It’s not just AI. Here are 3 essential other ways to use the cloud

For those outside of the tech world, no, cloud technology is not literally in the air, but rather refers to a complex network of computer servers around the world that store, manage, and process data versus hosting on local devices. 

In recent months, cloud capacity has become more important than ever as artificial intelligence has put a strain on data centers’ computing capabilities. In fact, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said late last month that the company’s “GPUs are melting” due to a dramatic increase in image generation requests on ChatGPT.

Even beyond AI, the cloud is considered one of the great technological shifts of our lifetime, according to Lee Moore, vice president of Global Google Cloud Consulting. And its use cases in people’s everyday lives are only growing. 

3 essential other ways cloud technology is used

Streaming services

Streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video all tout their immense collections of high-quality movies and television shows, all of which can be accessed at the click of a button with a stable internet connection. However, you may take for granted the ability to access your favorite content on-demand, buffer-free. 

Shaown Nandi, director of technology at Amazon Web Services (AWS), says the dramatic shift from linear television to streaming has all been made possible by cloud technology.

“They were new consumption patterns, and we had a lot of pressure. We created a product called Local Zones, and we have CloudFront, which is our content distribution product, and these are all pieces of computed edge locations, so that we could help streaming providers get their content to their customers quicker and easier,” Nandi tells Fortune. 

Healthcare

If you’ve been to the doctor recently, one of the greatest changes you may have noticed is that the office has likely gone fully digital, meaning your records are all stored in the cloud. This includes the documents that your doctor may otherwise only be able to access.

“X-ray, MRI, and CT data have been massive,” Nandi says. “Data storage consumption is not just having that data; consumers want to view it.”

Plus, it allows for inter-system medical communication like never before. Patients and healthcare professionals across the country can more easily access records and no longer have to wait for files to be transferred—something that can especially come in handy in an emergency. And it’s all thanks to data being stored in the cloud.

Financial services

The financial services sector has also seen dramatic changes thanks to cloud technology. No longer do investors need to be on the Wall Street trading floor to buy and sell equities—they can do so from the comfort of their own home or even from a mobile app. 

At the same time, consumers can also access their financial data, like banking information and credit card statements, online, versus having to go to a branch or wait for the mail delivery. 

The data collection and auditability capabilities, thanks to the cloud, have been immense, Nandi says, with firms being able to track when trades happen, who initiated them, and what data was used to help make the trade decision.

It’s hard to avoid cloud technology’s reach

For entrepreneurs and small business owners, cloud technology opens the door for innovation and allows for resources to be spent elsewhere.

One way to think about the benefits of cloud technology is in the e-commerce space. For a retailer with a massive Black Friday sale, they need the infrastructure support for an influx of customers to have a seamless shopping experience. With the cloud, there’s no need to buy expensive servers that are only used once a year; instead, you just pay a cloud service provider for what you need.

The cloud technology market is dominated by three of the biggest tech companies: Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, and the demand is only getting exponentially greater. In the last quarter of 2024 alone, enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure services hit $91 billion—up 22% from the year before, according to Synergy Research Group.

Moving forward, it may be nearly impossible to go a day, let alone an hour, in today’s world without having an interaction with the cloud. If you think about it in terms of Google products, the technology is already everywhere, Moore says: “Every time you use Gmail, ask Gemini a question, watch videos on YouTube, or get directions with Google Maps, you’re using the cloud.”