The distributed cloud is at an exciting inflection point. Market understanding and receptivity are growing exponentially, driven by high-profile use cases proving its value. This surge in adoption only sharpens the contrast between traditional storage providers' high-cost, low-performance offerings and the increasingly well-understood, cost- and resource-efficient distributed technologies. To better understand this evolving landscape, we’ve gathered predictions from distributed cloud experts at Storj.
Prediction 1: Rapid growth in adoption.
“Every day I hear from enterprise companies how their cloud storage and egress bills are growing faster than their budgets. Everyone wants to do more with data, but their providers can’t help them scale affordably. That’s why the distributed cloud is so appealing.”
–Colby Winegar, CRO, Storj
The distributed cloud offers a solution to the problem of rising cloud storage and egress costs. Enterprise companies are increasingly looking for ways to manage their growing data needs without breaking the bank. The cost-efficiency and scalability of distributed cloud technologies make them an attractive alternative to traditional providers. Additionally, as organizations become more environmentally conscious, the lower carbon footprint of distributed cloud solutions will further drive adoption.
“New environmental stewardship initiatives are pushing organizations toward more sustainable solutions. When companies see the carbon emissions of traditional cloud providers compared to the distributed cloud, it's an obvious catalyst to switch.”
–Ben Golub, CEO, Storj
Prediction 2: Accelerated expansion into underserved markets.
“Many companies want to expand their businesses in underserved markets where there is a distinct lack of traditional cloud presence. Hyperscaler prices are outrageous, and low cost providers can’t get the loans to build data centers due to high interest rates. The distributed cloud is global, and immediately available, so it's the clear choice for expanding affordably into new markets.”
–John Gleeson, COO, Storj
The global nature of the distributed cloud allows companies to expand into markets that traditional cloud providers often overlook. With its low-cost, on-demand availability, businesses can test and establish a presence in untapped geographies without significant upfront investment. This democratization of cloud services enables companies to tap into new customer bases and drive growth.
“Companies want to test the market appetite for their offering in places like South America or Australia where low cost cloud providers don’t have a presence. With global distribution in over 100 countries, many companies are looking to the distributed cloud to start expanding now with minimal investment.”
–Colby Winegar, CRO, Storj
Prediction 3: Addition of high-demand services.
“20 years ago, AWS revolutionized cloud, starting with cloud object storage, then adding services according to need. The distributed cloud will do the same. Distributed cloud will augment object storage with the highest demand services like GPUs, block and file storage, and many others. Fundamentally, distributed architecture provides a solution that better meets the needs of today’s companies.”
–Ben Golub, CEO, Storj
Just as AWS transformed the cloud landscape by continually adding new services, the distributed cloud is poised to do the same. By integrating high-demand services such as GPUs and various storage options, the distributed cloud can offer a comprehensive suite of tools that cater to the evolving needs of businesses. This flexibility and adaptability make it a robust solution for modern enterprises.
“The distributed cloud has so much potential. There is incredible innovation happening inside Storj and other distributed technology startups. We are excited to build on the solid foundation of cloud object storage with a cloud that supports AI and data research affordably and responsibly.”
–Jacob Willoughby, CTO, Storj
Prediction 4: Enabling faster AI innovation.
“We’re already working with partners to meet our customer’s needs for AI. GPU demand is at an all-time high and there are smart ways to source on-demand GPU hours from H100’s within the distributed cloud. That means AI startups and researchers can start testing models without investing in hardware.”
–Colby Winegar, CRO, Storj
The distributed cloud's ability to source on-demand GPU hours offers a significant advantage for AI startups and researchers, who can now test and deploy models without the need for substantial hardware investments. Additionally, distributed cloud storage is available at the edge where more AI processing is performed. This accessibility accelerates innovation, allowing businesses to rapidly iterate and improve their AI capabilities.
“The distributed cloud is extremely scalable. Since it uses capacity that already exists, expansion is as simple as contacting existing providers to add more capacity in any needed region. This means the distributed cloud can better serve data innovation happening at the edge anywhere it’s needed.”
–Jacob Willoughby, CTO, Storj
Prediction 5: Integration with hyperscalers.
“We don’t expect hyperscalers will ever go away, but we expect they will get smarter about ensuring their excess capacity is being fully utilized. And that means connecting to the distributed cloud to ensure that hard drives they have are efficiently used and older drives are used for longer.”
–Jacob Willoughby, CTO, Storj
Hyperscalers have to build capacity ahead of demand. As a new data center is built or a new server is added, there is significant dormant capacity. Their integration with distributed cloud technologies is expected to optimize resource utilization. By connecting their excess capacity to the distributed cloud, traditional cloud providers can make better use of new capacity while also extending the lifespan of their infrastructure, aligning with sustainability goals.
“It is great how many data centers are striving to use more renewable energy and less energy for cooling. Extending the life of hard drives and using them efficiently is the logical next step for the traditional cloud providers to take. This will happen slowly over time, but eventually they will all be connected to the distributed cloud.”
–John Gleeson, COO, Storj
Conclusion
The distributed cloud is set to revolutionize the cloud landscape, offering cost-effective, scalable, and environmentally friendly solutions. From rapid adoption and expansion into underserved markets to the integration of high-demand services and faster innovation, the future of distributed cloud is bright. As businesses continue to seek efficient and sustainable ways to manage their data, the distributed cloud will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the future of enterprise IT.
For those looking to stay ahead of the curve, exploring the benefits of distributed cloud technology with experts like Storj is a crucial step. The future is distributed, and the time to adapt is now.
Ready to learn more about distributed cloud storage? Read the CTO Guide.
