Public cloud services spending in Europe will double by 2026 - analyst

SaaS investments and shift to hybrid and remote working behind predicted spending increase

Public cloud services spending in Europe will reach $113bn in 2022 and will double to $239bn by 2026, according to forecasts by IDC.

Investments in software-as-a-service (SaaS) will continue to lead most of the spending in public cloud in Europe in 2022, according to the IDC's Worldwide Public Cloud Services Spending Guide, contributing to a 22 per cent five-year 2021-2026 compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

"European companies want to automate their processes as they are experiencing market challenges including supply chain disruption and skill shortages," said Andrea Minonne, senior research analyst at IDC UK.

"More frequently, companies will adopt cloud to create a solid real-time data analysis foundation that support business agility and resilience."

Professional services, banking, and discrete manufacturing will be among the top spenders in PCS, absorbing almost 60 per cent of the overall spend in 2022, according to the IDC.

It adds that the shift towards hybrid and remote working means that more attention to remote employee access to information will further drive spending in cloud solutions.

European PCS spend, excluding Russia, is expected to grow 26.4 per cent this year which the IDC says shows that "cloud will be resilient despite the conflict between Russia and Ukraine".