Every year, it seems like the Oscars get bigger and grander in scale, size, awards, accolades, and beyond as Hollywood’s brightest stars come out to celebrate the success of the past year. Cloud security has followed a similar path in that every year there are more elements and more categories to take into consideration for best in class. New effective and transformative solutions that do their best to safeguard our ever-changing world.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (pun intended) the past week or so, it was hard to miss hearing that actor Will Smith went on stage at this year’s Oscars and took a swipe (literally) at comedian Chris Rock that stunned the audience and sent ripple effects across Hollywood. Not what the Oscars organizers likely had in mind in terms of scripting something memorable for the first full-scale event in years.

For cloud security, the proverbial slap to the face is happening now—day in and day out. A jolt to entities and companies alike that may feel like they are adequately prepared to secure their most vital assets but, in reality, are playing a dangerous and risky game.

Like the Oscars, where films are released continuously throughout the year to the delight of audiences of all ages, cloud security is an entity that never sleeps. In the past month alone, acquisitions in the cybersecurity space for giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have been highlighted and brought to the forefront, along with a continued expansion of security measures with the US Army, which have all underscored the need for stronger and more secure cloud environments.

Need more proof that the cloud has longevity and staying power? How about this Hollywood-sized flashing nugget? By 2025, Gartner predicts more than 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms, up from just 30% in 2021.

Since COVID-19 entered the picture in 2020, the Oscars were forced to come up with more virtual, digital, and scaled-back solutions in the name of safety. Cloud security, in many ways, has endured the same. The rise of working from home and hybrid work environments pushed the need for increased security to maintain privacy and safety. Adaptability, versatility, and the ability to pivot in a short amount of time are keys to maintaining success during a global event like we have seen in the past two years.

The cloud, not surprisingly, was another heavily featured topic in this year’s speaking submissions for RSA Conference 2022. For those joining us in June, you can expect a heavy dose of cloud-related sessions spread throughout the week in San Francisco, ranging from digital transformation initiatives to governance challenges to success with Kubernetes.