What type of cloud market share do Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform each hold -- and what are the implications for the Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs, particularly in the age of AI?
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Canalys has tracked global spending on cloud infrastructure services for years, and the channel-focused market analyst firm recently refactored its historical data to account for a review of definitions, service categories and source data.
The big news is that Amazon continues to hold the largest market share with its Amazon Web Services (AWS) at 33% of the market in Q2 2024. It is followed by Microsoft Azure with 20% of the market and Google Cloud with 10%. All other cloud infrastructure providers comprise the remaining 37% of the market for Q2.
Breaking Down the Numbers for AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud
It’s not a huge change for AWS since tracking began. AWS went from a 34% market share in Q1 2022 to that 33% in Q2 2024.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s movement has been a little more significant going from 17% in Q1 2022 to 20% in Q2 2024. Google’s share has also trended up from 8% in Q1 2022 to 10% in Q2 2024. Microsoft’s and Google’s increase in share has come at the expense of the rest of the market below those top three providers. All other providers in the market have gone from a 41% share in Q1 2022 to a 37% share in Q2 2024.
What’s more, cloud spending is growing significantly. Canalys reports that in Q2 2024 global spending on cloud infrastructure services grew 19% year on year to reach $78.2 billion. A significant portion of spending is now directed to AI-related investments.
AI to Drive Big Cloud Growth Ahead
“Accelerating demand for AI is expected to generate significant opportunities for sustained growth in cloud services,” Canalys said in a statement. “As enterprises adopt AI technologies, they will need more advanced and scalable cloud infrastructure, driving ongoing investment and development in cloud services.”
The firm reported AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud all reported a significant surge in the number of customers using AI. They continue to introduce new AI products, such as Google Cloud’s Gemini 1.5 and Azure’s GPT-4o mini. AWS, through its cloud platform Bedrock, also offers Claude 3.5 Sonnet and other APIs, Canalys said.
In addition, they continue to work on strengthening their AI partner ecosystems and fostering startups including initiatives such as AWS’ Generative AI Accelerator and Google Cloud’s Google for Startups Accelerator.
Cloud Giants Invest in Smaller Companies for AI
“Startups bring fresh perspectives, agility and specialist expertise, providing hyperscalers with opportunities to tap into emerging markets, address technological gaps and acquire new talent,” said Yi Zhang, analyst at Canalys, in a statement. “By supporting startups, hyperscalers ensure that even smaller companies can contribute to and benefit from the rapid advances in AI technology, ultimately driving growth, strengthening their ecosystems and maintaining their competitive edge in the industry.”
