprised of the latest trends can present a number of challenges to business leaders looking to provide the best services for their company, but they are challenges worth meeting if they want their business to stay ahead of the curve moving forward.