With data at the forefront of the modern-world, cloud technology has become essential to the development of businesses. The cloud is a complex system that demands an innovative and nuanced technological approach.

With this in mind, here are our Top 10 companies innovating with the cloud in 2018:

Cloudera

Cloudera is a software company that specialises in data engineering, data warehousing, machine learning and analytics through the use of cloud technology. CTO and co-founder Amr Awadallah insists that Cloudera "takes any type of data at any volume and performs any form of analysis."

In the wake of the GDPR controversy, analysing every individualised piece of data is often impossible. With Cloudera, a company can transfer all data onto one system and have every violation of GDPR automatically tagged in order to avoid penalties.

Microsoft

This tech behemoth hardly requires an extensive introduction. Microsoft's capacity for cloud solutions encompasses the iconic Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure.

In its most recent quarterly report, Microsoft declared that Azure's revenue has risen by a massive 93%. In addition, US retail giant Walmart just announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft in an effort to rival Amazon in cloud tech.

Trend Micro

This Japanese multinational cybersecurity company has begun to reap the benefits of Hybrid Cloud Security. Trend Micro secures data before it enters the cloud infrastructure, allowing users to have full ownership of their data.

As more businesses begin to harness the power of the cloud, more problems with the technology arise. Take a look at their handy guide to avoiding the common mistakes many cybersecurity experts make.

IBM

"Built for all your applications, AI ready, and secure to the core," IBM Cloud is a clear market leader. IBM delves into IaaS, PaaS and SaaS - providing customers with more choices, secure cybersecurity, and better application integration.

In an exclusive interview with EM360º, IBM's lead cloud advisor Rashik Parmar said "a lot of the cloud journey is about automation." Over the past 12 months, IBM reportedly generated $17 billion in cloud revenue, an increase of 24% from the previous year.

Genesys

The cloud gives businesses the power to provide better customer experiences. Using its platform PureCloud, Genesys allows organisations to create exceptional customer relationships.

A cloud contact centre can add capabilities and new efficiencies, increase the calibre of customer experience, and build consumer loyalty. According to Genesys, the cloud is the key to optimising customer engagement.

NaviSite

NaviSite LLC, a part of Spectrum Enterprise, is a leading international provider of secure enterprise-class cloud management. With Zerto, NaviSite simplifies the critical aspects of data protection including data management, recovery diagnostics and failover testing.

Back in May, the company announced it had signed up new customers for its cloud-based business continuity and disaster recovery services. Ziv Kedem, founder and CEO of Zerto said “we look forward to continuing to jointly serve clients who are modernising their disaster recovery programs by moving to the cloud.”

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services has consistently dominated the cloud market. The service is particularly important to Amazon's business on the whole - AWS accounted for all of the company's 2017 operating income.

According to a Synergy report, AWS worldwide market share has held steady at around 33% for twelve quarters. Despite the market tripling in size, Amazon's market share is more than Microsoft, IBM, Google and Alibaba's shares combined.

Advanced

The journey to the cloud is not necessarily a straightforward one, which is why some businesses are still hesitant to innovate. This is where an Advanced Cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution comes in.

According to Advanced, over two-thirds of companies in the UK have invested in cloud-based systems and a third are planning to adopt the technology. Roy Wood, Chief Sales Officer at Advanced offered his expertise for journeying to the cloud in our recent Ask the Expert feature.

ThousandEyes

From Deutsche Bank, to eBay and Slack - ThousandEyes helps some of the world's biggest companies thrive in a connected world. They offer Cloud Agents to give customers access to performance data from local transit providers and last-mile ISPs to simulate end user performance.

This innovative use of cloud technology provides clear insights into "network outages, sluggish services and failing devices." Ameet Naik, technical marketing manager at ThousandEyes, analyses the intricacies of connecting to the cloud in an informative new feature.

Google Cloud

According to Synergy, Google Cloud now controls 6% of the market. However, GCP’s chief executive, Diane Greene, said a lot of people are “grossly underestimating” Google’s cloud business.

Apple have previously used Google for their iCloud services, while Twitter has also turned to Google Cloud for support. In addition, two insider sources have revealed that Facebook could be transferring from Microsoft Azure to Google Cloud.