Enterprises have embraced multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies for long; Gartner predicts that cloud technology will make up 14% of the global enterprise IT spending1 by 2024. And cloud migration is rising, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. A PwC survey2 reveals that COVID-19 accelerated companies' digitization timelines, with cloud spending expected to increase by 20% over the past year.
As more enterprises adopt remote-work models, this trend will continue, demanding scalable, reliable, and cost-effective off-premise technology services that will enhance organizations' computing capabilities. The work-from-anywhere (WFX) workstyles will also need an efficient network to connect people with business-critical applications across multiple channels, allowing effective communications across multiple end-user industries.
Let's take a deeper look at some of the major trends shaping cloud migration and how this technology will play a fundamental role in enabling organizations to evolve and become more resilient in the future.
Statistics show that post-pandemic, most businesses are prioritizing their IT investments in cloud-based applications for communication and collaboration. This uptrend in cloud migration can be attributed to the evolving workplace culture where most teams are now working from home. More than half of the workforce in 42% of the organizations we surveyed with our partner QAdvisors are working from home. In 26% of the companies, 25-50% of the workforce follow the WFH model on a part-time or full-time basis, while 15% of the workplaces have fully remote teams with no physical offices.
This workplace evolution is also changing the communications and collaboration landscape. Organizations are moving to the next generation of cloud apps that offer effective communication, efficient collaboration, and customer engagement. Enterprise-focused cloud communication solutions such as UCaaS, CCaaS, and CX are converging with collaboration solutions, enabling enterprises to add real-time communication features to their own productivity apps.
The cloud technology that you see today is an amalgamation of all the trends that led it here. We may see four substantial trends that will shape the cloud industry in 2021 and beyond.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation across all industries, especially regulated sectors such as financial services and healthcare. Organizations adopted and will continue to adopt cloud technologies to facilitate remote work environments. In a recent State of Customer Engagement survey by Twilio, 92% of the enterprises reported that the pandemic increased cloud adoption.
Remote-work environments will also need robust customer engagement technologies to ensure teams working from their homes have the right capabilities to offer a seamless experience to their customers. The same Twilio survey highlights that 95% of the enterprises plan to increase or maintain their spending on customer engagement technologies post-pandemic.
The ability to work from anywhere will also lead to growth in communication channels to keep the workforce informed anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Enterprises in the Twilio survey report adding an average of almost four new communication channels this year by prioritizing cloud and mobile technologies.
A market report from Mordor Intelligence reveals that programmable communications such as CPaaS models will play a significant role in enterprise internal communication and customer engagement strategies. With a CAGR of over 33%, the CPaaS market is expected to reach $23 billion by 2025.
The cloud communication industry is dynamic and growing at an unprecedented pace. At this point, the business leaders and decision-makers must keep up with the speed of industry, trends, and knowledge in the expansive domain of cloud computing.
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