Connecting Niche Technology Professionals

Top 7 Public Cloud Predictions for 2020

As we near the end of 2019, budgets will be renewed and strategic plans for 2020 will be well underway. Now is a good time to be aware of the top trends within Cloud Computing and how you can prepare to invest, to ensure you don’t fall behind your competition, whilst effectively maximising your ROI. We break down the top 7 key predictions for 2020: 1. Continued Containerisation Moving into 2020, we will see wider adoption of cloud containers; the technology allowing developers to manage and migrate software code to the public cloud servers. 451 Research recently forecasted a $2.7 billion annual growth in 2020, to 40% comparing to this year. Containerisation is the best solution for businesses using multi-cloud infrastructure, as the technology enables portability between AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, and speeds up software production by adjusting DevOps strategies. Kubernetes is becoming the biggest trend in container deployment by enabling OS-level virtualisation over hardware virtualisation. It’s clear that container technology will become one of the key development frameworks in the near future, with Kubernetes taking a firmer lead on the competition. 2. Edge Computing will Reinvent the Cloud Cloud computing can be described as a centralised data centre, remotely running thousands of physical servers. However, one of the biggest opportunities brought by cloud computing is a distributed cloud infrastructure - known as edge computing. Organisations require near-instant access to data and computing power to serve their customers, and they are increasingly looking to edge computing to provide a suitable infrastructure. IoT requires collection and processing of big amounts of data in real-time and with low latency level, and edge computing is an essential technology for enabling this. By sending only the most important information to the cloud, as opposed to raw streams of it, edge computing will help IoT systems to significantly lower connectivity costs. Edge computing is not the final stage in the cloud development, but an important element driving mass adoption of the cloud. 3. Mainstream Serverless Adoption “Serverless computing” can be perceived as a misleading term, as applications still run on servers. Nevertheless, by using serverless computing, a cloud provider manages the code execution only when required and charges for it only when the code is running. By adopting serverless computing, businesses can avoid provisioning and maintaining servers while producing the code. Serverless computing gained mainstream popularity back into 2014 when AWS unveiled Lambda during its Reinvent Conference, followed by the recent AWS announcement of its open source project Firecracker. Serverless computing is predicted to be one of the biggest developments in the cloud space, however, the serverless transition would require a strategic approach. Moving to serverless infrastructure requires an overhaul of traditional development and production paradigm, meaning outsourcing the entire infrastructure to the cloud. Serverless computing will be adopted and developed together with a growing amount of use cases, so it’s full potential is hard to predict right now. Currently, available solutions tend to lock customers into a specific cloud provider, but a growing number of open source solutions in this space will provide more use cases for serverless computing across the industry. 4. The Rise of Open Source Open source software is growing in popularity among enterprises, as an increasing number of organisations are integrating open source solutions into their IT operations or even building entire infrastructures around it. Up to 60% of IT decision makers recently surveyed by Black Duck Software reported already using open source software, with more than half contributing to open source projects. Open source thrives in the ecosystem created by cloud computing. The growing number of open source DevOps tools and automation and infrastructure platforms such as OpenStack and Kubernetes are playing a key part in fast-growing open source adoption. As organisations continue to migrate their operations to the cloud, open source will play one of the key parts in IT innovation beyond 2020. 5. The Rise of Quantum Computing As technological advancement increases, capacity and compute power will have to increase as well to meet future demand. Enter: quantum computing. Quantum computing will allow computers and servers to process information at rapid rates compared to current standards. As the backbone of cloud computing is built upon rapid network systems that do not get backlogged, cloud computing will play a pivotal role in the increase of computational power and compute efficiency. The increase in compute capability due to the agility of the Cloud is directly correlated to the adoption and increased use of blockchain transactions. Cloud will become integral as the doorway to innovation for organisations that want to process massive amounts of data in an economically viable, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible way. 6. All Things Blockchain As Cloud Computing is decentralised and scalable by nature, blockchain technology is a natural fit when it comes to cloud development. Many FinTech’s are already harnessing the power of blockchain, specifically when it comes to cryptocurrency analysis and validation. The cloud will become the go-to hosting solution for initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other applications that utilise blockchain, specifically in the areas of cryptographical analysis and data security. It is not just applicable to the financial sector. Companies can and will continue to utilise blockchain technology to bring servers into the Cloud, build custom applications, do large scale data analysis, and produce outcome based tangible results. 7. Mobile as Standard With technology no longer being a limiting factor, employees of the future will be able to work when and how they like, using specialised collaborative ecosystems. The business field will demand devices and apps that are effective in the traditional IT field of management and usability but are also fully mobile. Cloud computing will be used here to great effect, along with advanced Ultra-book devices, which are fast and light, along with having a standard PC level of productivity and ample amounts of security and data protection.

