As we come to the end of the first week of 2020, some of the Brightsolid team give their thoughts and observations on the business trends and technology developments likely to be major features of the year ahead.

2020 will be the year of the hybrid cloud, according to Vicky Glynn, Product Manager, Brightsolid:

Brightsolid believes that in 2020, hybrid cloud technology use (meaning cloud computing that uses a mix of on-premises, private cloud and public cloud) will grow significantly amongst Scottish businesses. This will happen as organisations increasingly realise the benefits they can gain across cost, efficiency and flexibility by using the right cloud for the right workload – one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to cloud computing.

Larger organisations in Scotland working across finance, public sector and oil and gas will be the biggest winners and see the most success over the next two years as they embrace the hybrid cloud to help transform their business.

But it won’t just be large organisations that will benefit from the hybrid cloud. The technology sector in Scotland is thriving. We believe that for those organisations about to reach that tipping point, utilising hybrid cloud technology will be pivotal in the next stage of their evolution.

Technology and hybrid cloud will underpin Scottish businesses even more in 2020, says Elaine Maddison, CEO, Brightsolid:

2019 will be remembered as the year of uncertainty as businesses prepared for not one but two Brexit deadlines. However, 2020 will be the year that organisations will need to adapt their businesses to deal with the long-term effects of Brexit – whatever happens – and other uncertainties, including ourselves. But adapt we must and in doing so, the technology that the organisation sits on must be able to provide the agility and flex that they need to adapt to whatever the business landscape may throw at them. We believe the answer to this will lie in the cloud; and specifically, hybrid cloud due to the flexibility and efficiency benefits this offers.

This shift towards hybrid cloud will also impact economic growth as a whole. As a home to start-ups, scale-ups and global organisations, Scotland is in a unique position to drive economic growth. With a legacy for innovation and entrepreneurship, there is a fire in the belly of businesses based here with a significant desire to grow. However, while budgets might prove restrictive, organisations should look within to drive this growth. We believe that this will be done in two ways – firstly through people, and encouraging talent within the organisation to innovate and secondly; through smart use of technology. For these organisations, adopting the right cloud strategy will ultimately support and enable this environment of growth.

Company culture and change arising from hybrid cloud in 2020 – Linda King, CMO, Brightsolid, explains:

The impact of culture within a business is fundamental to how successful it is. Over the last five years, this has become even more prevalent as organisations have considered not only the environments that their teams work in to create that culture, but have also worked hard to ensure that their staff feel bought in to the future success of the organisation.

Change is a constant though, and as we move ahead in 2020, more and more organisations will be transforming the way they work by migrating to hybrid and public cloud environments in order to take advantage of the flexibility and efficiencies that this offers.

Programmes of change related to cloud transformation aren’t just about IT – they’re also about people and culture.

When implementing cloud related transformations, leaders must keep this in mind and remember to start with the ‘why’. They should explain the vision, including the justification and rationale. It’s really important, in order to overcome cultural barriers, that all stakeholders are on the same page regarding why the change is being instituted, and exactly what the transformation is, before they consider how to undertake it. Cloud computing can be complex enough, so clear communications and clarity around this will undoubtedly increase the likelihood of success.