As businesses around the world continue to adopt cloud computing services to manage their data and software applications, the market for cloud services has grown dramatically in recent years. According to a recent report by Gartner, the global cloud services market is expected to reach $266 billion in 2020, up from $155 billion in 2019.
And when it comes to dominating this market, one company stands out above the rest: Microsoft.
Over the past few years, Microsoft has made significant moves to become a leading player in the cloud services market. In addition to its long-standing success with its Office suite of applications, Microsoft has made major investments in cloud infrastructure and services, including its Azure platform and its acquisition of LinkedIn.
In fact, according to the latest data from Synergy Research Group, Microsoft is the second-largest cloud services provider in the world, with a market share of around 18%. That puts it just behind Amazon Web Services (AWS), which holds a market share of around 32%.
But while AWS has long been the dominant player in the cloud services market, Microsoft has been steadily gaining ground. In fact, Microsoft’s Azure platform saw year-over-year growth of 59% in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 33% for AWS.
One of the key factors behind Microsoft’s success is its focus on hybrid cloud solutions. Unlike AWS, which is primarily focused on public cloud services, Microsoft has been building out its Azure Stack offering, which allows businesses to deploy a consistent set of Azure services across their own data centers and the public cloud.
This makes it easier for businesses to manage their data across different environments, while also giving them greater control over their infrastructure and security.
In addition to its hybrid cloud offerings, Microsoft has also been investing heavily in artificial intelligence and machine learning. This has led to the development of advanced analytics tools and services, such as Azure Machine Learning, that allow businesses to analyze and make sense of their data on a massive scale.
Overall, Microsoft’s dominance in the cloud services market shows no signs of slowing down. With its strategic investments in hybrid cloud solutions and machine learning technology, as well as its focus on delivering high-quality, reliable services, Microsoft is poised to continue dominating the market for years to come.
