Global cloud services spend hits record $49.4bn in Q3

AWS emerged as the leading cloud service provider

Cloud infrastructure services continued to be in high demand in the third quarter of 2021, according to figures from Canalys.

Global spending surged 35 per cent to $49.4bn (€42.5bn), driven by ongoing remote working and learning, and the growing use of industry-specific cloud applications.

Canalys claims the major cloud services providers have emphasised geographic data centre expansion to meet rising demand.

The latest Canalys estimates show expenditure has grown $12.9bn (€11.1bn) over Q3 2020 and $2.4bn (€2.068bn) since last quarter.

However, Canalys claims the impact of the global chip shortage is imminent, as data centre component providers are seeing longer lead times and higher prices that will be passed on to the largest providers.

Moreover, the hyperscalers have now shifted focus to advancing industry-specific service portfolios and growing their channels to successfully bring these increasingly diverse sets of products to market.

"Overall compute demand is out-growing chip manufacturing capabilities, and infrastructure expansion may become limited for the cloud service providers," said Canalys research analyst Blake Murray.

"Besides managing supply chains to the best of their abilities, the providers building an advantage are focused on developing their go-to-market channels along with their product portfolios to catch up with an increasingly wide variety of customer use cases that has fueled demand since the start of the pandemic."

The big three

AWS accounted for 32 per cent of total cloud infrastructure services spend in Q3, making it the leading cloud service provider, according to Canalys data.

It grew 39 per cent on an annual basis.

The cloud giant recently announced AWS for Health, which combines industry-specific offerings with cybersecurity and compliance solutions.

It has been successful in the public sector, winning key deals with US and UK governments.

It has also led channel development through its competency programmes, with its government competency becoming the largest industry-focused competency among its partners.

Microsoft Azure was the second largest cloud service provider in Q3, with a 21 per cent market share and more than 50 per cent growth for a fifth consecutive quarter.

The tech powerhouse continued to focus on industry cloud service customisations and expanded capabilities in financial services and manufacturing.

It also reported new customer success in its cloud service suites for healthcare and sustainability.

Meanwhile, Google Cloud was the third largest provider and grew 54 per cent to account for eight per cent of the market.

It announced 20 expanded technology partnerships with data and cybersecurity companies to deepen vertical expertise.