Companies around the world are moving away from legacy systems and traditional models in favor of the total adoption of cloud infrastructure and services, partially spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, enterprise spending on cloud services continued to grow rapidly, reaching a record-high of $178 billion, according to new data from Synergy Research Group. While the pandemic raged through 2020, enterprises of all sizes found the value of cloud adoption as they pivoted to remote working and cost-cutting. The investment in cloud-based technologies has paid off for many businesses, and the companies behind the tech are reaping major benefits.
Data centers have taken the brunt of the impact of the rise of cloud computing, bringing in half the revenue of their competitors. What once was an indispensable part of every enterprise — on-premises data storage — is quickly becoming an afterthought as cloud infrastructure is clearly the present and future of business. And although Amazon Web Service dominates the market, Microsoft is quickly closing the gap with its surprising revival driven by cloud and workplace-based solutions. AWS controls 31% of the market, with Microsoft reaching 21% and growing, followed distantly by Google, Alibaba, and others. The global cloud computing market is expected to grow to nearly $1 trillion by 2026.
