Gartner has identified six primary trends that are set to influence cloud adoption globally over the next four years.

The company outlined these trends as cloud dissatisfaction, growth in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), multi-cloud strategies, sustainability, digital sovereignty, and the development of industry-specific cloud solutions.

Joe Rogus, Director, Advisory at Gartner, highlighted the significance of these trends in the context of cloud’s business impact. Rogus stated, “These trends are accelerating the shift in how cloud is transforming from a technology enabler to a business disruptor and necessity for most organisations. Over the next few years, cloud will continue to unlock new business models, competitive advantages and ways of achieving business missions.”

One of the key trends identified is cloud dissatisfaction. While cloud adoption is on the rise, not all implementations have been successful. Gartner projects that by 2028, 25% of organisations will report significant dissatisfaction with their cloud efforts, citing challenges such as unrealistic expectations, poorly executed strategies, and uncontrolled costs. The underpinning recommendation is for enterprises to develop a clear strategy and execute effectively in order to reduce the risk of disappointment.

Rogus noted that “organisations that have successfully addressed upfront strategic focus by 2029 will find their cloud dissatisfaction will decrease,” according to Gartner research.

The demand for AI and machine learning is anticipated to rise sharply. Hyperscale cloud providers are expected to play a central role in facilitating this growth, as they integrate new capabilities into IT infrastructure and collaborate across vendor and user networks, making use of both real and synthetic data for AI model training. Gartner forecasts that by 2029, 50% of cloud compute resources will be allocated to AI workloads, compared to less than 10% today.

Expanding on this, Rogus commented, “This all points to a fivefold increase in AI-related cloud workloads by 2029. Now is the time for organisations to assess whether their data centres and cloud strategies are ready to handle this surge in AI & ML demand. In many cases, they might need to bring AI to where the data is to support this growth.”

Multi-cloud and cross-cloud deployment represent another complex area for organisations. While many are shifting to multi-cloud environments, interoperability challenges often slow down adoption and hinder expected outcomes. Gartner’s analysis suggests that more than half of organisations will not achieve their envisioned benefits from multi-cloud investments by 2029. The advice offered is to focus on identifying specific use cases and employing distributed applications that could gain from operating across multiple clouds and on-premises systems.

The proliferation of industry-specific cloud solutions is also set to continue. More than 50% of organisations are expected to adopt such platforms to facilitate business agility and digital initiatives by 2029. Gartner recommends treating industry cloud platforms as supplements rather than wholesale replacements for existing IT portfolios, allowing organisations to avoid accumulating technical liabilities and to drive innovation.

Digital sovereignty is becoming increasingly important, particularly against the backdrop of AI’s expansion, stricter data privacy regulations, and geopolitical issue. The need for protection of data, infrastructure, and workloads from foreign jurisdictional control is contributing to a rise in sovereign cloud strategies. Gartner predicts that by 2029, over half of multinational organisations will have formal digital sovereignty approaches in place, a significant rise from the current level of less than 10%.

Rogus highlighted the challenges and opportunities, saying, “As organisations proactively align their cloud strategies to address digital sovereignty requirements, there are already a wide range of offerings that will support them. However, it’s important they understand exactly what their requirements are, so they can select the right mix of solutions to safeguard their data and operational integrity.”

Sustainability is being seen as a joint obligation between cloud providers and their enterprise customers. Continued regulatory, investor, and public pressures are compelling organisations to factor environmental considerations into technology investments, particularly as energy demand rises with AI workload growth. Gartner research suggests that the proportion of global organisations prioritising sustainability in procurement decisions will surpass 50% by 2029. Enterprises are advised to link sustainability initiatives with business outcomes to maximise the value of their cloud investments.

Gartner’s analysis suggests that recognising these cloud trends and tailoring organisational strategies accordingly will play a key role in determining whether enterprises achieve the outcomes they seek from cloud investments in the coming years.