On our Cloud Computing Magazine site, my fellow writers/editors and I often cover stories about why business look to make big-time transitions to the cloud.

For example, Extreme Networks teamed up with Intel to boost AI + cloud capabilities in networking. Thailand also recently received a substantial cloud boost, thanks to AIS and Orcale.

Thankfully, there's a lot of things that run online with cloud today. That’s a bonus. Servers, storage and even software become on-demand services accessible through the internet. With that in their toolkit, businesses scale their resources up or down instantly, access data from anywhere they want and abandon the hefty upfront costs.

Now, let's explore what’s been happening in the cloud:

Netskope and Google (News - Alert) Workspace Enhance Security for Workspace Users

Netskope joined the Google Workspace Security Alliance to strengthen data protection and security for Workspace users. The partnership aims to address growing concerns about data security in the cloud, particularly with the rise of AI-powered tools. Netskope’s platform offers advanced security features to protect sensitive data, prevent data loss and detect threats within Google Workspace and other cloud applications.

By combining their expertise, Netskope and Google Workspace aim to empower organizations to safely adopt cloud technologies and productivity tools like Gemini for Workspace while maintaining data security and compliance. The partnership provides enhanced data protection, threat detection and insider threat prevention capabilities for Google Workspace users.

NetSPI Acquires Hubble to Enhance Proactive Security

NetSPI acquired Hubble Technology, a cyber asset attack surface management (CAASM) provider. The acquisition expands NetSPI's capabilities by integrating Hubble's technology into its platform. It offers customers a comprehensive view of their entire IT asset estate. By combining external attack surface management with CAASM, NetSPI aims to provide organizations with a better ability to identify, prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities and exposures across their network. Hubble's founder, Tom Parker, will join NetSPI as CTO.

SentinelOne’s Security Solution for Serverless Containers

SentinelOne introduced Singularity Cloud Workload Security for Serverless Containers, designed to protect ephemeral workloads running on AWS Fargate. While these short-lived environments offer agility, they also pose security risks. SentinelOne's AI-powered solution addresses this challenge by providing real-time protection against threats like ransomware and zero-day exploits.

The new offering complements SentinelOne's existing cloud security portfolio and uses its Singularity Platform, which includes a data lake for comprehensive threat detection and response.

Shadow SaaS (News - Alert) and AI are Risks to Organizations

A survey by Next DLP reveals that a majority of security professionals have used unauthorized SaaS applications in the past year, despite recognizing the associated risks of data loss, lack of visibility and data breaches. While organizations are taking a cautious approach to GenAI, with many restricting or banning its use, they are struggling to address the broader issue of Shadow SaaS.

The research highlighted a gap between employee awareness of the risks and organizational efforts to mitigate them. Many organizations lack clear policies, consequences and approved alternatives for Shadow SaaS and AI. This leaves them vulnerable to data breaches and other security incidents.

Cost-Driven Shift to Private and Hybrid Cloud

An ISG report found that there is a growing trend among U.S. enterprises toward private and hybrid cloud solutions, primarily driven by cost concerns amidst economic uncertainty. While the overall contract value for cloud services is decreasing, organizations are transitioning away from public clouds due to security, performance and compliance concerns.

The report also explored the potential impact of GenAI on cloud management, with enterprises cautiously evaluating its benefits and costs. While AI and ML are used to improve service delivery and efficiency, the industry fights with the challenges of measuring GenAI's actual value. Additionally, the increasing demand for colocation services to support high-density computing and the impact of VMware licensing changes are other key trends affecting the private and hybrid cloud market.

F5 Expands Multicloud Networking Capabilities

F5 announced new partnerships and customer successes to solidify its position in the growing multicloud networking market. F5 has formed strategic partnerships with NetApp, Red Hat (News - Alert) and Console Connect. These collaborations aim to provide customers with improved data mobility, simplified cloud workload management, and expanded global network reach.

Additionally, F5 has highlighted several customer success stories demonstrating the value of its solutions in streamlining multicloud operations, enhancing security, and improving application performance.

Based on the news provided here, all can pretty much say that cloud adoption will only increase.