7 enterprise cloud strategy trends for 2023

The multicloud hybrid-edge continuum will impact CIOs and their enterprises by forcing them to address several key issues holistically, such as determining the right operating model, integrating and managing different technology platforms, finding the right talent, and managing costs, Sengupta says. “CIOs will need to develop strategies and roadmaps to transition to hybrid cloud environments, while also fostering a culture of agility and continuous innovation within their organizations,” he adds.

5. Reaping the rewards of cloud maturity

After years of aggressive adoption, the cloud is now firmly embedded in the IT and enterprise mainstream. “Cloud maturity is not something an organization gains overnight, but when taken seriously, it becomes a distinct competitive advantage,” says Drew Firment, vice president of enterprise strategies and chief cloud strategist at online course and certification firm Pluralsight.

Firment believes that cloud maturity typically starts with creating a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) to establish a clear business intent, and gain experience with a single cloud before adding others. “Once an organization masters one cloud environment and is firmly established in the cloud-native maturity level, they can begin using other cloud providers for specific workloads,” he explains.

For example, Firment says, a customer service application might be built on Amazon Web Services while leveraging artificial intelligence services from Google Cloud Platform. “The goal is to align the strengths of each cloud provider to better support your specific business or customer needs.”

A purposeful and deliberate approach to a multicloud strategy gives CIOs and their organizations great power, Firment says. “While many technologists in 2023 will be focused on investments in multicloud tools like Kubernetes and Terraform, leaders will be focused on investing in the multicloud fluency of their workforce.”

6. The rise of FinOps and cloud cost optimization

Cloud FinOps offers a governance and strategic framework for organizations to manage and optimize their cloud expenditures transparently and effectively.

“By implementing a holistic FinOps strategy, an organization can drive financial accountability by increasing the visibility of cloud spending across the organization, reducing redundant services, and forecasting future cloud expenditures, allowing for more accurate planning,” says Douglas Vargo, vice president, emerging technologies practice lead at IT and business services firm CGI. “Driving more visibility and fiscal accountability around cloud costs will enable organizations to refocus that spending on innovation initiatives and realize more business value for their cloud investments.”

Organizations that effectively deploy FinOps governance and strategies will reduce cloud costs by as much as 30%, Vargo predicts, enabling them to re-invest those savings into innovation initiatives. “An effectively executed FinOps framework will improve the ROI of cloud spend and open up funding for other expenditures such as increased innovation funding,” he adds.

7. Hyperscalers adjust to slower growth

The three major hyperscalers — Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform — have grown rapidly over the past few years, observes Bernie Hoecker, partner and enterprise cloud transformation leader with technology research and advisory firm ISG. Meanwhile, many enterprises have accelerated their digital transformation to meet the emerging demands created by remote work teams, as well as to provide customers with improved digital experiences.

“In many cases, however, enterprises overinvested in IT and cloud capabilities,” he notes, “and they’re now focused on optimizing the investments they’ve made rather than moving new workloads to the cloud.”

Yet enterprises weren’t the only overinvestors. “The Big Three hyperscalers also are going through some rightsizing after each of them overhired during the pandemic, and are now forced to deal with some bloat in their workforce,” Hoecker says. He reports that Amazon recently cut 9,000 more jobs in addition to the 18,000 they announced in January. Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees in January and Google, among other cost-cutting measures, has dismissed 12,000 staffers.