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Cloud Computing Statistics

Mark Lukehart

Consultant With Laptop Monitoring Servers In Datacenter

Cloud computing technology has taken the world by storm over the past few years, and growth in this industry shows no signs of slowing down. This growth accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies around the world switched to remote work setups. 

Even though the pandemic has slowed down and some companies are heading back into the office, the cloud computing industry continues to grow. Cloud technology provides convenient remote data storage, so organizations no longer have to rely entirely on on-premise solutions. 

In this article, we’ll dive into fascinating cloud computing statistics that represent the state of the industry right now. These statistics give us helpful insight into today’s biggest cloud computing trends and how we can expect them to evolve in the future. 

Key Takeaways

  • The United States is leading the way in cloud adoption and innovation, but other countries are catching up. 
  • Companies around the world have implemented new cloud technologies at a staggering rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for remote work. 
  • Many businesses are struggling to keep up with rapidly evolving cloud technology. This has resulted in security risks, most notably cloud misconfiguration and unauthorized cloud access. 
  • Cloud experts are in high demand around the world, and employees both in and out of the IT sector will need to improve their cloud proficiency in recent years. 
  • Both enterprise and SMB organizations are increasingly turning to hybrid cloud models, which combine elements of both public and private clouds. 
  • Managed IT Services can help companies through the process of implementing cloud technology or keeping their cloud technology secure. 

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Cloud Adoption and Consumption Statistics

Companies around the world have been adopting cloud solutions at a rapid pace over the past few years, and we can expect this trend to continue. Many companies were forced to adopt some form of cloud computing over the past few years in order to facilitate secure remote work operations. However, companies that were already using the cloud are continuing to expand their cloud solutions. 

  • 92 percent of organizations have a multi-cloud strategy in place or underway (Flexera)
  • The global public cloud market increased from $64.3 billion in 2020 to $90.9 billion in 2021, a 41.4% increase. (Gartner)
  • 65% of small and medium-sized businesses reported increased reliance on cloud technology during the pandemic. 92% reported that their reliance continued to increase in 2021. (DigitalOceans)
  • 80% of enterprises surveyed spend at least $1.2 million on cloud services each year. (Flexera)
  • The country with the highest cloud spending is the United States. 14% of total IT spending in the US in 2022 will be on cloud services. (Gartner)
  • 97% of IT leaders plan to expand their cloud systems moving forward. (Confluera)
  • 62% of senior executives surveyed reported that their organization was having trouble keeping up with the challenges presented by increased cloud adoption. (Harvard Business Review)
  • 41% of respondents said they had difficulties integrating the cloud with their existing IT environment, making it the biggest barrier to faster cloud adoption. (Netwrix)

Global Cloud Statistics

While the US may be leading the way in cloud adoption and spending, other countries aren’t far behind. For many large enterprises with an international presence, cloud computing became a necessity to stay connected. Many countries are embracing cloud technology and are on track to match the US in terms of cloud adoption over the next decade. 

In fact, many countries have launched government initiatives to promote the adoption and advancement of cloud technology locally. Right now, a huge percentage of global data centers are located in the United States. Other countries are working to reduce their reliance on American technology by developing their own data centers. 

However, not everyone is so ready to make the leap into the cloud. For example, Japan has a much lower cloud adoption rate than many other countries due to strict regulatory concerns and differing cultural perspectives on cloud technology. 

  • Singapore, Finland, and Sweden have ranked highest for cloud technology progression, while Cameroon, Angola, and Ethopia have ranked lowest. (MIT Technology Review Insights)
  • China’s cloud spending is increasing at a rate of 34.8% throughout 2022 but still lags behind the US and many other countries. (Gartner)
  • By 2026, the public cloud market will increase to $323 billion in the US and $90 billion in China. (Statista)
  • The United States has the highest number of data centers in the world at 2,653. They are followed by the United Kingdom with 451 and Germany with 442. (Statista)

Cloud Market Statistics

The global cloud market encompasses a wide range of platforms and services. Within the market, there are three key product segments: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a  Service (SaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). 

IaaS gives companies access to a flexible and scalable cloud setup that they can configure themselves. While the cloud provider manages the hardware, the client ultimately has full control over how it is used. 

With PaaS, users have access to a full cloud platform that they can use to build their own applications. SaaS is different in that it gives users access to a web-based software program with data stored in the cloud. You likely already use cloud-based SaaS programs in your daily life like Google Drive and Slack. 

These three segments of the cloud market can be broken down further in terms of customer base. For example, entrepreneurs and SMBs are going to engage with the cloud much differently than large enterprises. 

