37 Cloud Computing Statistics, Facts & Trends for 2024

Global Cloud Computing Market Statistics

Providing cloud computing services is a big business that has grown rapidly in recent years. It is common to find providers that offer Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) or Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Consumers have plenty of choices, but a few common names top the list.

1. Cloud Infrastructure Services Costs Grew 23% in 2022

Cloud infrastructure usage and adoption by commercial and private users continue to increase. In Q4 of 2022, according to a report by Canalys, “cloud infrastructure services expenditures grew 23% year on year”¹. The report indicates rising costs and current inflation rates are the primary drivers.

• Expenditures totaled $65.8B in Q4.¹
• Total costs in 2022 grew 29% to $247.1B.¹
• Cloud infrastructure services generate $178 billion per year in revenue.¹

2. Cloud Infrastructure Services Average $178B in Annual Revenue

Synergy reports that total year spending on cloud infrastructure services created $178 billion in revenue combined. Specifically in Q4, Synergy “estimates that quarterly infrastructure service revenues (including IaaS, PaaS, and hosted private cloud solutions) were $50.5 billion…”¹⁰.

• The $178 billion in revenue is up 37% from 2020.¹⁰
• Microsoft, Google and Alibaba grew at a greater pace than Amazon.¹⁰

3. AWS Has the Largest Market Share

According to Canalys estimates, Amazon AWS is the market leader in total cloud spending with a 32% market share. Microsoft Azure is its closest competitor, owning a 23% market share. However, in 2022, AWS grew 20%, which is its lowest annual growth rate to date¹.

• Google Cloud owns a 10% market share.¹
• Collectively, Amazon, Microsoft and Google grew 26%.¹

4. Microsoft Azure has Grown 8% Since 2018

From Q4 2021 to Q4 2022, Microsoft saw its cloud market grow 2% for an overall market share of 23% worldwide, according to crn.com. Since 2018, Microsoft’s market share has increased 8%¹⁰.

• Microsoft Azure grew 31% year on year.¹
• IBM has lost market share, sitting at under 5% in 2022.¹⁰

5. Total Cloud Storage Data to Reach 200 Zettabytes

The world stores a lot of data, with total cloud storage expected to reach 200 zettabytes by 2025, according to a report by Arcserve¹¹. This figure encompasses all data for both public and private IT infrastructure. Data centers, personal computing and the Internet of Things are also included in this projection.

• In 2020, there were 3.5 billion smartphone users¹¹
• There were over 19 million software developers in 2019¹¹

6. Mobile Gaming Market is Valued at $108.15B in 2022

The mobile gaming market continues to gain popularity, with a value of $108.15 billion in 2022, according to Facts and Factors. By 2030, the market share is projected to grow to $339.45 billion with a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.55%¹². Check out our online gaming statistics article for more.

• Mobile games are categorized as downloadable apps for mobile devices or tablets.
• Android is the dominant choice, accounting for 71.63% of the market share.¹²

Enterprise Cloud Adoption Statistics

Cloud services have expanded beyond the need to store photos and free up disk space. Companies from every sector have adopted cloud-based services and products. Today, it is more common to find a business that uses the cloud than one that does not.

7. Companies Store 60% of Corporate Data in the Cloud

Less than a third of respondents (30%) said they stored 41-60% of their corporation data in an external cloud, according to the Thales Data Threat Report. Additionally, up to 22% of respondents indicated that over 60% of corporate data is stored with a cloud service¹⁸. 

• 1% of the survey respondents didn’t use a cloud service.¹⁸
• Only 11% used cloud services to store 81-100% of their data.¹⁸

8. Large (67%) and Small Companies (38%) Adopted Cloud Services

Fortune Business Insights reports that large and small companies adopted one or more IaaS, SaaS or PaaS cloud services during 2022. Large companies saw an increase of 67%, and smaller companies increased cloud service use by 38%¹⁹. 

