Top Five Largest Cloud Companies in the World

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Cloud computing has become an integral part of business operations in today’s IT driven economy. As the global cloud market continues to witness phenomenal growth in recent times, the industry’s competitive landscape is heating up with a handful of brands establishing their dominance through a combined market share of more than 50%, according to a study by Synergy Research group. These high flyers continue to vie for the $205 billion global cloud computing market which is expected to grow to $240 billion in 2017.

As such, we have compiled a list of the top 5 largest cloud computing companies in the world (by market share, 2016).

5. Salesforce

Country of Origin: United States

Market share: 4 percent

Since it launched its innovative Customer Relationship Management (CRM) cloud service known as the Sales cloud in 1999, Salesforce has grown to become a major player in the cloud computing market. Over the years, other services such as the Service cloud, Marketing cloud and IoT cloud have been added to the innovative customer-focused cloud services offered by the company. With a seamless and secure software architecture, the CRM helps both small and large organizations manage their data from any location.

Salesforce is however yet to pose any significant challenge at the dominance of its top rivals as its revenue growth has lagged behind in recent years. As such, it seats in 5th position in the industry with a market share of 4%. In response to this, the company has invested hugely into acquisitions this year, spending between $5-6 billion on 10 companies.

4. Google

Country of Origin: United States

Market share: 4 percent

Google has witnessed impressive growth in its revenue and profits in recent times. This has however been driven primarily by revenue made from advertising, while revenue from its cloud services still lags behind despite showing signs of acceleration. Google cloud recorded revenue of $896 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, which represents an increase of 65% from the previous quarter, and its 2016 revenue is projected to hit $4 billion. Google is also currently the fastest growing platform in the cloud industry, growing at 162% in the 2nd quarter of 2016, more than double that of leader Amazon, which recorded growth of 53%.

The company also boasts 1 million active users on its “Google Drive for Work” cloud service. While it currently ranks fourth place in terms of total market share, Google however occupies third position in terms of the largest Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platforms. And with other innovative services offered, Google could witness a surge in its clientele in near future. The company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, noted that the company will invest hugely into cloud computing in 2016.

In a recent move to increase its cloud market share, Google hired VMware’s co-founder Diane Greene to lead the company’s cloud solutions operation. It is expected that this move will increase its competitive edge in the industry in the near future.

3. IBM

Country of Origin: United States

Market share: 8 percent

IBM currently ranks as the global leader in the hybrid and private cloud segment through its innovative services that provide secure integration between public and private cloud environments. As such, the firm’s growth is largely driven by revenue earned from the world class hybrid and private cloud technologies deployed from over 40 data centers across the globe.

It is estimated that more than 80% of enterprises that leverage IT solutions will adopt hybrid cloud services by 2017. Hybrid cloud infrastructures have grown in popularity because they help organizations in substantial cost saving and efficiency improvements. As a result, although it currently controls only 8% of the cloud market, IBM is poised to challenge the dominance of the leading two players, which claims a 42% market share.

2. Microsoft

Country of Origin: United States

Market share: 11 percent

Founded in 1974, Microsoft Corp offers its customers innovative cloud computing services through platforms such as Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 from 30 datacenters around the world.

The Microsoft cloud clientele is incredibly diverse, with government ministries, corporate organizations and individuals adopting its software infrastructure to automate their business operations.

The company recently released a book titled, “A Cloud for Global Good” that addresses over 70 public policy recommendations in line with the company’s vision to ensure that all stakeholders are involved in the ongoing cloud computing revolution, while dealing with security and privacy issues that plague online transactions.

In a move to increase its market share and expand operations, Microsoft recently increased its cloud computing investment in Europe to $3 billion.

1. Amazon Web Services

Country of Origin: United States

Market share: 31 percent

Launched in 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc, has evolved to become the leading player in the global cloud computing market. AWS offers a wide range of cloud computing services to its clients across the globe. Although its flagship product is the Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), there are presently more than 70 AWS offerings that could be used for storage, networking, computing, database, and analytics.

As an early player in the industry, Amazon soon became the go-to service provider for startups, which today make up almost two-thirds of its 1 million clientele. Its sales in the second quarter of 2016 were thrice that of Microsoft, its closest rival. As such, its leading role in the industry is presently unchallenged.

Despite rivals’ price reduction strategies aimed at checking its dominance, Amazon has forged ahead by offering innovative solutions that leverage its already established technology framework. However, AWS could experience a slowdown in growth as users continue to patronize alternative platforms. For instance, a majority of European firms use multiple cloud service providers.