AWS and co 'running away' with cloud market

Powerful quartet of AWS, Microsoft, IBM and Google extended lead in Q4, says Synergy Research

Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounted for nearly one in every three pounds spent on cloud infrastructure in Q4 as it extended its lead in the market.

That is according to Synergy Research, which said that AWS, along with Microsoft, IBM and Google, are "running away" with an IaaS, PaaS, and private and hybrid cloud market now worth close to $7bn (£4.8bn) a quarter.

AWS - which recently unveiled plans to launch UK datacentres - saw its share of the spoils rise to 31 per cent in Q4 on the back of 66 per cent year-on-year growth.

But the top four as a whole also grew their collective share.

Second-placed Microsoft now has a nine per cent slice of the market following 124 per cent growth, IBM is on seven per cent after growing 54 per cent and Google grew 108 per cent to take a four per cent share.

"The big four cloud operators are continuing to run away with the market," said John Dinsdale, research director at Synergy Research Group.

"The second tier of operators are either niche players, generalist IT service providers, or companies lacking the scale, focus and investment capabilities required to truly challenge the top four hyperscale cloud providers. This second tier includes Salesforce, Rackspace, Oracle, NTT, Fujitsu, Alibaba and HPE."