Amazon and Microsoft Stay Ahead in Global Cloud Market
Having established itself as an early leader in the market for cloud infrastructure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the online retailer’s profitable cloud platform, is still ahead of the pack. According to estimates from Synergy Research Group, Amazon’s market share in the worldwide cloud infrastructure market amounted to 30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, ahead of Microsoft's Azure platform at 21 percent and Google Cloud at 12 percent. The "Big Three" account for more than 60 percent of the ever-growing cloud market, with the rest of the competition stuck in the low single digits.
In Q4 2024, global cloud infrastructure service spending grew $17 billion or 22 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing total spending to $91 billion for the three months ended December 31, 2024. Looking at the full year 2024, cloud infrastructure service revenues climbed to $330 billion, explaining why the market is so fiercely contested. Despite its size, the cloud market is still growing strongly, with year-over-year growth even re-accelerating in 2024.
"Given the already massive size of the market, we are seeing an impressive surge in growth," John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy Research Group said three months ago. "While some market headwinds have diminished, it is undoubtedly AI that is a prime factor behind this increased growth rate. New AI-oriented services and technology are helping the major cloud providers to ride a wave - new capabilities lead to increased demand, which leads to increased revenues, which then enables more investment in underlying technologies," he explains the virtuous cycle that could lead to even more growth going forward.