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Five Predictions on How Telcos Will Serve Enterprise Cloud Needs in 2024

By Mattias Fridström, Vice President and Chief Evangelist, Arelion

Public, private, hybrid and multi - the enterprise cloud journey becomes complex as many internet carriers and colocation providers each offer various connection options to an increasingly intricate cloud ecosystem. Amid these many options, two concepts will hold true as enterprises continue to seek cloud transformation in 2024. Cloud connectivity options are not one-size-fits-all. And, when enterprises are evaluating their cloud connectivity provider, they will focus on the security, resiliency and performance of providers' underlying networks. Although predictions are hypothetical in the fast-paced technology industry, the industry should expect certain developments as carriers strive to serve enterprise cloud needs in 2024. Let's dive in.

#1: Network innovation will continue to prove vital for enabling enterprise cloud services

Telcos will continue to build their underlying networks with an emphasis on optical innovation and low-latency performance to serve the massive computing and capacity needs of enterprise cloud services. These technological focuses will help operators keep pace with industry innovation, support enterprise traffic and secure reliable revenue streams during an expected economic downturn. With this continued innovation of the underlying network, larger enterprises will increasingly purchase their cloud connectivity services directly from operators to access availability, resiliency and performance benefits.

#2: Telcos will transform their systems to become more automated and data-driven

In 2024, telcos will transform their systems and networks to meet enterprise cloud service needs quicker by becoming more automated and data-driven. While telcos must accelerate cloud-native operations with time, network automation and data-driven operations are more attainable short-term goals. Network automation and data-driven operations make carriers more agile and responsive when serving enterprises. By automating more of their network operations, carriers can improve the scalability of their networks and respond quicker to enterprise cloud service needs, which must scale according to user demand. Automation can also predict and prevent network outages, improving the reliability of networks that provide cloud connectivity to enterprises.

#3: Moving operations to the cloud will come with unique considerations for telcos

Telcos will move more of their systems to the cloud to improve ease of operations and enjoy further benefits from migrating certain functions and services to off-premises environments. With this transformation, network technicians will spend less time managing on-premises servers and power needs, allowing telcos to integrate more applications and improve resource efficiency. While moving IT systems to the cloud is essential for telcos to continue serving enterprise customers, cloud vendor lock-in may become more concerning, with carriers becoming wary of putting all their eggs in one basket. As a result, telcos may prioritize multi-cloud operations strategies in 2024 to improve flexibility and competitive pricing.

#4: Network security will remain paramount to serving enterprise cloud needs

As enterprises increasingly purchase cloud connectivity from internet carriers, more traffic will pass through the network to access cloud applications, meaning telcos must ensure the secure transport of traffic to and from the cloud. This means a carrier's network security posture is just as important as the performance of its underlying network when enabling enterprise cloud services. Ultimately, public and private cloud connectivity are equally secure when working with an internet carrier that prioritizes security on the network. It's up to enterprises to choose which type of cloud connection best suits their needs, and it's up to carriers to serve enterprises' connectivity and security needs regardless of their choice of cloud connectivity.

Network security remains more essential than ever as enterprises continue to integrate cloud services, with one global internet carrier's report finding that DDoS attacks in 2022 moved from active combat zones into global cloud centers. This shift partly results from the industry-wide trend of strategically moving local databases and applications into global cloud centers. As a result of these trends and persistent geopolitical conflict, enterprises will increasingly analyze internet carriers' network security posture in addition to their cloud connectivity options.

#5: Standards will become a focus with the continued rise of global cloud adoption

When cloud services first rose to prominence, the industry had a Wild West mentality. This was an easy mindset to have because the tech ecosystem was excited about the flexibility, elasticity and scalability benefits of moving certain workloads and applications to the cloud. However, amid rising geopolitical tensions and an evolving threat landscape, a more measured strategy will replace that mindset in 2024.

The tech ecosystem will increasingly consider rules and standards around data sovereignty with continued cloud adoption. What data should you store in the cloud? What data should you store in on-premises servers? How do local laws impact your data? When evaluating their cloud partner in 2024, enterprises may begin considering what country their potential cloud is in, with global conflicts and local laws influencing enterprises' cloud strategies.

New Horizons for Enterprises and Carriers Alike

Despite the economic and geopolitical challenges we expect to face in 2024, cloud connectivity provides silver linings for carriers and the enterprises that depend on global networks to reach the cloud. As they continue to race to the cloud in 2024, enterprises must educate themselves on the various benefits of each type of cloud connectivity to ensure their choice aligns with their business needs.

Carriers must continue to build their networks with a focus on low-latency connectivity, security, automation and resiliency to serve enterprise cloud needs in 2024. Furthermore, carriers must continue to move their systems to the cloud (when possible) to streamline internal processes and improve resource efficiency. While these significant changes won't happen overnight, these transformations will help carriers and enterprises reach new horizons and overcome continued economic and geopolitical challenges in 2024.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mattias Fridström, Vice President and Chief Evangelist, Arelion

With over 20 years in the telecommunications industry, Mattias Fridström can be considered a veteran - but his enthusiasm hasn't faded. Mattias combines expert knowledge with anecdotes from behind the scenes and deep insight into the networked economy: What are the challenges of tomorrow for network providers? How can we meet ever-increasing traffic demand and customer quality expectations within the same cost frame? Mattias holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wollongong, Australia. Since joining Telia in 1996, he has worked in a number of senior roles within Telia Carrier (now Arelion) and most recently as CTO. He has been Arelion's Chief Evangelist since July 2016.