• Businesses attributed the growth to increased remote work due to COVID-19.¹⁹
• Small and medium-sized companies are projected to grow at a higher rate.¹⁹

9. 91% of Companies Have Adopted AI Initiatives

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow at a staggering rate. We explore this more specifically in our ChatGPT statistics article. According to the Data and AI Leadership Executive survey administered by NewVantage Partners, 91% of companies are investing in AI initiatives¹³. Part of the push to adopt AI is the positive results companies see from the investment.

• 92% saw measurable business benefits from AI adoption.¹³
• The adoption rate was 48.4% in 2017 and 70.3% in 2020.¹³

10. AI Is Projected to Have a $15.7T Economic Impact by 2030

PwC’s recent Global Artificial Intelligence Study: Exploiting the AI Revolution estimates that AI could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy¹⁴. If accurate, that number is more than the combined economic impact of China and India.

• $6.6 trillion could be found from increased overall productivity.¹⁴
• An additional $9.1 trillion could come from consumer consumption.¹⁴

11. Multi-Cloud Strategy Gains Popularity

Of the nearly 2,800 respondents in the 2022 Thales Data Threat Report: Global Edition, 27% indicated using at least 50 SaaS apps, with a further 16% using 51-100¹⁸.

• 53% preferred Amazon Web Services as their IaaS provider.¹⁸
• 4% of respondents use up to 500 SaaS apps.¹⁸

12. Most Companies Use a Hybrid Cloud Strategy

Businesses have the option to use a public or private cloud service. However, according to Flexera’s 2023 State of the Cloud Report, 71% of companies opt for a hybrid cloud strategy²¹.

• 4% of companies are private cloud-only.²¹
• 24% of businesses surveyed did not use private services.²¹

Cloud Costs & Spending Statistics

Globally, cloud computing costs significantly increased in 2022 as cloud adoption for personal and private use increased. The top three cloud providers, Amazon, Microsoft and Google, dominated the market share as cloud costs became a top priority for businesses.

13. Cloud Computing Market Valued at $545.8B in 2022

According to a report published by Markets and Markets, the total cloud computing market was valued at $545.8 billion in 2022⁴. Some of the drivers of this figure are increased automation, return on investment and the increase in remote work culture. 

• By 2027, the number could reach up to $1,240.9 billion.⁴
• That would put the CAGR over that period at 17.9%.⁴

14. The Top Three Cloud Providers Comprised 65% of All Spending

Canalys reports that the combined amount spent on Amazon, Microsoft and Google cloud service providers accounted for 65% of the total money spent on cloud infrastructure in 2022. The big three brought in $42.77 billion of the total $65.8 billion spent in 2022¹.

• Total cloud infrastructure spending grew 29%.¹
• The growth rate slowed by 10% from Q1 to Q4 in 2022.¹

15. Personal Cloud Storage Worth $20.8B in 2022

The total worth of personal cloud storage was $20.8 billion in 2022, according to a report by Markets and Markets⁷. Personal cloud is used to store folders, files, photos and music with the ability to share these items with others.

• By 2027, the personal cloud market is projected to grow to $50.8 billion.⁷
• The CAGR over this time is 19.6%.⁷

16. Cloud Spending Management a Top Priority

According to a report published by AAG, 82% expressed concerns about managing cloud spending⁶. These concerns are not limited to business size, as both enterprises and SMBs consider cloud costs a challenge.

• 79% cited security as a top priority.⁶
• 78% were concerned about a lack of resources or expertise.⁶

17. AI Spending Expected to Reach $154B Globally

The IDC reports that by the end of 2023, global spending on AI development will be $154 billion. By 2026, the number could increase to $300 billion²².

• The increase from 2022 to 2023 was 26.9%.²²
• From 2022-2026, the CAGR could reach 27%.²²

18. The Cloud Application Market Is Estimated to Reach 168.6 Billion

By 2025, the global cloud application market is projected to reach $168.6 billion by 2025, according to a study conducted by Apps Run The World²³. 

