Gartner’s latest report outlines six cloud trends that aren’t just “nice to know” — they’re signals of what’s coming.
For businesses that rely on the cloud (which, let’s be honest, is nearly every business now), these trends can either accelerate outcomes or quietly derail long-term plans.
Let’s break them down.
1. Simplifying the Migrations
Cloud was supposed to simplify things. But for 25% of organizations, it’s doing the opposite.
By 2028, Gartner predicts that one in four businesses will feel significant regret over their cloud strategies. Not because cloud doesn’t work — but because expectations weren’t managed, costs ballooned, or migration goals were too vague to measure against.
What’s going wrong?
It usually starts with misalignment. Moving to the cloud is often seen as a finish line rather than a capability-building phase. Costs sneak up, workloads underperform, and business units grow frustrated when promises don’t match delivery.
What to do now:
Treat cloud as a continuously evolving environment, not a static “done deal.” Measure outcomes, not just uptime. Assign owners to cloud spend and tie ROI to specific workloads — not general digital transformation goals.
2. AI Workloads Will Dominate Cloud Resources
Remember when AI was a side project?
That window is closing.
By 2029, 50% of cloud compute resources will be consumed by AI and ML workloads, up from less than 10% today. That’s not just growth — it’s a resource revolution.
Why?
Because AI doesn’t just need data — it needs proximity to it. That’s reshaping how infrastructure is designed. Businesses can no longer afford data pipelines that stretch across cloud regions and vendors. Latency kills performance. And in AI, speed equals insight.
What this means for you:
If your AI strategy involves “plugging into the cloud later,” you’re already behind.
You need to start evaluating your cloud vendors not just on cost or compute — but on how well they support GPU-heavy workloads, model training environments, and data locality.
3. More Clouds, More Problems
Multicloud isn’t a strategy. It’s a condition — one most business didn’t plan for.
Gartner says that over 50% of multicloud efforts will fall short of expectations by 2029. Not because multicloud is inherently flawed, but because interoperability and governance often come as an afterthought.
What’s the risk?
You end up with workloads scattered across providers, each with its own billing, security, and deployment model. The result: operational debt. And that leads to performance drag, vendor lock-in disguised as freedom, and poor visibility across systems.
How to get ahead:
Multicloud must be intentional. Use it to match specific workloads to the best-fit cloud, not as a fail-safe against vendor failure. Build cross-cloud controls from day one — identity, policy, observability — or risk playing whack-a-mole with incidents later.
4. Industry Cloud Platforms Are Gaining Ground
Generic clouds are giving way to tailored environments.
Gartner projects that by 2029, half of all organizations will use industry-specific cloud platforms to accelerate digital outcomes. Think healthcare clouds with built-in compliance tools. Or manufacturing clouds optimized for edge analytics and IoT.
Why this matters:
Most digital transformation efforts don’t fail because of technology — they fail because companies try to reinvent the wheel. Industry clouds bring preconfigured capabilities, pre-integrated datasets, and domain-specific AI models to the table.
What to consider:
Start identifying industry platforms that reduce your integration lift. These aren’t just hosting environments — they’re accelerators. But they still need to align with your broader IT governance model. Don’t treat them as isolated innovation labs.
5. Digital Sovereignty Is Now a Strategic Priority
As regulations tighten and data localization laws increase, digital sovereignty is no longer optional.
By 2029, over 50% of multinational companies will have a defined digital sovereignty strategy — up from less than 10% today.
What’s driving the shift?
Governments are demanding that sensitive data stays within national borders — not just physically, but legally. That means cloud providers are being held accountable not just for uptime, but for where data lives, who has access, and which jurisdictions can claim it.
What this changes:
You can no longer assume a global cloud provider meets all your regulatory needs. Sovereign cloud zones, regional providers, and encryption at rest/in use will all become part of your compliance playbook.
6. Sustainability Is Becoming a Cloud KPI
Cloud used to be sold on speed and scale. Now it has a third S: sustainability.
As ESG reporting becomes standard, businesses are expected to track — and reduce — the carbon footprint of their digital operations.
What’s happening:
Cloud providers are responding with renewable-powered data centres, heat recycling initiatives, and energy-efficient chip architectures. Some even offer carbon dashboards to help clients measure and offset usage.
But here’s the thing:
Sustainability won’t be a nice-to-have much longer. It’ll be a procurement filter. CIOs will start asking not just “can this scale?” but “can this scale sustainably?”
Action point:
Add sustainability metrics to your cloud vendor evaluations. It’s not about perfection — it’s about showing the board that cloud decisions are environmentally and ethically defensible.