  • The cloud computing market is expected to grow to $1,465,818.2 in the US by 2028. (The Insight Partners)
  • SaaS represents the largest segment of the cloud market, accounting for 54% of revenue share in 2021. (Grandview Research)
  • Large enterprises accounted for 51.5% of global cloud revenue in 2021, but the SMB segment is expected to see rapid growth in years to come. (Grandview Research)
  • The banking, financial services, and insurance industry represented the highest share of cloud revenue in 2021 at 25%. IT & telecom had the second-highest share. (Grandview Research)
  • AWS is the world’s largest cloud provider, with 33% of the market. They are followed by Azure, which has 21% of the market. (Statista)
  • Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing regional cloud market in 2022, with a CAGR growth rate of 25.4%. (The Insight Partners)
  • 51% of spending in application software, system infrastructure markets, infrastructure software, and business process services will shift to public cloud spending by 2025. (Gartner)

Cloud Security Statistics

One of the reasons why cloud technology has become so popular is because it can be a very safe data storage solution when implemented correctly. Cloud storage also minimizes some of the physical safety risks that come with having an on-prem data center

However, working in the cloud still comes with its own security risks. Many companies migrated to the cloud at a very rapid pace when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which meant that they didn’t necessarily have the time or resources to properly secure their new cloud system. Some of the biggest challenges that organizations face include data privacy and security compliance when implementing cloud systems. 

  • 79% of companies have experienced at least one cloud data breach. (Ermetic)
  • 73% of respondents say security is their top concern for cloud-native use. Performance and speed are other leading concerns. (Cisco)
  • 80% of organizations who use the cloud use it to store sensitive data. The most common types of sensitive data found in the cloud include employee data and customer data. (Netwrix)
  • 52% of organizations surveyed reported difficulties with compliance and auditing with cloud technologies. (SailPoint)
  • IT teams spend more than half their time investigating cybersecurity alerts. However, the majority of these alerts are false alarms. (Confluera)
  • 78% of organizations feel traditional security solutions don’t work or have limited functionality in cloud environments. (ISC2)
  • 49% of respondents said that cloud security attacks led to unplanned expenses in 2021. 49% of respondents also said that their cloud security budget had increased for 2022. (Netwrix)
  • Phishing is the most common cloud security threat, followed by account compromise and ransomware. 29% of cloud security threats were targeted attacks on cloud infrastructure. (Netwrix)
  • With cloud security threats becoming more common, 73% of security professionals reported employees quitting due to burnout. (Splunk)
  • 44% of respondents say they struggle with a lack of qualified staff to protect their cloud environments. (ISC2)
  • Misconfiguration and unauthorized access are the biggest causes of cloud security problems. (Checkpoint)
  • 48% of organizations do not have multi-factor authentication enabled for administrative accounts within cloud-native environments, which results in increased security risks. (Sysdig)

Cloud Careers Statistics

With cloud technology developing at such a rapid pace, it makes sense that cloud careers are taking off as well. Many jobs in the cloud market are with enterprise companies, such as AWS, Azure, and Google. However, many smaller businesses also need their own in-house cloud specialists to implement new cloud solutions or maintain existing ones. 

Cloud designers and architects have become particularly valuable as many companies are building their own cloud systems from scratch. Cloud architects handle the broader infrastructure and strategy for their organization’s cloud setup. Cloud designers build the software programs that are run on the cloud. Because these roles are so competitive, having experience or even a certification in a specific type of cloud technology can give candidates an edge in the tech industry. 

The “great resignation” set off by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some challenges for companies transitioning to a cloud environment. Many have found their IT departments understaffed, and it can also be difficult to find IT professionals who are properly trained in modern cloud solutions. 

  • Statistically, cloud architects are the 10th-highest paying job in the entire IT industry. (Robert Half) They are also the highest paying cloud-focused job overall. 
  • A cloud architecture analyst commands a median salary of $150,163 per year. (Salary.com)
  • Salesforce forecasts that their cloud platforms alone will create 9.3 million new jobs by 2026, either directly or indirectly. (Salesforce)
  • As of 2022, 46% of organizations report that their IT team is understaffed, while 44% struggle with lack of expertise in cloud security. (Netwrix)
  • By August 2020, 400,000 people held AWS certifications, which represented 85% year-over-year growth. (Amazon)
  • The number of workers who will need to be trained in advanced cloud solutions is expected to triple by 2025 – and that’s for the APAC region alone. (Amazon)
  • 76% of IT decision makers experience skills gaps on their teams, representing a 145% increase from 2016. (Skillsoft)
  • 93% of AWS professionals highlight IT experience as the most influential factor in inflating your earning potential (Jefferson Frank)

Cloud Outlook Statistics

We’ve seen massive growth in the cloud industry over the past several years, but what does the future have in store? If current trends are any indication, it appears that cloud technology will continue to become mainstream across the globe. 

