India's largest platform for AI & Analytics leaders, professionals & aspirants

Sign in

India's largest platform for AI & Analytics leaders, professionals & aspirants
Become a Thought Leader
Become a 3AI Member

Sign in

3AI Digital Library

< Go Back

Cloud Infrastructure market: Amazon, Microsoft, and Google continue to thrive

3AI February 17, 2021

Even in the middle of a pandemic, companies including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google continue to thrive thanks to their control over the cloud infrastructure market.

When we talk about regulating big tech, the discussion usually centers on online privacy and location tracking, but we never seem to discuss the control these companies have over a vast majority of the internet. We use free apps and services every day but fail to mention where all that data is stored—in the cloud. If we want big tech to have less control over our daily lives, maybe we should start worrying about the stranglehold these few companies have over our data.

According to data collected by the Synergy Research Group, four companies own 67% of the world’s $130 billion cloud market. Leading the pack by a large margin is Amazon Web Services, which enjoys a whopping 32% market share against the competition. This is followed by the 20% share enjoyed by Microsoft’s Azure infrastructure. So these two companies alone make up 52% of the market.

Behind the two dominant companies, Google Cloud at 9% and Alibaba Cloud at 6% round out the top four, which own over half of the overall market. After that, IBM Cloud, Salesforce, Tencent Cloud, and Oracle Cloud make up 12% of the market combined.

Between the infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service schemes employers subscribe to and the hosted private cloud services we use every day, companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba have ultimate control over our data. Google may not be viewing everything you upload to Google Drive, for instance, but these companies do gain access to our personal data through the free services you use.

In the fourth quarter of 2020 alone, cloud infrastructure services brought in a total of $37 billion as the world solidified its work from home setup. This was a $4 billion jump from the previous quarter, proving that these companies continue to thrive off our data while many other businesses suffer.

Picture from freepik.com

    3AI Trending Articles

  • India’s answer to Dropbox and Google Drive: NITI Aayog’s DigiBoxx

    Homegrown data storage and management platform DigiBoxx has been launched by NITI Aayog and it will provide affordable services to both regular users as well as businesses. India now has its own cloud storage platform, DigiBoxx. A potential alternative to Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive, the indigenous cloud service is seen as a step that furthers the initiative […]

  • Commerce Ministry notifies Rs 945 crore seed fund for startups

    DPIIT said that preference would be given to startups offering solutions in sectors including social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, oil and gas, textiles, etc.   The government has approved the Rs 945-crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) for the period […]

  • Online learning will pave the way for a digital future

    Online learning has emerged as a critical tool that promises the potential to prepare business and professionals for a digital future. While skilling has become a hot trend in the current job climate, professionals should know that simply having basic digital skills won’t cut it because disruptive digital skills are now a necessity, not a […]

  • Barco unveiled its largest global Centre of Excellence for software innovation and R&D in India

    Professional visualisation and collaboration technology leader Barco on Wednesday unveiled its largest global Centre of Excellence for software innovation and R&D in India. In keeping with the hybrid workplace model, the new facility in Noida is designed to enhance productivity and features a common lab area offering flexibility for expansion or addition of new labs. […]