5 Cloud Computing Trends to Watch in 2025

The cloud has cemented its status as a dominant force in technology. Rising digitalization across industries has led to another year of impressive cloud spending growth, but as the market matures, it will also evolve.

Rising investment in this sector will continue — Gartner predicts public cloud spending will increase by 22.1% in 2025 — but this trend does not tell the whole story. This field is not only growing but changing, so IT leaders should pay attention to several incoming shifts.

1. AI Plays a Larger Role in Cloud Computing

One of the most significant cloud computing trends in 2025 is one that impacts virtually every industry — the rising prominence of artificial intelligence (AI). Cloud-based AI services will see substantial interest in the coming year, as will AI-driven optimizations of cloud services, such as automated load balancing and real-time monitoring.

As more providers integrate AI into their products, cloud platforms become increasingly functional and convenient for end users. Uptime, responsiveness and built-in features could all improve, but this trend comes with some negative implications, too.

A worrying 77% of organizations today have already experienced AI-related data breaches, either from a technical error, misuse or malicious attack. As these systems handle more data, AI’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities and potential errors like bias and hallucination will become increasingly impactful.

2. Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Setups Gain Prominence

In terms of specific segments, the multi-cloud and hybrid markets will see particularly strong performance in 2025. This shift largely stems from a growing need to balance efficiency with costs and a disjointed regulatory landscape.

Hybrid solutions offer an optimal balance between upfront and ongoing costs for organizations with smaller IT budgets. They’re also preferable from a cybersecurity standpoint, as they carry lower average data breach costs than alternatives.

Multi-cloud setups offer similar flexibility in optimizing costs and performance to businesses’ unique needs. They make it easier to comply with varying data privacy regulations, too, as companies can use one service for applications in one area and another for a different market. These considerations will become additionally critical as data laws rise but cohesion between regulations does not.

3. Sustainability Concerns Grow

As the cloud sector keeps growing, its impact on the environment will garner increased attention. AI plays a central role in this trend, as the technology’s remarkable power demands have made headlines throughout the past year.

Data centers hoping to set themselves apart in an increasingly sustainability-focused market should prioritize efficient cooling strategies. Air cooling consumes a significant amount of electricity, and freshwater accounts for just 7% of the total water supply on Earth, making liquid cooling suboptimal, too. While some of these impacts may be unavoidable, data centers can minimize them through a few strategies.

Geothermal setups often require less energy as they capitalize on natural temperature regulation. Using real-time power and HVAC management technologies, renewable sources of electricity, server consolidation and in-rack cooling systems can all help, too.

4. Cloud Security Becomes More Complicated

Another prominent cloud computing trend in 2025 is an increasingly complex cybersecurity environment. With more data on the cloud than ever, these services are the largest targets they’ve ever been, and the threat landscape is evolving.

Adversarial AI attacks and ransomware are among the largest threats to defend against, but they’re not the only ones. Social engineering and user errors like misconfigurations will also grow alongside rising cloud adoption. Any reliable cybersecurity strategy must account for a wide range of threat types to be secure in 2025.

Regulatory pressures may further complicate these considerations, as laws vary between areas. Such a disjointed landscape and rising standards will likely lead to a trend toward zero-trust architecture. As of mid-2024, 31% of global organizations had already implemented zero trust, and another 47% said they planned on doing so within the next year.

5. Quantum-as-a-Service Market Matures

The coming year will also see the quantum-as-a-service (QaaS) market break into the mainstream. Cloud-based access to quantum computers makes this game-changing technology accessible to a wider range of clients, but it’s struggled to reach beyond niche applications so far. Things may be different in 2025.

In mid-2024, the United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, signifying the technology’s rising prominence. The designation aims to raise awareness around quantum computing, which, in turn, will likely drive organizations to adopt it. Higher attention could promote research and gains in security and cost-efficiency, too, making QaaS a safer investment.

QaaS is particularly impactful in research-heavy fields like medicine and renewable energy. However, it may heighten cybersecurity risks, especially given the potential for quantum computers to break today’s encryption standards. Consequently, security measures must also adapt.

Pay Attention to These Cloud Computing Trends in 2025

These cloud computing trends in 2025 will reshape the tech industry and those relying on it. While there is still much uncertainty around the future of this technology, several courses seem increasingly likely. Recognizing these changes before they take place may be key in making the most of a business’s investments in cloud computing.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zac writes for ReHack as the Features Editor and covers cybersecurity, IT, and business tech. His work has been featured on publications like AllBusiness, CyberTalk, and BLR. For more of his writing, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.