Sweden at the Forefront of the Nordic Tech Scene

Perhaps the most successful country within the Nordic tech scene is Sweden, which has also benefited from a solid educational foundation, by pouring a larger percentage of its GDP into its school system (7.3%) compared to Germany, the UK and US. As a result, it has grown talent and stimulated technological progress, leading to the country producing a plethora of prolific Nordic tech businesses including Spotify, Skype, and SoundCloud. Cyber security company Yubico is a relatively new addition to the list, having risen to prominence off the back of its Yubikey – a USB-like key that provides fingerprint-encrypted protection against cyber threats and is used by Google employees. CEO Stina Ehrensvärd, who now splits her time between Stockholm and the Silicon Valley, SAYS the independence given to Swedish children throughout each educational stage of their life is a driver of innovation in the country. “Kids are not punished for questioning, which is really important for innovation because it starts with asking questions and not being afraid of doing so,” she says. “Sweden is challenging – I noticed that my Swedish team is actually much tougher to work with than my American team because they know the importance of asking questions. “It’s an interesting combination in Sweden that involves learning to collaborate and learning to be independent – both of which are key in our industry. “I’m constantly asking my team questions – starting by not knowing and having an open mind is very important.” Daniel Ek, founder of the Swedish music streaming giant Spotify, also puts a lot of his company’s success down to the general sentiment of the country. In an interview with Recode, he said: “Being Swedish myself and starting the company in Sweden, that’s just a very different society than in the US – obviously that’s been impacting us a great deal. “Just to take something like parental leave. One of the things that we realised as we started hiring more and more people here in the US was that I think it was like two or three weeks if you were a parent that you could take off. “We saw our employees in Sweden could take six to 12 months off. That just didn’t make any sense why that should be different. “We rolled out a global parental leave policy throughout the company where now everyone has six months of paid leave. “Those types of values for us is really important. That’s something that obviously comes from being from Sweden.” Spotify is now one of the world’s most recognisable tech companies and is shaping the music industry every day. The company serves as something of a metaphor for the tech scene in the Nordics as a whole – a clean, understated brand with a well-executed, dynamic business model and an entirely original idea. Despite no surplus of financial or human capital, Scandinavia is nearing the pinnacle of the digital world – having grown so rapidly, only time will tell how much further Nordic tech could climb. How Sweden became one of the most innovative countries on earth Tech entrepreneurs share the secrets behind the Scandinavian technology powerhouse that produces world-beating companies as well as security and relative equality. “We call it the Bjorn Borg Effect,” says Henrik Torstensson, founder of Swedish health app Lifesum. “You suddenly have this person or company that comes along and shows the world that it can be done. Overnight, Sweden was extremely good at tennis. It was like everyone was playing it.” Sweden isn’t so great at tennis these days, Torstensson concedes, but it is second-to-none when it comes to creating innovative companies – and Spotify is the new Borg. People underestimate the magnitude of Spotify’s achievements, says Torstensson. He should know, he worked there as head of premium sales before founding Lifesum, a comprehensive weight loss and lifestyle-tracking app that boasts more than 20 million users. “Only Netflix in the entire world is adding subscribers at a faster pace than Spotify. In any type of media. They’re outperforming Apple, they’re outperforming Google, Microsoft.” Torstensson talks with an understated modesty that belies the gravity of what he’s saying. It’s a typically Swedish trait – part of a national psyche that has been injected with a huge shot of confidence thanks to multi-billion dollar firms such as Spotify, Skype and King, the developer of the insanely popular Candy Crush games. The music streaming service is the first European technology company that has taken on the biggest of the US giants at their own game and won. Apple effectively admitted as much when it set up its own rival streaming service in 2015. Spotify has done this from Stockholm, a city of less than one million people that has more unicorns – defined as privately-owned companies valued at more than $1bn – per person than any other city on the planet. The city’s phenomenal success has caught the attention of the world and rippled out across the Nordic region over the last few years. Just as everyone seemed to be playing tennis in the 1980s, now, it seems, everyone is programming – and the booming tech scene is going from strength to strength. Gothenburg, Sweden’s second city and industrial heartland, is home to a fresh breed of startups, ready to roll off the production line of the unicorn factory. Similarly, in just five years, Oslo’s startup scene has gone from non-existent to thriving, partly thanks to government investment. None of this is supposed to be here. The Nordics have some of the highest taxes, most generous welfare programmes and lowest levels of inequality in the world. The orthodox view in the UK and US dictates that to encourage innovation, the state should remove its clumsy hands from the wheels of industry, cut taxes, slash budgets and burn red tape. This will incentivise entrepreneurs to create shiny new things. The US has been incredibly successful at producing world-beating companies; a high