Amazon Maintains Cloud Lead as Microsoft Edges Closer

Having established itself as an early leader in the market for cloud infrastructure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the online retailer’s profitable cloud platform, is still ahead of the pack. According to estimates from Synergy Research Group, Amazon’s market share in the worldwide cloud infrastructure market amounted to 31 percent in the third quarter of 2024, ahead of Microsoft's Azure platform at 20 percent and Google Cloud at 11 percent. The "Big Three" account for more than 60 percent of the ever-growing cloud market, with the rest of the competition stuck in the low single digits.

In Q3 2024, global cloud infrastructure service spending grew $15.7 billion or 23 percent compared to the third quarter of 2023, bringing total spending to over $84 billion for the three months ended September 30. Looking at the past 12 months, cloud infrastructure service revenues climbed to $313 billion, explaining why the market is so fiercely contested. Despite its size, the cloud market is still growing strongly, with year-over-year growth even re-accelerating for the fourth consecutive quarter.

"Given the already massive size of the market, we are seeing an impressive surge in growth," John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy Research Group said. "While some market headwinds have diminished, it is undoubtedly AI that is a prime factor behind this increased growth rate. New AI-oriented services and technology are helping the major cloud providers to ride a wave - new capabilities lead to increased demand, which leads to increased revenues, which then enables more investment in underlying technologies," he explains the virtuous cycle that could lead to even more growth going forward.