Top five cloud predictions for 2017

Unclouding to continue, claims Nuvias' Karl Roe

1. Unclouding

We have all witnessed the cloud rush of recent years, where organisations have been encouraged to move their workloads to the cloud. However, there is a growing recognition among end users and the channel that cloud services are not the be-all and end-all; and certainly not always the most cost-effective way to deliver all their IT workloads.

In several cases, the promised cost savings customers thought they were getting haven't materialised - in fact they get a shock when they see their bill after not being properly advised on their long-term costs. Many resellers have been caught up in the hype surrounding cloud services, and decisions were made without the channel or end user understanding the implications.

Next year we will see end users working with their resellers to move workloads out of the cloud and back on-premise, and in the future, we will see a more educated, sensible approach where cloud isn't the default option for hosting all workloads.

Which, in turn, will lead to…

2. Non-clouding

In the future, resellers, distributors and end users will become better educated to make the right decision regarding which workloads should sit in the cloud, as opposed to moving everything over wholesale.

Instead of jumping on the cloud bandwagon, people will be more concerned about which carriage of the bandwagon they're going to join.

3. Voice as a service becomes mainstream

Voice over IP (VoIP) has become increasingly prevalent in the enterprise, with services such as Skype growing in popularity. The end-of-life of integrated services digital network (ISDN) and public switched telephone network (PSTN) will mean we'll start seeing true mainstream adoption of VoIP, not just in the enterprise but in SMBs too.

Telcos such as BT will drive more visibility around the fact that they see a recognised end-of-life approaching for ISDN/PSTN services and that they will need to be replaced. VoIP services will start to become the norm, and users will start consuming it as a service.

4. Real time interaction comes of age

Instant Messaging (IM) and real-time interaction will start to replace email.

Services such as Slack and Microsoft Team are becoming prevalent in the workplace and employees are increasingly choosing IM over email. Email just doesn't work for us anymore; having presence and real-time interaction on projects will become the norm.

Replacing email as the main form of communication in organisations, next year will see IM take off among businesses. That interaction can easily then be converged with voice at a click of a button, going back to the emergence of VoIP.

5. Everybody API

It's becoming clearer by the day that being good at integrating systems in the old-fashioned way isn't enough anymore. True API integration is the new value-add.

Moving forward, any reseller that wants to add true value to their customer base will have to have API skills and they will have to have some element of development in what they offer. It might not be pure coding, it might be the ability to implement and integrate systems using APIs that delivers that single pane of glass experience.

Karl Roe is vice president of service and cloud solutions Nuvias Group