While many enterprise-level organizations already rely on the cloud for much of their operations, we’re likely to see small-to-midsize businesses use the cloud in their businesses as well. We also may see new types of cloud services enter the market as providers innovate and develop new solutions. 

Right now, the cloud services market is largely dominated by a few specific companies, but it’s likely we’ll see new competitors enter the market in the years to come. While American companies are currently at the forefront of the market, other countries are already taking steps to expand their own cloud services domestically. This is likely to lead to broader global competition. 

  • 61% of respondents said that one of their cloud adoption goal was to increase costs, making it the most common goal moving forward. Other leading goals were to improve security and organize infrastructure for remote workers. (Netwrix)
  • When businesses adopt a cloud-based system, they have the potential to unlock $1 trillion in business value. (McKinsey)

Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Cloud

Within the broader cloud market, there are three different cloud structures that are widely used around the world. Public, private, and hybrid clouds are all used as part of organizational IT strategies across a variety of industries. 

Public Cloud Statistics

Public cloud services are run by third-party cloud providers, who essentially sell space in their cloud environment to clients. These cloud services are delivered entirely via the internet, so companies don’t have to worry about maintaining their own data storage equipment. Although hundreds or even thousands of clients use public cloud services, each client’s cloud environment is kept separate and secured. Public clouds tend to be a particularly good option for smaller organizations as they are very flexible. 

  • 76% of organizations are using two or more cloud providers. Only 20% use a single cloud deployment. (ISC2)
  • 45% of organizations are using between 5-10 SaaS providers in their cloud environment. (Cisco)
  • 55% of respondents use data warehouse services, making it the most popular PaaS service. (Flexera)
  • Google Drive is the highest-used cloud storage service for both business and professional use, with 94.44% of survey respondents using it. (GoodFirms)

Private Cloud Statistics

A private cloud environment is run by an organization internally and is only accessible by employees of that organization. This cloud may be run out of an on-premise data center or out of a private remote data center. Employees can still access data in the cloud environment via a secure internet connection. 

While private cloud environments require more maintenance than public clouds, they provide more security and compliance benefits. This makes them a good option for larger enterprises or organizations that work with sensitive pieces of data. 

  • 72% of businesses use private clouds in some capacity. (Flexera)
  • 37% of technical professionals are using Microsoft Azure Stack in their work, making it the most popular private cloud provider. (Statista)

Hybrid Cloud Statistics

A hybrid cloud environment has elements of both a public cloud and a private cloud. Hybrid clouds have become a very popular solution for companies migrating their existing IT environment either fully or partially into the cloud. 

With a hybrid IT environment, you might keep your most secure data in a private cloud run out of your offices, while using a public cloud for the rest of your data. This approach can help companies meet compliance standards using a private cloud, while keeping less sensitive data in a public cloud to save on maintenance costs. 

  • 82% of survey respondents have adopted a hybrid cloud approach. (Cisco)
  • Backup and disaster recovery is the most common workload used in hybrid clouds, followed by application development and archiving. (Cisco)
  • 67% of organizations who moved from a public to hybrid cloud model did so because of security concerns. (IDC)

Frequently Asked Questions About Cloud Computing Statistics

What percentage of companies use cloud computing?

  • As of 2019, 94% of global enterprises used the cloud in some way as part of their operations. (Flexera) Since so many companies adopted cloud technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, this number could be even higher today. 
  • The rate of cloud adoption within the US is currently reported at 94% as well. We do know that the cloud computing market in North America is the largest in the world. In 2021, North America accounted for 41% of total cloud revenue. (Precedence Research) While cloud adoption rates in the US appear to be similar to global cloud adoption rates, companies are spending more money on the cloud and are using cloud technology throughout many different parts of their organization. 

What percentage of data is in the cloud?

  • As of 2022, over 60 percent of corporate data is stored in the cloud. (2022 Thales Data Threat Report) This is a dramatic increase from 2015, when only 30 percent of data was stored in the cloud.

Final Thoughts

These cloud statistics are indicative of broader trends within the IT industry. While COVID-19 may have forced companies into cloud usage to some degree, these cloud systems are here to stay. Employees have come to prefer remote work models, and secure cloud storage is necessary to make that happen. 

While cloud adoption and innovation has historically been centered in the United States, the rest of the world is catching up. Many organizations and governments overseas are working to develop their own cloud systems and data centers. 

Although cloud storage offers huge benefits for organizations of all sizes, it also comes with some challenges. Many organizations are concerned about cloud security and implementation. In-house cloud experts are in high demand, and many companies are understaffed. 

This is where Managed IT Services can help. This approach allows you to outsource some or all of your IT needs to an expert team. This can help you manage your cloud systems appropriately and keep your systems safe, especially as your company grows.