level of inequality is the other side of this coin. It sharpens the wits and gives people the jolt they need to get out there and make something in the world. Welfare breeds “dependency” and laziness, so the argument goes. Society’s losers are a necessary by-product of the kind of all-or-nothing environment where winners win, and they win big. Wealth will trickle down. The Nordics pose a difficult problem for peddlers of this thesis and offer a fundamentally different paradigm for success. Coinciding with Scandinavia’s rise, something appears to be turning rotten at the heart of Silicon Valley, the world’s foremost technology and innovation powerhouse. In 2017, a pervasive sexual harassment problem has been highlighted; lack of diversity has continued to plague the scene at senior levels, and a series of other corporate scandals have marred its reputation. Meanwhile, the policies of many western governments are delivering stagnant wages and weak growth, which has helped fuel the resurgence of racially charged, right-wing identity politics – and a worrying breakdown of social cohesion. Risk-taking environment For Sam Manaberi, founder of Gothenburg-based startup Trine, Sweden’s social safety net and wealth equality are at the very heart of what makes his country so innovative. “Sweden is an awesome place to start a business and an awesome place to raise a family,” he says. “I decided there isn’t that much risk in starting a business. Maybe it had to do with the fact I’d lived in the US for several years – that’s real risk.” “Here, the worst thing that could happen was that I lost the salary I would have earned. Healthcare works really well and there are great schools. That safety net was so, so important.” Torstensson’s colleague, Victoria Bastide, at Lifesum worked in Silicon Valley for 15 years before moving back to Stockholm. “In Sweden you have more people who aren’t from a wealthy background that are daring to create startups,” she says. “In the US you’re taking a huge gamble: your kid’s college fund, your house, your health. If you lose your job you lose your health insurance.” Nordic countries also have a strong scientific tradition going back centuries, which has been supplemented by exceptional – and free – technical education. In Sweden this has provided the impetus for world-beating companies such as Ericsson and Volvo to grow. Swedish firms invest in research and development at almost double the rate of their British counterparts, and the culture of “paying it forward” – successful founders putting money and expertise back into the startup ecosystem – is deeply ingrained. “You don’t just go to Spain and drink pina coladas,” as Torstensson puts it. Embracing failure But the national psyche has undergone some recent changes that have been crucial to Sweden’s success, says Leandro Saucedo, chief investment officer at podcasting app Acast. “Before the last five, 10 years, failing in Sweden was not an option. The attitude was: if you’re going to start a business, do it. Don’t be too successful though. And don’t fail. Don’t fail.” “OK, Ikea rules the world today but it took 10 years before he opened his second store because he needed to be profitable first,” Saucedo says. “Historically and culturally that’s been way you build a business in Sweden.” “Now, people realise that if you want to create the next Facebook you have to switch your mindset. With that, the failure mentality has been accepted. It wasn’t when we were younger”. Many Swedes in the current crop of startups were teenagers when the dotcom bubble burst in spectacular fashion. Entrepreneurs of that period were vilified in the Swedish media, says Saucedo. “A lot of those companies obviously failed miserably but, as kids, we thought, that’s cool. Why did this go belly-up? Fast-forward 10 years and these kids have started their own businesses.” Government also played a key role in the development of today’s thriving startup scene by subsidising computers and fast internet connections. “In the 1990s, you could be a working-class kid with a computer at home even if your parents didn’t make a lot of money. By the early 2000s you could have a pretty decent broadband connection,” says Torstensson. “If you have a whole generation of kids – not just the top 10 per cent, but all of the kids – online, five or 10 years before everyone else, I believe it pays off.” Sweden is often ahead of the curve, says Saucedo. “For better or worse, we are extremely trend-sensitive,” he says, reclining in his chair, dressed in a smart blazer with purple paisley-patterned cravat and immaculate long blonde hair brushed back over his head. “If red is the colour of the month, Stockholm is red. You go to a nightclub with people from other countries and they are like, ‘People are so dressed up. Everyone is so trendy’ – but in reality, nobody is standing out,” he explains. “If everyone has an iPhone you have to have an iPhone, but you can’t have one with diamonds because that’s too much. “The only way to try to be edgy is to be on the trend earlier than someone else. Everyone is up to date and early adopters.” This makes it the perfect petri dish to test new tech ideas. When Facebook created the ‘Like’ button, they chose Sweden as the place to try it out first, says Mary Ghahremani, Acast’s manager for Sweden. Nordic tech firms also offer an ethos that Silicon Valley may have lost say Ola Sars and Joel Broms Brosjö, co-founders of Soundtrack Your Brand, which provides music streaming services to companies. “In Silicon Valley, people roll in, do their time, whatever’s needed to get their stock options, then move away to the next thing,” says Brosjö “It’s like the old gold-digger mentality.” “You don’t build anything in a year,” Sars adds. Only a handful of staff have ever left Soundtrack Your Brand since the pair founded it in 2013, along with fellow co-founder Andreas Liffgarden. _____________ BLOG: The Nordics and their Technology Innovations