According to IDC, the public cloud services market in the UK experienced robust growth throughout 2023, maintaining the trajectory set in the first half of the year.
IDC said total revenue reached £669.2 billion in 2023, marking a substantial 19.9 per cent increase compared to 2022.
Revenues for the public cloud services market hit £315.5 billion in the first half of 2023 (H1), a 19.1 per cent jump from the same period in 2022.
These numbers are similar to those gleaned by analysts, Gartner which predicted that global end-user spending on public cloud services will reach £675.4 billion ($675.4bn) by 2024, primarily propelled by artificial intelligence (AI).
While AI contributes to growth, it challenges channel partners lacking expertise. Analyst Sid Nag warns that partners must quickly upskill, focusing on specific industries and use cases.
Software as a service – applications (SaaS – applications) dominated, accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the market. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) followed, contributing 19.9 per cent of total revenues.
Platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service – system infrastructure software (SaaS – SIS) made up 18.4 per cent and 17 per cent of overall revenue, respectively.
PaaS and SaaS – SIS experienced the fastest year-over-year revenue growth. PaaS, driven by end-user AI investments, continues to outpace the overall cloud market.
Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce Inc., Google, and Oracle maintained their positions, capturing 40.5 per cent of the global market.
Microsoft led with a 16.8 per cent share, followed by Amazon Web Services at 12.4 per cent.
IDC forecasts that worldwide public cloud services revenue will exceed £800 billion ($800bn) in 2024, a 20.5 per cent increase over 2023.
The market is expected to maintain a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5 per cent, reaching £1.6 trillion in 2028.
The mainstreaming of AI prompts organisations to rethink infrastructure strategies.
Public cloud IaaS is an attractive source for AI-ready infrastructure, offering high-performance computing, storage, and networking services.
The on-demand and pay-as-you-go model helps access to cutting-edge AI technology without significant upfront investments or delays.
