Future of the Cloud: 10 Trends Shaping 2026 and Beyond

Source: Pulumi Blog

Overview

In 2026, several trends will dominate cloud computing, driving innovation, efficiency, and scalability. From Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to AI/ML, platform engineering to multi‑cloud and hybrid strategies, and security practices, let’s explore the 10 biggest emerging trends.

Table of Contents

1. Cloud‑native infrastructure as code evolution
2. AI‑driven operations and observability
3. Serverless and function‑as‑a‑service expansion
4. Edge computing and distributed workloads
5. Multi‑cloud and hybrid cloud orchestration
6. Platform engineering as a discipline
7. Zero‑trust security models
8. Sustainable and green cloud practices
9. Data‑centric architectures and lakehouses
10. Quantum‑ready cloud services

(Content continues with detailed sections for each trend.)