Cloud computing in the Asia-Pacific region - statistics & facts
Cloud computing describes the provision of IT services, including data processing, management, and storage via remote servers. There are public, private, and hybrid cloud environments. In a public cloud environment, multiple organizations utilize a shared cloud infrastructure, while private cloud services are dedicated to a single company and delivered via a private network. Hybrid clouds are a combination of on-site data centers with services from a public cloud provider. All three models come with their own benefits and risks. Moving forward, cloud technology is arguably among the most essential foundations for business digitization. Globally, public cloud end-user spending is currently estimated at over 590 billion U.S. dollars worldwide. In the Asia-Pacific region, public cloud service revenue was projected to increase threefold over the next years and is set to reach over 150 billion U.S. dollars by 2026.
The global market is dominated by U.S. providers such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). AWS is the leading vendor across the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, where local provider Alibaba Cloud holds over 30 percent of the IaaS market share.
Southeast Asia is currently the fastest-growing cloud market globally and, therefore, highly contested by U.S. and Chinese cloud companies. U.S. providers AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP are leading the Southeast Asian market, and Alibaba Cloud is ranked fourth and is heavily investing in the region. Also known as Aliyun, the Chinese provider generates an annual revenue of around 11.8 billion dollars.
In efforts to remain competitive in Southeast Asia's cloud market, these international providers are opening data centers in the region and have launched billion-dollar initiatives to upskill local developers and small to medium-sized companies.
China's dominant role in the global and regional cloud industry
China is by far the largest public cloud market in APAC and is home to two of the world's leading infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers worldwide, Alibaba Cloud and Huawei. IaaS is one of the three major market segments of cloud services, with the other two being platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS). IaaS was forecast to generate close to 66 billion U.S. dollars in revenue by 2026, making it the largest cloud segment in APAC.The global market is dominated by U.S. providers such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). AWS is the leading vendor across the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, where local provider Alibaba Cloud holds over 30 percent of the IaaS market share.
Southeast Asia as the main hotspot for U.S.-China cloud competition
Committing to a foreign service provider also bears political and diplomatic implications. As cloud technology becomes increasingly indispensable for companies and governments, a country's dominance in foreign cloud markets may enable it to partake in local decision-making processes and shape a market's digital infrastructure.Southeast Asia is currently the fastest-growing cloud market globally and, therefore, highly contested by U.S. and Chinese cloud companies. U.S. providers AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP are leading the Southeast Asian market, and Alibaba Cloud is ranked fourth and is heavily investing in the region. Also known as Aliyun, the Chinese provider generates an annual revenue of around 11.8 billion dollars.
In efforts to remain competitive in Southeast Asia's cloud market, these international providers are opening data centers in the region and have launched billion-dollar initiatives to upskill local developers and small to medium-sized companies.