• Microsoft led the market share at 13%.²³
• Oracle saw the most growth in 2021 at 32%.²³

Public Cloud Services & Cloud Infrastructure Statistics

Many of the familiar names sprinkled throughout these statistics are the ones that provide cloud infrastructure services. Businesses commonly use IaaS as it helps reduce overhead and upkeep costs. Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure are the market leaders.

19. IaaS Public Cloud Services Grew 29.7% Globally in 2022

Worldwide, the IaaS market grew by 29.7% in 2022, according to a report by Gartner. “Cloud has been elevated from a technology disruptor to a business disruptor,” said Sid Nag, VP Analyst at Gartner. “IaaS is driving software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) growth as buyers continue to add more applications to the cloud and modernize existing ones.²

• The top five IaaS providers accounted for over 80% of the market.²
• Amazon and Microsoft were the two industry leaders.²

20. Worldwide Public Cloud Services Grew an Average of 22.9% in 2022

Year over year, worldwide public cloud services revenue grew by 22.9% in 2022, per a report from the International Data Corporation. SaaS is the largest public cloud type, accounting for 45% of revenue³. 

• IaaS accounted for 21.2% of the revenue share.³
• PaaS had the lowest percentage at 17%.³

21. Cloud Data Centers Account for 1% of the World’s Energy Consumption

Despite the increased demand for digital services and more people online, overall global energy consumption by data centers was between 1-1.5%¹⁵. One of the reasons outlined by the IEA report includes energy efficiency improvements, which helped keep consumption low.

• Data centers and transmission accounted for 1% of energy-related CO2 emissions.¹⁵
• Since 2010, the number of internet users has doubled.¹⁵

22. There are over 9,000 Worldwide Data Centers in 2023

Data centers, which are networks of computing and storage resources that deliver shared applications and data, topped 9,000 worldwide in 2023, according to Statista⁵. 

• By far, the U.S. has the most, with over 5,300 data centers.⁵
• Germany and the U.K. have over 1,000 data centers combined.⁵
• China has 448 data centers.⁵

23. The Largest Data Center in the World Is in China

According to Analytics Adrift, China Telecom-Inner Mongolia Information Park is the largest data center in the world at over 10 million square feet. The data center has a 50% share of the Chinese data market²⁴.

• China also has the second largest data center: China Mobile – Hothot Data Center.²⁴
• The third largest data center is Switch-The Citadel Campus in the U.S.²⁴

24. IT Infrastructure Outages Are Decreasing

According to the annual survey by the Uptime Institute, 60% of respondents had suffered an outage in the last three years, which is down from 69% in 2021 and 78% in 2020. Of the outages reported in 2022, 14% were categorized as “severe” or “serious”, which again is down from around 20% in previous years²⁹.

• 66% of outages in 2022 were categorized as having a “minimal” or “negligible” effect on operations.²⁹
• 10% of all reported outages in 2022 were caused by a problem with a third-party provider such as SaaS or a public cloud. For comparison, 54% of outages were caused by power or network issues.²⁹

Statistics on Personal Cloud Storage Services

Personal cloud storage is a massive business, with billions of people using cloud storage. Of the many options available, most people prefer Google Drive and Dropbox. Additionally, most personal cloud storage users access their accounts using mobile devices.

25. 2.3 Billion People Use Personal Cloud Storage

In 2020, an estimated 2.3 billion people used personal cloud storage⁶, according to AAG. Google Drive, iCloud and Dropbox were the most popular cloud storage services. 

• Photos are the most popular reason people use cloud storage at 71%.⁶
• More than half use cloud storage for backup purposes.⁶

26. Over Half of Personal Cloud Storage Users Have Multiple Cloud Storage Accounts

More than half of personal cloud storage users have multiple accounts. Per a Goodfirms survey, 54.62% of respondents indicated using three different cloud storage platforms. More than 50% of the survey respondents said they used a free or limited cloud storage plan⁸.

