If you need any indication of how 2017 went regarding cloud implementation, CIOs prioritized (1) security, (2) cloud computing and (3) big data analytics and mobile in their 2017 IT budgets, according to Nomura Holdings’ CIO Survey from March of last year. What’s next for cloud computing?

Oracle has lofty goals for cloud implementation in 2018; one of those goals is expanding their customer base as well as their sphere of influence within the tech community. “Oracle’s primary execution task is now to accelerate the conversion of its blue-chip customer base to the cloud,” says Oracle analyst, Joseph Bonner. If you don’t believe that cloud’s sales are rapidly ramping up, believe this: The International Data Corporation estimates that cloud services will increase by $127 billion next year. You can’t really argue with billions!

According to a Forbes article with compelling numbers, cloud growth is also demonstrated by these 2018 tech projections:

• “By end of 2018, spending on IT as a Service for data centers, software and services will top $547 billion,” says a study by Deloitte Global.
• Total spending on IT infrastructure products for cloud environment deployments will increase over 15 percent next year, according to International Data Corporation.

Cloud sales vs. IT sales

Cloud spending was predicted to grow around six times the rate of overall IT spending, according to this article by Forbes.

Best-kept security secret

A survey by RapidScale showed that 94 percent of companies saw an improvement in security after switching to the cloud, so need for more secure systems will push many corporations to the cloud in the next few years.

Important business content is getting shifted to the Cloud in droves, so sharing business information with colleagues — and safely — has never been easier.

Self-repairing resources

When describing the newest Oracle technology we’ll see next year, Ellison says: “[it] manages itself, patches itself, backs itself up, tunes itself, with no human administration and no human error.”

SaaS sales

SaaS has been the strongest push toward what we now know as Cloud, although there are noticeable differences between them. Some say that SaaS “sits on the Cloud” because Cloud is the larger platform in which SaaS lives and thrives.

When talking about the market gains across SaaS, Ellison remarks, “We are well on our way to achieving [the] SaaS Cloud margin target. So we expect the margins in our businesses to go up, the stock price to go up … and join the ranks of the new generation of the tech companies.”

ERP innovation

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is constantly evolving. If you can take the reins and move to Cloud and off the localized network — and you can access and add and edit information from any device, you’ll cut months off your deployment time in comparison to on-premises software.

CRM changes

Byron Deeters estimated in his State of the Cloud Report that by 2018, 62 percent of all customer relationship management, or CRM, software will operate from the cloud. Businesses are attracted to CRM software due to its exceptionally well-rounded scope — it offers scalability, flexible integration and mobile access, as well as backup of important customer data.

Hybrids looking hopeful

Companies that have used on-premises networks for many years can’t easily jump to the Cloud without some time-consuming training and difficulty. Hybrid cloud solutions provide the best of both worlds to ease the transition to cloud adoption.

COLLABORATE 2018, now with Cloud!

For more Oracle Cloud news and what it will mean for the future of your business, we’ll be talking about Cloud extensively at COLLABORATE 18. Don’t miss hearing from cloud speakers, newcomers and experts who are learning and growing with the cloud software innovations — just like you!