Megatrends series - Is Cloud Computing Dead in 2022?

In 2020, cloud computing was one of the leading megatrend strategies in focus for investors around the world. As 2021 progressed, volatility increased, primarily because the world was transitioning away from and then back into the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, with 2022 beginning, the focus is directly on the response and share price performance of these types of companies and business models in an environment of rising interest rates and less global monetary accommodation. While we recognise that monetary accommodation has been the ‘norm’ since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09, it will be notable to see how all megatrend strategies behave if this condition should change. We emphasize that cloud computing is a long-term megatrend, so even if 2022’s equity market performance is challenging, revenue, growth and fundamentals are still there in the aggregate, and the possible benefits of cloud-based infrastructure should be independent of the level of interest rates or monetary accommodation over the longer term. Highlights: + Focus on what we see in terms of revenue growth + Considerations of the relationships we are seeing between recent performance, valuation, the macro backdrop, and in certain cases individual company considerations + Use cases that help investors see cloud computing as an infrastructure that is set to enable developments in other industries Megatrends are powerful, long-term, transformative changes shaping the world that we live in today. The exciting new developments in technology create a compelling case for the needs of the future and the industries likely to drive global transformation. We’re running webinars on megatrends that could transform our society: the biorevolution, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Hear from our Global Head of Research on why these megatrends sit at the forefront of technological change and how they could power a portfolio.