The Impact of AI on Cloud Computing and the Tools to Support It
Since its inception, cloud computing has significantly evolved, becoming a popular model thanks to remote work accelerating its adoption and development. Like artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing is still relatively new. Its infrastructure only began developing in the late 1990s early 2000s as Salesforce and later Amazon utilized the Internet to deliver their cloud software programs to end users.
Large organizations followed suit, increasing dramatically after Amazon launched its Amazon Web Services, which offered online services to other websites or clients. Google launched Google Docs soon after, further fueling the flames of popularity. Though, as of 2010, cloud computing hadn’t yet reached its peak but that would change the following year.
Until 2011, private clouds were mainly used, which were dedicated to a single organization and very underdeveloped. In 2011, the concept of hybrid clouds, which would allow for interoperability between a private and public cloud, began to rise. Apple’s iCloud was launched during this time, alongside Oracle Cloud, two examples of hybrid clouds.
By 2014, cloud computing was still in its infancy, with only basic features available. However, thanks to application developers, it was steadily increasing in use and popularity.
Cloud computing really exploded in growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. It helped enable a smooth transition to remote work, becoming an essential part of business operations for companies with large global footprints. Employees were now able to work at any location with solid security measures and fast data transfers, reshaping business functionality.
The growing use of work-from-home (WFH) policies during COVID truly kicked off a new frontier of innovation within cloud computing. Now, cloud computing is undergoing a second transformation as the increased adoption of AI is revealing new opportunities to improve cloud capabilities.
The Synergy Between AI and Cloud Computing
The recent convergence of AI and cloud computing has revolutionized numerous market sectors. Cloud computing has enabled widespread access and scalability for AI applications, pushing the boundaries of what cloud services can achieve. With the introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, cloud providers have begun leveraging their advancements to drive new opportunities.
Tim Potter, a principal with Deloitte Consulting, told Information Week that “AI is accelerating the adoption of cloud computing while enabling cloud providers to enhance platform solutions and services. Most AI solutions are either services offered directly by hyperscalers or solutions built on top of a hyperscaler’s cloud infrastructure.”
Hyperscalers, or hyperscale clouds, are cloud service providers with an extensive network of data centers and a wide range of services that can support the needs of enterprise applications and massive user bases. Technology giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft typically offer hyperscaler clouds. These three were some prominent names that rapidly developed their own generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT after the latter exploded in popularity.
Many of these cloud providers have a variety of ready-to-use AI-based solutions that customers can implement for business needs, like their chatbots. Cloud computing has become critical in democratizing access to AI technologies over the last year.
Microsoft, and other hyperscalers, have been providing customers with on-demand access to powerful computational resources that utilize coveted AI components, like Nvidia’s GPUs. No expensive hardware or specialized expertise is required to begin leveraging this technology thanks to the cloud.
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet had seen 17%, 31%, and 28% growth in the first three months of 2024 respectively for their cloud computing solutions.
"Looking across AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, it is clear that two things are happening simultaneously – AI is contributing to growth, but also the rest of cloud spending is accelerating,” said D.A. Davidson & Co analyst Gil Luria.
Reuters went on to report that Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that more than 60% of funded generative AI startups and nearly 90% of genAI unicorns were using Google Cloud during an earnings call.
"There is an inevitable and continuous migration of workloads to the cloud and consolidation of IT spending going towards large platforms, including the hyperscalers," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Rishi Jaluria.
In turn, AI has been able to enhance automation, decision-making, and scalability in cloud computing. AI and cloud computing have been able to work synergistically to provide customers with an extended portfolio of benefits. Even the components that power them have been seeing amazing advancements in turn.
The Products Powering New Cloud and AI Endeavors
The tech sector will continue to see monumental changes over the coming years, with new developments pushing the boundaries of what is possible. To support these endeavors, robust tools will be required to handle the computational processing demands of cloud computing and AI.
- The Internet of Things
IoT is “a network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances, and other physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity, allowing them to collect and share data.” Since its inception, IoT devices have been used in dozens of industries, from manufacturing to farming. These require “edge computing” systems or placing key decision-making capabilities close to devices under management rather than back in the cloud data center. However, data collected through an IoT network can be seamlessly uploaded to the cloud to support organizational goals.
With AI cloud services built into SaaS applications, businesses can enable their IoT devices to learn from data and their experiences over time, which allows them to improve. Through an IoT operations dashboard or edge intelligence, companies can better empower their staff and operations through efficient scalability and cloud-based monitoring.
Multinational digital communications technology conglomerate Cisco offers Edge Intelligence and its IoT Operations Dashboard to help digitize industrial operations securely. Thanks to built-in integrations with leading cloud providers, Cisco's Edge Intelligence solution allows users to move data into the cloud quickly.
- Data Centers
Data centers are an unseen but critical support pillar for cloud computing and AI. Data centers are “the physical location that stores computing machines and related hardware equipment. It contains the computing infrastructure that IT systems require, such as servers, data storage drives, and network equipment. It is the physical facility that stores any company’s digital data.”
In the cloud computing and AI age, many organizations do not have devoted servers but pay providers who possess and maintain these physical hardware spaces. These massive data centers allow developers to build and run applications without managing the infrastructure. However, as AI usage grows, the demand for data centers continues to increase.
Data centers must be equipped with the latest technology to ensure efficiency and functionality under high demand loads. Cisco offers several solutions for data centers that help keep operations running no matter the workload.
One such solution is HyperFlex, which allows for agile infrastructure tailored to hybrid operations--organizations that use data centers and cloud computing. HyperFlex helps companies build infrastructure wherever the data needs to be stored without compromising its high-performance capabilities.
- Network Attached Storage
Network-attached storage (NAS) is “dedicated file storage that enables multiple users and heterogeneous client devices to retrieve data from centralized disk capacity. Users on a local area network (LAN) access the shared storage via a standard Ethernet connection.” It has become popular thanks to its accessibility, low cost, high capacity, ability to consolidate storage in one place, and support for cloud tiers and tasks.
NAS enables users to collaborate and share data more effectively, especially for teams requiring remote access and working in different time zones. The NAS environment acts as the foundation for a personal or private cloud. In addition, according to TechTarget, “most NAS vendors partner with cloud storage providers to give customers the flexibility of redundant backup.”
NAS can handle everything from consumers using a NAS system to manage data files for a Smart TV, security systems, and other consumer-based IoT products. Likewise, NAS can help large enterprises leverage server-based applications, including enterprise resource planning, messaging apps, and website testing.
Cisco’s networking solutions allow users to consolidate security while providing consistent multi-cloud access. Cisco’s NAS solutions allow for future growth with extra storage capacity, accommodating the evolution of any business environment that impacts information storage needs.
Sourceability Can Help You Meet Your Cloud Computing and AI Needs
Over the last year, the rise of artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI, has profoundly affected cloud computing. As these technologies evolve, they will continue to drive innovation in either sector, working synergistically to push the boundaries of scalability, performance, and accessibility. Robust solutions supporting new cloud computing and AI endeavors will be essential with these latest developments.
Cisco’s IoT, data center, and NAS solutions can help businesses of any size reach their goals and transform their workplace operations through streamlined processes. As a global electronics distributor, Sourceability’s team of international experts can help organizations procure what they need from major suppliers like Cisco. AI will continue to dominate the tech landscape in the coming years, with more enterprises and consumers integrating more remote solutions into their daily workflows and lives.
Sourceability can help you get what you need fast. Ready to get started? Contact our experts today.
