Cloud computing is growing fast—but so is frustration. According to Gartner’s 2025 outlook, six emerging trends will redefine how businesses interact with cloud infrastructure, and not all are smooth sailing. As usage balloons, especially around AI and multicloud setups, Gartner warns that without clear strategic intent, many enterprises risk falling short of expectations.
At a recent Gartner conference in Sydney, advisory director Joe Rogus underscored a shift: cloud is no longer a background enabler—it’s fast becoming the backbone of business transformation. But that backbone is showing signs of strain. Gartner predicts that by 2028, one in four organizations will feel buyer’s remorse over cloud investments, citing misaligned goals and uncontrolled spending.
Meanwhile, AI is reshaping everything. By 2029, organizations could reserve half of all cloud compute capacity for AI and machine learning—a fivefold increase from today. But Rogus cautions this won’t just require more cloud; it will demand smarter, AI-specific infrastructure and new ways of bringing compute to data, not the other way around.
Mounting challenges also threaten multicloud aspirations. As most organizations desire to sidestep vendor lock-in, Gartner has indicated that more than half won’t see the value they anticipated by 2029. Cross-cloud planning, rather than deployment, is essential. Without defining clear use cases and enforcing operational discipline, organizations may let complexity overwhelm capability.
With added depth, vertical-specific cloud solutions are becoming popular. Far from one-size-fits-all, vertically specific platforms assist companies in driving digital initiatives without replacing current systems.
Geopolitics and regulation are also elevating digital sovereignty up the agenda. As data concerns across borders increase, increasing numbers of multinationals will move to sovereign cloud strategies—from less than 10% currently to over 50% by 2029.
And as cloud’s energy footprint increases, so does the pressure to greenerify it. Gartner predicts sustainability as a primary procurement consideration for most global companies by the end of the decade, with shareholders demanding parallelism between cloud adoption and green responsibility.
In short, the cloud discussion is changing—from “how much?” to “why and where?” Success won’t depend on technology by itself, but on purpose clarity of mind and willingness to change.
