Welcome to a conversation with Michael Kleef, vice president of product marketing, developer advocacy and competitive intelligence at Akamai Technologies. Today we have the honor of him sharing his insights with Cloud Tweaks on several key questions surrounding the dynamic world of cloud computing. Michael’s extensive experience and strong understanding of the industry make him the perfect voice to address these critical topics, from the paradigm shift in cloud computing to future strategies and market trends.

Q: Paradigm shift in cloud computing: Given the transformative shift from centralized to distributed cloud computing, how do you think this development will impact the cloud industry in terms of performance, scalability and security, as outlined in recent reports?

Michael Kleef: The cloud model is changing. The centralized, platform-centric approach to cloud design was not designed for a future where organizations must move workloads further to the edge and ultimately closer to the user. It was a model designed for the cloud of the last decade, not the next.

What we’ve heard in research from organizations like ClearPath Strategies and SlashDataWhat our own customers also say is that a more distributed model makes companies more competitive. 33% of IT decision makers say they plan to increase their use of distributed cloud Next year quote security and reliability as the main reasons for their increased use. Of these, 71% say the distributed cloud provides greater visibility into on-premises security issues, 66% say it provides more granular control over data and access to resources, and 58% say it provides redundancy and failover capabilities across multiple locations.

Of course, the ability to bring workloads and data closer to end users also helps improve performance and reduce latency, which is very important for use cases like streaming or gaming that rely on real-time experiences.

Q: Adoption Challenges and Opportunities: As highlighted in the ClearPath ITDM report, what are the biggest challenges organizations face as they transition to distributed cloud, particularly in terms of the cost of implementation, maintenance and the complexity of managing distributed systems?

Michael Kleef: Costs and complexity are always at the forefront of any market change. This is no different than the reports that examined the transition from centralized to distributed cloud. But switching isn’t always an either/or decision. In fact, distributed cloud models can complement older centralized implementations, particularly in areas such as AI, where modeling requires the high performance of the world’s largest data centers and the reach of a more distributed computing model. Additionally, these more distributed computing models can often do the following Savings measures in key areas such as egress and transmission fees, in addition to freedom from PaaS services, which are often used to lock customers into a provider’s platform.

Q: Developer engagement and skills development: Thinking about the growing adoption among developers, how is this trend changing their approach to development and what new skills or methods may they need to adopt, as outlined in the SlashData Developer Report?

Michael Kleef: It’s interesting how history repeats itself. In the early 2000s, companies began developing distributed service models around a service-oriented architecture. Although this presented challenges, developing distributed applications will likely require a similar mindset. Components of the application that exist as services at the edge and invoke application services in core computing regions. But that’s also why we’ve placed a greater focus on making workloads more portable and mobile over the last year Introducing more cloud Integrate native tools into the mix.

Q: Future Strategy and Market Trends: As a significant number of organizations view distributed cloud as mission critical, how does Akamai plan to evolve its services to meet these growing strategic needs? What future trends do you see in distributed cloud adoption?

Michael Kleef: One could argue that we have evolved in this way over the last 25 years. We started as a content delivery network, added world-class security to our portfolio, and – with the acquisition of Linode – built powerful cloud computing services on that foundation.

During the year, we launched over a dozen cloud computing regions, each with a new architectural design and hardware configuration to enable high-performance, scalable cloud resources to meet the needs of lower latency workloads and require true global scalability. And we’re just getting started.

When we look at the cloud, we see it as more than just server racks in a building. We know that the power of the cloud lies in the connections between points on the map. And that’s something Akamai does better than anyone else. Because over the last two decades we have established and secured contacts for some of the biggest brands in the world.

Q: Vision for the future of the distributed cloud: Looking ahead to the next decade, how do you see the role of the distributed cloud and what technological innovations or industry trends do you think will shape its future development?

Michael Kleef: It is becoming increasingly important for companies to improve their user experience. The distributed cloud plays a key role here. The current cloud has brought us to where we are today. There is no denying that it has produced incredible innovation. But customers need more – more reach, more scalability, more connectivity – to be successful next decade. And this is being driven by a combination of end-user expectations for faster responsiveness and also increasing amounts of data generated by apps, devices and IoT, all of which need to be collected, stored, processed and returned. How do we scale this? It certainly won’t all be done in mainframe-like hyperscaler regions. It will require workloads at the edge, where companies like Akamai excel.

As a result, the next decade will also see a continued shift toward more open and portable workloads, allowing services to move where they are needed. Companies have already done this Switch to multicloud. This is one reason why cloud-native technologies will be a critical enabler of the future of the cloud.

As research shows, distributed cloud is on the rise and will continue to evolve and grow as we enter the next era of technology.

Michael Kleef’s insights provide a clear understanding of the current status and future direction of cloud computing. Its focus on transitioning to a more distributed, user-centric and scalable cloud infrastructure underscores the evolving needs of businesses in the digital age. The findings Akamai, a leading cloud services provider, offers a valuable perspective for anyone seeking to navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of cloud technology. We thank Michael for his valuable contributions and look forward to seeing how his predictions and strategies develop in the coming years.

By Randy Ferguson