Spanish companies are preparing for a massive investment in cloud technology and data centers by 2025, with an expected expenditure of over 7.5 billion euros. This figure represents a significant increase compared to the 6 billion euros expected to be invested before the end of 2024, according to a recent report by Eraneos, a consultancy specializing in strategy and technological transformation.
Priority on AI and Machine Learning
The report, based on surveys of over one hundred of the leading Spanish companies with revenues exceeding 5 billion euros, reveals that over 62% of these corporations consider artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and deep learning as priorities within their cloud strategies. Eduardo Martín, Director of Sourcing & CIO Advisory at Eraneos, explains that “the economic and social situation has become completely unpredictable, organizations need a level of flexibility and speed to adjust their offerings to customer needs without incurring an unsustainable overhead in dedicated infrastructure.”
Growth of the Cloud Market
The budget allocated to cloud services in 2024 already exceeds that of 2023 by 9%, with over 70% of companies investing more than 15% of their IT budget in cloud tools. This growth demonstrates a clear trend towards digitalization and the adoption of advanced technologies to improve operational efficiency and optimize costs.
Impact of AI on the Cloud Market
AI technologies and their applications in the cloud are rapidly gaining ground. 62.1% of surveyed companies already consider AI and machine learning as their primary priorities in the cloud. As for generative AI, 44.9% of companies use it occasionally, and 14.3% use it extensively. These technologies not only enhance internal processes and efficiency but also enable around 40% of companies to manage customer relationships and tailor their services to the market.
Challenges and Regulation
Despite advances, many companies are still in the early stages of governance and operational management of AI. Only 16.3% of companies are prepared for new AI regulations, while 18.4% have not yet begun this process. Most companies are working to adapt to regulations within a year.
Leading Providers in the Market
Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud Platform continue to dominate the cloud infrastructure provider market. Azure leads the overall satisfaction ranking with 89.8% of surveyed companies using their services. AWS and Google Cloud Platform follow with 63.3% and 40.8%, respectively. Oracle Cloud has also shown significant growth thanks to its SaaS solutions, with 20.4% of companies using their infrastructure services.
Stackscale is one of the leaders in IaaS infrastructure, private cloud, and bare-metal in Spain and the Netherlands, operating in third-party data centers and also in Oasixcloud data centers of the Aire Group.
Prominent Integrators
NTT, Ayesa, and Inetum stand out as the highest-rated integrators in the Spanish market. These companies with a long-standing history in the sector have proven to be most capable of meeting their clients’ needs, earning the highest levels of satisfaction.
Key Factors in Contracting
Regarding provider selection criteria, 51% of respondents highlight flexibility as the most important factor, followed by the breadth of service offerings (47%) and the quality-price ratio (43%).
Investments in cloud technology are reshaping the business landscape in Spain, enabling companies not only to adapt to changing market conditions but also to lead innovation in their respective sectors.