Goodbye vendor lock-in: The cloud market shifts to autonomy and choice in 2026

As I sit down to write what is becoming both an annual retrospective and a considered look ahead, I am reminded of where the cloud market and organisations' adoption of it currently sit. 

Over the last 12 months, there is no doubt that we have seen more organisations recognise the value of the cloud, and for us, there has been a massive uptick in public sector organisations taking a cloud native approach – something I expect will continue at pace next year too. Convinced of the benefits of the cloud following the execution of smaller cloud projects that are aligned with best practice, it is encouraging to see more recognising the value that the cloud can bring and consider future migrations and deployments. 

But there are other aspects that I foresee in the next year. 

Cloud autonomy will become a reality

Gone are the days when organisations wished for the security of a lengthy contract with a vendor. Legacy vendor lock-in within the cloud has been a challenge for many, and we have seen a massive rise in those who have been suddenly presented with significant cost hikes and lengthy extended contracts breaking free from the status quo. Instead, they are demanding a new cloud infrastructure that gives them the flexibility their business requires. As we move into a new year, I expect that we will see more organisations recognise the value of cloud marketplaces, which give them the autonomy to pick and choose services and tools that they need when they need them – and not feel the pain of restriction.  

Shadow IT vs data sovereignty

While we are seeing hyperscalers create and launch their own sovereign clouds to guarantee the location where customer data is being stored and processed, what organisations that use cloud services must be mindful of is ensuring that their shadow IT doesn't undermine efforts and increase non-compliance. Enterprises need to seriously look at this issue in 2026.

The IT environments we see can often benefit from significant improvements around best practices, even for organisations not attempting something so complex. Much like the adage, if you don't test your backups, then you don't have any. In 2026, organisations must be mindful that if they don't have automated and detailed reporting on the compliance of their policies, then they don't have any at all. 

Without automated oversight, IT estates will become unmanageable, non-compliant, and likely include replication of work and data. By automating the detection of non-compliant activities, organisations should adopt a "shift left" strategy, addressing issues earlier in the process and ensuring their IT environment remains secure and manageable.

At its core, in 2026, I see that the future of cloud adoption will be defined by autonomy and intelligence. Yes, AI is sure to play into operational productivity, but we will also see cloud-based workloads operate more smartly, and making the cloud work harder for an organisation is likely where the world is going – and I am here for it.