The best way to explain cloud adoption statistics is to say that they help you understand the significance of cloud adoption and cloud migration. For the majority of companies, migration to the cloud and adoption of cloud-based technologies is the only way forward.
For marketing, providing customers with real-time responses is a top priority. Logistics want the update to inventory levels and fleet encumbrance every minute. Sales require access to their data at any given point so that they can adapt the strategy and rectify any oversights. Needless to say, all of this is a burden that your IT department needs to handle. The only way to achieve this is through efficient and timely cloud adoption.
Still, how far has the digital world gotten in this effort? Let’s find out by exploring relevant cloud statistics!
Top Cloud Adoption Statistics for 2024 (Editor’s Pick)
- The cloud computing market was estimated at $371.4 billion in 2020.
- 90% of all companies are on the cloud.
- 87% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy.
- 80% of enterprises use Amazon Web Services as their primary cloud platform.
- The EU average for cloud adoption was at 36% in 2020.
- The public cloud is projected to grow by 18.4% in 2021.
Cloud Adoption Statistics for 2021
1. The public cloud is projected to grow by 18.4% in 2021.
(Statista)
The value of public cloud services stood at $266.4 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow to about $338.8 billion in 2021. Data center consolidation of IaaS Secures (as one of the reemerging trends) has contributed significantly to this growth rate, cloud facts show.
2. The cloud computing market was estimated at $371.4 billion in 2020.
(MarketsandMarkets)
To explain the rapid growth and expansion of cloud computing in the modern business world, one just needs to point out the market’s growth during a single year. For instance, at the start of last year, the cloud market share was worth about $330 billion. The majority of predictions placed it at $371.4 billion at the year’s end.
3. By the end of 2025, the cloud computing market is expected to expand to $832.1 billion.
(MarketsandMarkets)
If last year’s growth of 14.2% carries on in the foreseeable future, we can expect that by the year 2025, the total value of the market will reach $832.1 billion. This is more than $500 billion of an increase in the market worth in as little as five years, which is more than impressive. This is just one of many fascinating cloud computing facts.
4. Daas or Desktop as a Service grew a fascinating 95.4% in 2020.
(Statista)
The growth of Daas can be explained by the surge in remote work driven by the pandemic. While the DaaS segment almost doubled last year, it will slow down in 2021 when it’s expected to grow 61.5%. It’s more than clear that there’s a massive discrepancy between DaaS on one side and the rest of the list on the other.
5. In 2021, IaaS and PaaS will have growth rates at 26.9% and 26.6%, respectively.
(Statista)
When it comes to individual segments, which lead to the expansion of cloud computing on the global market, two segments besides DaaS are ahead of the race. Namely, IaaS and PaaS have growth rates at 26.9% and 26.6%, respectively, cloud statistics demonstrate. Saas follows in the fourth spot with a growth of 16.1%.
6. 80% of enterprises use Amazon Web Services (AWS) as their primary cloud platform.
(Leftronic)
There’s one company coming to the forefront when we talk about huge names in the industry. Namely, the AWS market share is simply staggering, with 80% of enterprises using it as their primary cloud platform. A lot of people inquire about the competitiveness of Google as another major name in this field. But, it’s not a question of how many servers does Google have, but rather of what users got comfortable with. Around 18% of them use Google’s cloud.
7. The cloud storage market is projected to reach a value of $222.25 billion by 2027.
(Allied Market Research)
When talking about cloud storage, the numbers are looking pretty intense, as well. According to one projection on the growth of this market between the years 2020 and 2027, it is estimated that the value may reach an astounding $222.25 billion by 2027.
Cloud Adoption Statistics and Usage
8. About 90% of all organizations surveyed use at least one type of cloud service.
(451 Research)
Among surveyed organizations, about 90% of them admitted to using at least some cloud service. Between the years 2018 and 2019, cloud computing and cloud computing adoption has jumped from 45% to 60%, when speaking about the workload. This trend of growth is nearly unprecedented in recent business world history.
9. 38% of companies used the private cloud in 2020.
(451 Research)
In 2018, this percentage stood at 28%. Statistics show that around 33% of companies moved their workloads out of the public cloud in 2019. Among these companies, around 16% have moved to a hosted private cloud, while 14% moved to an on-premises private cloud. Only 3% have moved to non-cloud environments, facts about cloud computing show.
10. 32% of all IT budgets are expected to be dedicated to cloud computing in 2021.
(IDG)
In 2021, 32% of all IT spending by various companies will be allocated to cloud computing. This goes to show how much priority the cloud computing industry is awarded nowadays. Needless to say, as the priority level of cloud computing grows, so does the spending of these companies.
11. 87% of enterprises that use cloud have a hybrid cloud strategy.
