Cloud computing remains an increasingly important part of business and personal internet use - and with the rise of AI and the increasing need for huge amounts of data, cloud storage is in demand now more than ever.
AI is undoubtedly changing the cloud landscape, with vast amounts of data and compute needed to train and run Large Language Models (LLMs). Bigger, non-proprietary, and all purpose models are less secure and less reliable for enterprises on the whole, so smaller, often locally stored models are becoming more popular - which means on-prem storage and compute will become once again more significant.
We spoke to a few cloud storage experts to find out what their predictions are for the cloud storage space going into 2026, and these are our top picks.
Sovereign cloud solutions
An overwhelming response from experts was in regards to the importance of cloud sovereignty. One of the biggest lessons from 2025 has been how the convenience and scalability of hyper-scalers, does not always necessarily outweigh the risks of security and outages.
“Demand for sovereign cloud solutions will rise, along with greater reliance on regional providers and renewed interest in on-premises or air-gapped data centers,” predicts Chintan Patel, Cisco EMEA CTO.
“A full overhaul of global infrastructure is unlikely, but selective migrations and diversified cloud strategies will become the norm, creating demand for local talent and skills.
Downtime caused historic issues in 2025, with the AWS incident in particular outlining the dramatic losses that come with giving up control of your information infrastructure. We’ve already seen a stagnation in the adoption of non-sovereign cloud storage, and the experts we’ve heard from seem to predict this will continue.
“Make no mistake: this is a paradigm shift," explains Emma Dennard, Vice President, Northern Europe at OVHcloud
“Organizations are realising that not having sovereign cloud - for certain workloads and applications – is an operational risk. As a result, more organizations are building cloud-native, portable systems by default. This means that moving apps between clouds is easier than ever, risks can be mitigated and costs can be optimized.”
Hyper-scaler hype cycle
It’s difficult to discuss predictions for cloud computing without mentioning AI. Cloud and AI are intertwined, and the dramatic increase in demand for cloud services is directly linked to the enormous amount of data and compute needed to run Large Language Models that have soared in popularity.
Most experts can recognize that AI (particularly Gen AI) is at the peak of the hype cycle right now, and that this level of general use and discourse is unlikely to continue long term.
But, that doesn't mean the technology won't continue on, explains CEO of Pulsant, Rob Coupland;
"As the hype settles, businesses are starting to evaluate real-world AI uses and determine what digital infrastructure is truly needed to support their AI goals. This also brings inference AI and sovereign AI into the picture, further complicating the landscape, with Edge computing emerging as a key beneficiary."
"Although hyperscale demand will no doubt continue, demand for specialised, inference-optimized storage platforms will become more significant."
The AI Bubble
There have been talks of an AI bubble for months, with experts warning of a ‘sharp market correction’ when this bursts. Considering a huge portion of the market, and indeed of the US economic growth can be attributed to artificial intelligence, the concerns that arise from the possibility of the bubble bursting are significant.
But, the financial concerns are not the only consideration. AI consumes huge amounts of power, and with energy sources across the globe already struggling to meet rising demand, this poses serious dangers for 2026 and beyond.
“Investment has poured into new data center developments to power global AI ambitions, but the energy systems required to support them are on their knees,” says Taco Engelaar, SVP and Managing Director of Neara.
“To increase capacity for new data centers, policymakers are proposing extensive grid expansion; but if history is anything to go by, public opposition could stop it in its tracks.”
Looking forward
There are lots of interesting predictions to take away for 2026, some positive, some a little more skeptical. What's certain is that cloud computing will be an integral part of enterprise moving forward, whether in a global or local capacity.
Increased demands for data and power brought about by AI are likely to strain public services and energy grids, with global outages and security incidents driving organizations towards local infrastructure with more transparency, controls, and stricter compliance.
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