Cloud Analysis

Cloud Database Of 2013 – Trends And Predictions

Cloud Database of 2013 – Trends and Predictions

Pardon the pun, but the cloud has been on the horizon of tech heads for a number of years and is finally having its time in the sun. The advantages that it bestows on its users is clear for all to see and those who had the foresight to get involved with cloud computing when it was in its infancy are reaping the rewards for their vision. However, now that the cloud is on everyone’s lips, where to from here?

Power to the People

Whereas the average Joe has very little requirement for the scalability and more industry oriented advantages of the cloud, 2013 is going to see the cloud become a much larger part of people’s lives. The cloud has been limited thus far to corporate clients and those in the tech industry who realize how revolutionary the cloud really is – that is all about to change.

Many consumers don’t even realize that they have dealt with the cloud due to cloud based services such as iTunes, Gmail and Dropbox for example. And if the man in the street has even heard of the cloud, they would be hard pressed to be able to tell you anything about it. That is all about to change.

Internet providers are going to start providing free cloud storage for clients and once clients start using the cloud and see the benefits of global accessibility, unlimited storage that never fails, and security of data, the cloud will be as common to users as social media.

Parting of the Cloud

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) which is dominated by Amazon and Rackspace are using IaaS as a launching pad to provide services from other, higher altitude layers of the cloud. Since other cloud offerings such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), its relatively new associate – Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) are much higher margin than IaaS, so this is the space the big players want to be and want their clients to be.

This trend will continue to evolve in 2013. The big question though is how quickly clients will move up the cloud layers. I anticipate it will be easier to get the clients to move up the cloud then what it was to get them on the cloud in the first place.

Databases on the Cloud

A new relational database developed for the cloud and with backward compatibility and support for SQL will start to gain traction. This concept is being worked on by a number of parties as a database that requires minimal administration and can be easily scaled in the cloud yet still is SQL-centric is a logical evolution. Of course there will be different offerings and it will take a while for a winner or winners to be crowned but this trend is ready to be unleashed.

2013 stands to be another interesting year for the cloud. Watching the cloud drift will definitely be more interesting than watching the grass grow.

By Sharon Robinson

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