• Over 90% of personal cloud storage users say they are influenced by cloud storage.⁸
• Google Drive and Dropbox are the most popular choices.⁸

27. Only 10% of People Use Cloud Storage Desktop Apps

Most cloud storage services have mobile and desktop apps accompanying the web interface. According to a Goodfirms survey, only 10.65% of respondents preferred to use a desktop app⁸. 

• Just over 89% use a mobile app to access their cloud storage account.⁸
• About 87.96% use the web interface when interacting with their data.⁸

28. Over 94% of Cloud Storage Users Prefer Google Drive

Google Drive is the most popular personal cloud storage service. According to Goodfirms, 94.44% prefer Google Drive. Dropbox is a distant second at 66.20%⁸.

• OneDrive and iCloud are at 39% and 38%, respectively.⁸
• pCloud is preferred by only 1.39% of survey respondents.⁸

29. Google Drive Has the Most Users

Google Drive surpassed a billion account holders in 2018, making it the most used cloud storage provider²⁵. By now, that number is undoubtedly higher. 

• Dropbox has the next highest number at 700 million users.²⁶
• Google Workspace has over 3 billion users.²⁷

Cloud Security Statistics

Cybersecurity continues to be a significant factor in cloud computing management. Data breaches, ransomware and exposed emails are a few of the many ways cybercrime has wide-ranging impacts. Economically, cybercrimes impact the global economy well into the trillions of dollars.

30. Cybercrime Costs an Average of $4.35M in 2022

Despite cybersecurity professionals’ best efforts, the average business cost of a data breach was $4.35 million in 2022, per a report by AAG.  Additionally, cybercrime impacted the global economy by $7 trillion²⁰.

• 32% of businesses in the U.K. experienced a cyberattack in 2022.²⁰
• In the first half of 2022, an estimated 53.35 million Americans were victims of a cyberattack.²⁰

31. 80% of Businesses Have Experienced At Least One Data Breach

Fortune Business Insights cites a survey conducted by Ermetic Ltd. where 80% of responding businesses had at least one data breach in an 18-month period during 2020⁹.

• 43% of businesses had over 10 data breaches over the same period.⁹
• Poor cybersecurity framework is a major risk factor for a data breach.

32. Almost 1 Billion Emails Were Exposed in 2021

Per an AAG report, 1 in 5 internet users were affected by almost 1 billion emails being exposed from cybercrimes like phishing attacks. Phishing attacks cost victims an average of $136²⁰.

• Investment fraud costs victims an average of $70,000.¹⁸
• There are 97 cybercrime victims per hour.¹⁸

33. North Americans Suffered the Most Account Breaches

North Americans were the most likely group to experience an account breach in 2021. AAG reports that 1 in 2 people from the North American continent suffered an account breach²⁰.

• Combined, the U.S. and the U.K. had more cybercrime victims per million internet users in the world.²⁰
• The Netherlands has seen a 50% increase in cybercrimes since 2020.²⁰

34. Supply Chain Attacks Increase in Frequency

Due to the interconnected nature of global supply chains, security vulnerabilities present an opportunity for cybercriminals. According to AAG, up to 40% of cybercrimes occur somewhere in a given supply chain²⁰.

• Only 23% of cybersecurity specialists use real-time monitoring of their partners or vendors.²⁰
• Atlassian products present a risk as they are used in more than 190 countries.²⁰

35. Ransomware is the Fastest-Growing Cybercrime

According to a whitepaper published by Arcserve, Ransomware is “the most infectious disease known to humankind.” It predicted in 2021 that businesses will be a victim of ransomware every 11 seconds. The cost reaches upwards of $20 billion¹¹.

• In 2019, ransomware attacks on businesses occurred every 14 seconds.¹¹
• Consumer ransomware attacks happen every five seconds.¹¹

36. Greece Owns the Top Score on the NCSI

The National Cyber Security Index measures a country’s readiness to prevent and manage cybersecurity incidents. Greece was the top nation in 2023, scoring 96.10²⁰.

