Cloud remains important as ever as AI makes gains in the industry. Other key factors leading to the continued importance of the cloud include the increasing adoption of cloud services by businesses for cost-efficiency and scalability, advancements in cloud technologies, the growth of big data and analytics, and the rising need for remote work solutions.
According to a Market.us report, the Global Cloud Computing Market size is expected to be worth around $2,974.6 Billion by 2033 from $629.5 Billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 16.8% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2033.
Current trends include the rise of hybrid and multi-cloud strategies, increased focus on cloud security and compliance, growth of edge computing, advancements in AI and machine learning integration, and the development of serverless computing.
Here, experts share their predictions for cloud in 2025:
In the wake of major vendor outages such as CrowdStrike, CIOs and regulators are both focusing on cloud concentration risk: Truly business-critical applications need to be resilient against both regional and cloud-wide failures, which requires a fully distributed database architecture supporting seamless failover from one cloud region to another, even across clouds. Expect regulators to start scrutinizing cloud provider dependencies at the application level.—Phillip Merrick, co-founder and CEO of pgEdge
Thanks to AI, hybrid cloud is here to stay: Only about two years ago, it was a very “cloud only” environment with some companies ready to get rid of their data centers altogether. The reality is, many businesses still have over half their data living outside of the cloud—and it will likely stay there based on what makes the most sense for their use case (in high stakes environments such as healthcare, for example). Therefore, hybrid cloud strategies are alive and well, especially with the proliferation of AI. Organizations can maintain on-premises GPU infrastructure for consistent, high-priority workloads while using cloud GPUs for burst capacity. This avoids complete lock-in to cloud providers' premium GPU pricing and grants better control over total cost of ownership for expensive AI infrastructure.—Haseeb Budhani, CEO and co-founder of Rafay Systems
GreenOps will grab a greater foothold: Statistics show that the public cloud now has a larger carbon footprint than even the airline industry, and a single public data center uses as much electricity as 50,000 homes. Amid new regulations, particularly in Europe, coupled with consumer pressure, we predict more interest in the concept of GreenOps. Put simply, GreenOps is the practice of minimizing a cloud environment’s carbon footprint by efficiently using cloud resources. This can only be done with visibility into an organization’s true cloud spend and a deeper understanding of how resources are allocated. Optimizing cloud use to reduce waste will be a key part of this puzzle, leading organizations and individuals to take a closer look at their data usage.—CloudZero's SVP of Engineering Bill Buckley
Cloud-only analytics fade as enterprises shift to cost-effective, predictable solutions: Enterprises are on the verge of a major shift in their approach to data analytics, as cloud-only solutions face increasing scrutiny due to opaque billing practices from providers, often leading to unexpected expenses that undermine financial planning. Currently, more than half of companies identify cloud spend as a top concern, yet lack the visibility needed to truly control or optimize these costs. Without clear insights into actual usage and application requirements, businesses are essentially "driving blind," much like driving without a gauge for fuel mileage. In the next 12-18 months, this lack of transparency is likely to drive a substantial movement toward hybrid and alternative models that promise greater predictability and control. Until cloud providers deliver the transparency needed for accurate spending oversight, cloud-only models will take a back seat as businesses seek sustainable, controlled solutions that allow them to manage and optimize their usage effectively.—Ocient CEO Chris Gladwin
Cloud value optimization: The focus will shift from "cloud-first" to "cloud-right" as organizations demand deeper insights into workload economics across their entire cloud fabric. Understanding unit costs - especially in private cloud environments—will become crucial for strategic decision-making. We'll see the emergence of new metrics and KPIs designed specifically to measure cloud ROI and effectiveness across hybrid environments.—Kyle Campos, chief technology and product officer, cloudbolt
Scalability and agility demands will push cloud-native analytics to the forefront: By 2025, cloud-native architectures will be the go-to choice for businesses looking to keep pace with the need for agility and scalability. As intelligence-supported decision-making takes center stage across industries, cloud-native analytics will lead the way. Companies are increasingly adopting multi-cloud strategies to maintain flexibility and avoid vendor lock-in, and analytics platforms will need to support seamless interoperability across different cloud providers. Users will look for hyperscale-neutral solutions that integrate effortlessly with major players like AWS, GCP, and Azure, while also handling AI/ML/Generative workloads with ease. Cloud-native is set to become the foundation for analytics in the next phase of business intelligence.—Trevor Schulze, chief digital and information officer at Alteryx