In recent years, cloud technology has taken centre stage in business strategy as enterprises seek greater business agility and improved operational efficiency. While there has been a steady uptake of cloud services over the past few years, the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated in­terest and investment in the technology. To address new challenges such as the abrupt shift to remote work and collaborations wi­th new partners and suppliers, organisatio­ns adopted a multicloud strategy for flexibility and scalability, which helped them effectively navigate the demands of the new normal. Busi­nesses are not only adopting the technology for cost savings or business continuity, but also to drive growth, facilitate transformation, enhance security and foster innovations. Cloud is increasingly being viewed as the catalyst for the digital transformation initiatives of enterprises.

A look at the key adoption trends, sector-wise use cases, challenges and future outlook of cloud technology from an enterprise perspective…

Adoption trends

Enterprises have witnessed a surge in the adoption of cloud technologies in their efforts to expedite the delivery of new pro­ducts and services to the market throu­gh digital channels. Massive investments in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), edge computing, blockchain, internet of things (IoT) and immersive technologies are amplifying the role of cloud services in businesses. Enterprise adoption of 5G networks is further accelerating the proliferation of cloud in various applications. According to industry re­por­ts, software-as-a-service (SaaS) remains the largest component within the cloud services market, followed by infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service (PaaS). Businesses are increasingly ad­opting PaaS tools to modernise their legacy applications to make them cloud-native, highly scalable and flexible as part of their digital transformation initiatives.

Cloud technology is gaining traction among small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as they realign strategies to ex­plo­re new avenues. According to a recent stu­dy conducted by Microsoft, SMBs in India are exhibiting the highest level of op­timism regarding future cloud adoption. Curren­tly, 27 per cent of Indian SMBs are predominantly cloud-based, a figure anticipated to represent the global average wi­th­in the next two or three years. Small bu­sine­sses with limited resources are increasingly employing on-demand, pay-per-use cloud solutions for storage and to improve bu­si­ness capabilities with SaaS. In addition, government schemes are creating the perfect ecosystem for cloud adoption among mi­­cro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). For instance, the Digital MSME programme offers these enterprises a subsidy of up to Rs 100,000 to encourage cloud usage for ICT applications.

While SMBs and start-ups opt for clo­ud-first or cloud-native set-ups, larger bu­siness conglomerates are adopting mul­ti-cl­o­ud and specialised industry-specific cl­o­ud solutions. According to a Vanson Bour­ne-VMware study, 71 per cent of In­dian enterprises recognise multicloud ar­chi­te­ctures as being crucial for business success, particularly for organisations in the ad­vanced stages of their cloud journey. Mul­ticloud strategies give enterprises greater control over the storage and utilisation of their data, while also allowing them to control the costs of cloud operations by leveraging services from different provi­ders based on their needs.

Use cases across verticals

BFSI

The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry has experienced a significant increase in online banking activity, especially in the post-pandemic era. Cloud computing plays a critical role by enabling enterprises in the sector to drive innovation, reduce costs, increase fl­e­xibility and enhance customer relationships. It facilitates various use cases such as funds transfer capabilities, payment gateways, unified customer experiences and di­gital wallets, enabling the sector to leverage the full potential of cloud technology. It also provides banking firms with greater levels of fault tolerance, protection of data, disaster recovery mechanisms and the ability to future-proof their operations.

HDFC Bank has partnered with Mi­cro­soft to consolidate and modernise its enterprise data landscape, enabling the scaling of information management capabilities across enterprise reporting and advanced analytics through AI applications. Similarly, YES Bank has partnered with Microsoft to leverage its Azure platform and launch a mobile application. By adopting a cloud-native approach, the app will run on Microsoft’s enterprise-grade cloud platform, enabling YES Bank to scale up its services and establish a unified platform for merchants and ecosystem partners. Axis Bank has employed Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate its digital transformation initiatives. As part of a multi-year agreement, Axis Bank will utilise AWS services such as containers, databases and compute resources to build a portfolio of innovative digital financial services in order to deliver advanced banking experiences to customers.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing companies are increasingly implementing cloud-based solutions within their smart factory set-ups to efficiently store and process large data sets obtained from industrial IoT applications and other advanced technologies. Cloud solutions can easily be integrated into various areas of manufacturing operations, including supply chain management, new product development, inventory management and customer service.

