Cloud Computing: Who are the key players in the game?

1Nebula Team

Mar 8, 2021 CLOUD

Companies around the globe are embracing cloud as a key business enabler. During the coronavirus pandemic, cloud deployments accelerated dramatically as businesses searched for ways to keep the lights on despite lockdown restrictions. Going forward, around 95% of organisations plan to increase their cloud spend in 2021.

But where are they spending this money? And what cloud computing solutions are they using to boost their operations and enable new ways of working? Keep reading.

Market size

At present, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is still the market leader but Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are also making waves and starting to be recognised as worthy cloud contenders. AWS retains 32% of the market. Azure’s market share has increased significantly to 20%, while Google currently controls 7% of the market.

Revenue

From a revenue perspective, total spend on cloud reached $39.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 – up $10bn year-on-year, according to ZDNet. Collectively, AWS, Azure and Google Cloud earned 58% of the industry’s total revenue in 2020.

Performance

According to the third annual Cloud Report, recently published by Cockroach Labs, all three performed well. Azure was a clear winner in terms of storage, AWS was described as the most cost-efficient for online transactional processing and offers the lowest network latency. The report found that Google Cloud performed best in terms of fastest processing rates.

Key customers

In 2020, Google signed a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars to provide cloud computing services to Ford. Some of Azure’s biggest customers include Boeing, eBay and Samsung. As for AWS, their key customers include Netflix, Twitch and LinkedIn.

Features and functionality

Google Cloud offers around 95 different cloud services. AWS and Azure offer more than 200.

If anything, these metrics showcase that each cloud computing provider has it its own merit and highlights the value of multi-cloud. In a multi-cloud scenario, businesses can diversify their cloud strategy so that they can leverage the benefits offered by the different providers.