• Lithuania was next, with a score of 93.51.²⁰
• Belgium, Estonia and the Czech Republic rounded out the top five.²⁰

37. At Least Half of Sensitive Data in the Cloud is Unencrypted

The 2022 Thales Data Report: Global Edition reported that of the nearly 2,800 respondents, 83% indicated that at least half of their sensitive data is unencrypted while stored in the cloud¹⁸. 

• 20% of financial services reported 80-100% of cloud storage data was encrypted.¹⁸
• The healthcare industry reported a 61% encryption rate.¹⁸

Final Thoughts

Cloud computing is a part of our everyday personal and professional lives. It will continue to grow in size and scale as more people adopt its uses. Some of these stats are interesting, and some are concerning. All are relevant and paint a picture of a cloud-dominated future.

Which were the most interesting statistics to you? How much do you engage with the cloud? What are some other interesting stats or facts about the cloud? Let us know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading our article.

FAQ: Cloud Computing

• What Is the Current Global Market Size of the Cloud Computing Industry?

  According to a report published by Markets and Markets, the total cloud computing market was valued at $545.8 billion in 2022 [4].

• What Percentage of Global Enterprises Adopt Cloud Computing Solutions?

  Fortune Business Insights reports that 67% of large and 38% of small companies adopted one or more cloud services during 2022 [19].

• Who Leads the Market Among Cloud Service Providers Worldwide?

  Amazon AWS is the cloud service provider market leader. Canalys estimates Amazon AWS has a 32% market share [1].

• How Does Cloud Computing Adoption Impact Enterprise IT Spending?

  Spending on the cloud is a top concern among companies of all sizes. The cloud application market is a good example, as it’s expected to reach $168.6 billion by 2025, per Apps Run The World [23]

• What Are the Emerging Trends in Cloud Security and Regulatory Compliance?

  An article published by Cloud 7 IT Services indicates that adopting a zero-trust mindset and exploring AI and machine learning for advanced threat detection are two emerging trends [28].

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1. Canalys.com – Global Cloud Services Q4 2022
2. Gartner.com – Gartner says worldwide IaaS Public Cloud Services Revenue Grew 30 percent in 2022
3. IDC.com – Worldwide Public Cloud Services Revenues Surpass $500 Billion in 2022
4. Markets and Markets.com – Cloud Computing Market
5. Statista.com – Data Centers Worldwide By Country/
6. AAG – The Latest Cloud Computing Statistics/
7. Markets and Markets – Personal Cloud Market 
8. Goodfirms – Personal Cloud Storage Trends 
9. Fortune Business Insights – Cloud Analytics Market
10. SRG Research – As Quarterly Cloud Spending Jumps to Over $50B, Microsoft Looms Larger in Amazon’s Rear Mirror
11. Cyber Security Ventures – Arcserve Data Report 2020
12. FNF Research – Mobile Gaming Market
13. NVP – Data and AI Leadership Executive Survey
14. PWC – Artificial Intelligence Study
15. IEA – Data Centres and Data Transmission Networks
16. Think With Google – Business AI Usage Statistics
17. Flexera – State of the Cloud 
18. Thales – 2022 Data Threat Report
19. Fortune Business Insights – Cloud Storage Market 
20. AAG – The Latest Cyber Crime Statistics 
21. Flexera- 2023 State of the Cloud Report
22. IDC – Worldwide Spending on AI-Centric Systems Forecast to Reach $154 Billion in 2023
23. Apps Run the World – Top 10 Cloud Software Vendors, Market Size and Forecast 2020-2025
24. Analytics Drift – Largest Data Centers in the World/ 
25. Wikipedia – Google_Drive 
26. Dropbox- Securities and Exchange Commission 
27. Exploding Topics – Google Workspace Stats
28. LinkedIn – Future Cloud Security Trends 
29. Uptime Institute – Annual outages analysis 2023 

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