Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cost-effective cloud platform of e-commerce giant Amazon, continues to lead the cloud infrastructure market, although its dominance is increasingly challenged by Microsoft. According to recent data from Synergy Research Group, Amazon’s market share in the global cloud infrastructure sector stood at 31% in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease from the previous year’s 32%. Meanwhile, its main competitor, Microsoft, has seen its Azure platform’s market share grow to a record high of 25% in the same period. Along with Google, which holds 11% of the market, the so-called “Big Three” now account for two-thirds of the cloud market, which continues to expand, leaving the rest of the competitors with single-digit figures.
In the first quarter of 2024, worldwide spending on cloud infrastructure services grew by $13.5 billion, or 21%, compared to the first quarter of 2023, raising total spending to over $76 billion for the three months ending on March 31. Looking at the full year, the market is now at a revenue run rate of $300 billion, explaining why it is such a fiercely contested market. Despite its size, the cloud market continues to grow strongly, with year-over-year growth even reaccelerating for the second consecutive quarter.
“In terms of annualized run rate, we now have a $300 billion market that is growing at 21% per year,” said John Dinsdale, Chief Analyst at Synergy Research Group. “We won’t go back to the growth rates seen before 2022, as the market has become too massive to grow that quickly, but we will see the market continue to expand substantially. We predict it will double in size in the next four years.”
Amazon and Microsoft, along with Google, dominate the global cloud services market, each with extensive data centers not only in their local U.S. market but also in numerous countries around the world. The preeminence of AWS in cloud-based products and Microsoft with its strong presence in hybrid cloud shows the diversity and adaptability of these platforms to meet the growing demands of the global technology and business sector.
Source: [Statista](https://www.statista.com/chart/18819/worldwide-market-share-of-leading-cloud-infrastructure-service-providers/)