(Flexera)
When asked about where they see the future of cloud, the vast majority of industry experts talked about hybrid cloud strategy. In fact, about 87% of all enterprises that actually use cloud go for a hybrid cloud strategy, market statistics about business cloud adoption show.
12. Organizations go 23% over budget on cloud-related spending.
(Flexera)
One of the best indicators of just how incredibly important cloud adoption actually is might lie in the fact that many companies go over the budget. In fact, companies spend 23% more cash than what was put aside for cloud-related expenses. In 2021, this percentage is expected to be as high as 47%, which sounds outright terrifying.
Crucial Factors in Adopting Cloud Computing Trends
13. Ever since 2015, the US has been the leading country in cloud adoption.
(Gartner)
When talking about cloud adoption statistics by country, there is a major regional discrepancy. For instance, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Australia are all at the top of the list when it comes to the percentage of total IT spending on public cloud services. European countries like France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Russia are near the middle of the list, while Japan and Indonesia are listed among the countries with the lowest adoption rates, cloud services adoption statistics show. The US is the list leader since 2015.
14. Despite a compounded growth rate of 34.8%, China remains listed among the lagging countries.
(Gartner)
Even though it’s adopting cloud technology more than its neighboring Japan and nearby Indonesia, China is still listed amongst lagging countries, based on cloud computing statistics. This wouldn’t be so bad if we left out the fact that China still has a compounded growth rate of an astounding 34.8% through 2022. In other words, the numbers are relative and need to be contrasted and compared to other surrounding circumstances.
15. 60% of companies use cloud technology in order to store confidential data.
(Leftronic)
One of the main reasons companies are using cloud computing seems to be security. About 60% of all companies use cloud technology to store confidential data. For this purpose, they are ready to use as many as 1,427 cloud servers on average, cloud adoption enterprise statistics show.
16. The automotive, entertainment, and retail industries heavily utilize cloud technology.
(NewGenApps)
Cloud adoption by industry is yet another crucial factor worth taking into consideration. In the manufacturing industries like the automotive industry, cloud technology can drastically reduce costs and streamline operations. When it comes to entertainment and its typically massive projects that rely on collaboration — cloud services make things simpler. As for the retail industry, real-time reporting and logistical perks are just too numerous to count.
17. Careers in the cloud industry have a low six-figures range compensation.
(ZipRecruiter)
Some of the biggest names in the cloud industry are massive conglomerates like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. This is why the question of how much does cloud computing make isn’t that easy to answer. One certain thing is that pursuing a career in this industry tends to be quite lucrative. Salaries here go between $103,774 yearly for a cloud operations engineer, down to about $96,760 for a cloud administrator.
Worldwide Cloud Computing Facts
18. According to the latest data (2018), there were about 3.6 billion cloud users in the world.
(Vision Computer Solutions)
The number of individual cloud users in the world is also on a steady rise. Still, the number has been formidable for quite a while. In 2018, the number stood at about 3.6 billion, as shown by statistics on cloud adoption, which represents a vast majority of internet users. The correlation between these figures is more than clear and the growth of both these numbers simultaneously is not a coincidence.
19. There was only 10% of non-cloud mobile data traffic in 2019.
(Statista)
When talking about the distribution of global cloud and non-cloud mobile data traffic, it’s important to mention that in 2019, there was only 10% of non-cloud mobile data traffic. Considering the percentage of mobile internet traffic in the world, this number is more than staggering. It’s worth mentioning that the percentage of non-mobile data seems to be on a steady decline since 2014, when it was at a much higher 19%.
20. The EU average for cloud adoption was at 36% in 2020.
(Eurostat)
Cloud computing adoption statistics show that in 2020, cloud adoption in Europe increased by 12% overall compared to 2018. Europeans mostly used the cloud for hosting their email systems and storing electronic files. Also, more than a half used advanced cloud services for financial applications, business applications and customer relationship management software.
21. Finland was the leading European country when it comes to average cloud usage, with 75% in 2020.
(Eurostat)
When speaking strictly about cloud usage, Finland is at the very top of the list with usage of 75%, according to cloud usage statistics. Two other Nordic countries followed—Sweden and Denmark, with usage of 70% and 67%, respectively. It comes as no surprise that European countries with the highest living standard and technological development level, considered startup tech haven, lead in cloud adoption.
Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity in 2020
22. 90% of all data breaches are caused by human error.
(Cyber Security Intelligence)
A lot of people are concerned with the concept of cloud safety, yet, they fail to realize that, even in this day and age, about 90% of all data breaches are caused by human error. The biggest problem lies in the fact that some parties like to exaggerate these fears to create an artificially-induced panic that will stop progress. The human factor is also why data breaches and errors will never be completely rooted out.
23. Physical data centers are 51% less secure than physical data centers.
(Vision Computer Solutions)
When it comes to assessing the safety of the cloud, it’s pivotal to compare it to physical data centers, as its old-school counterparts. Once this comparison is made, it becomes clear that physical data centers have 51% more security incidents than cloud storage. In other words, while security may still not be ideal, it’s far safer than the alternative.