Dabur has chosen the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to achieve cost savings, gain in-depth visibility of business functi­ons, enhance security measures and meet environmental, social and governance targets. Similarly, Apollo Tyres Limited has appointed SAP to migrate Apollo’s digital core onto SAP’s cloud platform, facilitating the company’s transformation into an intelligent and sustainable enterprise. Li­ke­wise, Procter & Gamble has employ­ed Mi­crosoft’s cloud computing services to optimise manufacturing operations, expa­nd its digital manufacturing visibility and improve productivity to reduce costs. The Mahindra Group is also migrating its business-critical applications onto Google Clo­ud and strengthening its DevSecOps ca­pabilities to fuel future growth.

Healthcare

Cloud technology has gained immense po­pularity in healthcare, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. As per industry estimates, the global cloud computing market for the healthcare industry is expected to reach $25.54 billion by 2024. Cloud technology has become indispensable for he­al­thcare enterprises, enabling them to deliver an optimal patient-centred experience. It is extensively used in e-health services, which involve providing healthcare electronically through the internet. It also plays a vital role in drug recovery, management of in­formation systems and the secure handling of personal health records.

Apollo Hospitals has digitised information systems across its 72 hospitals by emp­loying the services of Nutanix Cloud. They have implemented hospital information systems, electronic medical recor­ds and a pic­ture archiving and commu­ni­cati­on system to improve patient flows and enhan­ce clinical efficiency. The heal­th­care giant also collaborated with Goo­gle to de­velop a clinical intelligence platform that utilises Google Cloud Techno­logies. This platform enables doctors to not only ad­d­ress common disorders but also tackle rare diseases. In March 2023, Dr Lal PathLabs Limited appointed Ky­n­dryl to manage its IT infrastructure stack, which encompasses multiple cloud platforms that are crucial to the co­mpany’s digital transformation endeavours.

Education

A cloud platform facilitates convenient ac­cess to educational resources for both students and teachers, fostering enhanced collaboration among learners across the world. Cloud platforms offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional systems because there is no need for expensive servers, high-tech devices and stationery to access educational resources. Cloud technology plays a crucial role in providing institutions with the flexibility to access resources on demand, especially if learning unexpectedly shifts from classes to homes. The disruptions caused by the pandemic have highlighted the importance of such flexibility.

Automotive

Cloud adoption in the automotive industry has surged with the emergence of connected vehicles, autonomous cars and smart automotive features. Manufacturers around the world are now investing in clo­ud solutions to enhance the driving ex­pe­rience by enabling communication bet­we­en vehicles and facilitating accident prevention. These cloud solutions play a vital role in managing the continuous flow of data from vehicle sensors.

Challenges and future outlook

In a post-pandemic, mid-digital-transformation landscape, businesses are placing significant emphasis on transitioning to cl­oud-based services. However, as these systems continue to advance and grow in complexity, enterprises face various implementation and security challenges that impede large-scale cloud deployment. The migration from legacy platforms to cloud servers often brings about interoperability challenges. Furthermore, in multicloud set-ups, each public cloud vendor operates through its own portal, application programming interfaces, and management processes, which adds further complexity to the overall management of the infrastructure. Cybersecurity is challenging enough on legacy systems, and the issue becomes even more complex when data, applications and platforms are distributed across multiple locations, such as data centres and multiple cloud servers. Further, data sovereignty regulations are a commonly cited barrier to adopting cloud solutions. The issue of vendor lock-in continues to be a significant concern for many companies.

Initial investments in cloud technology were driven by the need to address disruptions caused by the pandemic, such as re­mote working and achieving immediate cost savings. However, the current emphasis is on fine-tuning cloud evaluation models and exploring their potential to enhance customer experience and diversify revenue sources. According to Gartner, the degree of cloud adoption by organisations is expected to reach 75 per cent by 2026, with a focus on embracing digital transformation models built upon cloud as the foundational platform. This new perspective positions cloud technology as a fundamental pillar of modern business strategy, driving growth, transformation and innovation.