24. 66% of IT professionals see security as the number 1 concern with adopting an enterprise cloud computing strategy.
(Forbes)
Two-thirds, or 66%, of IT professionals fear cloud computing adoption. This is one of the most shocking cloud adoption enterprise statistics, seeing as how this is an unjustified fear of professionals, not laymen. This proves how hard it is to debunk some myths once they are repeated enough times online.
25. The cost of data breaches is $3.86 million annually, on average.
(Eastern Peak)
To explain why all of this is so important, we need to mention that the average damage caused by data breaches tends to be $3.86 million annually. While that is the average, this varies a lot from country to country, being $7.9 million in the US, while in Brazil it is around $1.24 million.
26. 82% of organizations show concern that their staff is violating security policies.
(Eastern Peak)
As many as 82% of organizations show concern that their staff is violating security policies. Therefore, raising awareness of security issues needs to become one of the most relevant cloud computing industry trends.
Conclusion
Cloud technology simply offers a lot to both individual users and enterprises of all sizes, as demonstrated by these cloud adoption statistics. It’s simple to use, convenient, cost-efficient, and scalable—a combination that makes it worth everyone’s while.
Still, despite the fact that the majority of the industry already uses cloud tech, there’s always more room for growth and expansion. Keep in mind that cloud technology itself seems to be growing exponentially. The more it evolves, the more appealing it will become, even though the numbers are already quite impressive.
FAQ
Which industry is the biggest user of cloud computing?
While this answer is not that easy to answer, it would be safe to say that the manufacturing industry depends on cloud computing the most. The retail industry is another major user, as cloud computing benefits both the customer and the retailer. The government also leans heavily on cloud computing because it makes difficult bureaucratic tasks a lot easier and more efficient.
How much money does cloud computing make?
In 2021, the global public cloud computing market is projected to reach the value of $338.8 billion. This is a staggering figure but not a surprising one, at least not for those who are aware of the massive savings that this technology brings about, independent of industry. Even careers in cloud computing are quite lucrative. Cloud operations engineers, specialists, cloud sales, and cloud administrators have an annual salary of $100,000, on average.
How big is the cloud computing industry?
The global cloud computing market is currently worth at least about $371.4 billion, but this is an industry that is growing exponentially. In just 5 years, this industry is expected to grow to about $832.1 billion.
What percentage of businesses use the cloud?
Somewhere around 94% of all enterprises use cloud technology in some shape and form. In other words, the cloud is everywhere and everyone is using it. When it comes to the type of cloud that these companies are the most likely to use, 91% of businesses used the public cloud in 2019, based on public cloud adoption statistics. Another 72% used a private cloud at some point. Lastly, 69% used a hybrid solution.
What percentage of enterprises today have multiple clouds?
In 2020, 55% of enterprises used multiple public clouds. The demand for cloud computing is growing, along with the need for revising and improving existing cloud strategies. Therefore, this percentage will most likely rise in 2021.
Who is the best cloud provider?
Some of the biggest cloud providers are, non-surprisingly, companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, IBM, and Google. In other words, the biggest names in the IT industry, in general, are now also the biggest names in the cloud computing industry.
What is the latest technology in cloud computing?
When it comes to the latest cloud computing inventions in 2020, there were several breakthroughs—serverless computing, omni-cloud, and quantum computing. Still, with so much development and so many prototypes, identifying “the latest” tech is not an easy job.
Why is the cloud so popular?
The popularity of cloud computing comes from its numerous advantages. It’s incredibly efficient in improving tasks and it helps everyone reduce IT costs. For the majority of teams, it increases mobility, improves the level of control, and enables unprecedented scalability. All of this is accompanied by an incredible level of data security, which can provide a competitive edge to any enterprise regardless of its size.
How long does cloud storage last?
It depends on the tool. In the majority of cases, unless deleted, your data will remain on the cloud indefinitely. Still, remember that you might have a limited amount of storage space, which will force you to delete certain files yourself. A random bit of data might be deleted or lost on the internet. Internationally uploaded material (the likes of Facebook and YouTube content) might remain online forever, cloud storage statistics indicate.
What’s next after the cloud?
The majority of cloud industry experts expect some form of hybrid cloud computing model to come next. As for what comes after the cloud, in 10 or 15 years, routers and individual networks may no longer exist. There’s a chance that everything will be just one huge network.
Sources:
- Allied Market Research
- Cyber Security Intelligence
- Cisco
- Eastern Peak
- Eurostat
- Flexera
- Forbes
- Gartner
- Gartner
- IDG
- MarketsandMarkets
- NewGenApps
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Vision Computer Solutions
- ZipRecruiter
- 451 Research
- 451 Research
