Chinese cloud market sees huge rise, but still long way behind US giants

The cloud computing market
(Image credit: Pexels)

The cloud computing market in China is going from strength to strength but still has plenty of growing to do according to the latest research. Market analyst firm Canalys reports that the sector grew by 65% in the third quarter of this year, taking in $5 billion in revenue.

Despite the impressive growth, China’s cloud industry takes in less revenue collectively than Microsoft Azure alone, which banked $6.9 billion during the quarter. Currently, China’s cloud expenditure represents 13.7% of the global total, less than would be expected for a market of its size.

Nevertheless, 2020 has been a good year for the Chinese cloud market, with digital acceleration partly driven by the coronavirus pandemic. In response to the crisis, many domestic businesses have had to adopt cloud-based digital tools to keep employees connected and productive.

Chasing top spot

Canalys estimates that cloud spend in China has grown by $2 billion year-on-year in 2020. Some of the biggest domestic players, the likes of Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and Baidu AI Cloud have shown performed strongly, expanding the customer bases in a range of industries.

“Demand for cloud-based services reached new heights in China, as organizations reprioritized IT spending and accelerated digital transformation projects,” said Canalys Chief Analyst Matthew Ball. “Remote learning and working, as well as gaming, streaming, e-commerce and other online services continued to drive consumption of cloud infrastructure resources. This, combined with the digitalization of processes and operations within enterprises and government organizations, will maintain demand. Organizations have overcome challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by using digital services developed by cloud service providers.”

Although the cloud market in China may still trail the US, the economic expansion taking place in the country, and the focus on digital transformation in the country, will surely result in continued industry growth.

Via The Register

Barclay Ballard

Barclay has been writing about technology for a decade, starting out as a freelancer with ITProPortal covering everything from London’s start-up scene to comparisons of the best cloud storage services.  After that, he spent some time as the managing editor of an online outlet focusing on cloud computing, furthering his interest in virtualization, Big Data, and the Internet of Things. 

Latest in Pro
A graphic showing fleet tracking locations over a city.
Lost & Found tracking site hit by major data breach - over 800,000 could be affected
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he signs an executive order to create a US sovereign wealth fund, in the Oval Office of the White House on February 3, 2025, in Washington, DC.
US set to pause cyber-offensive operations against Russia - but CISA says it won't stop
Web DDoS attacks see major surge as AI allows more powerful attacks
Polish space agency says it was hit by a cyberattack
Illustration of a hooked email hovering over a mobile phone
AWS misconfigurations reportedly used to launch phishing attacks
Hands typing on a keyboard surrounded by security icons
Your passwords aren't the key to protecting your online identity, your email address is
Latest in News
YouTube TV
YouTube TV might be planning a big Netflix update that puts the best streaming services first
Google Pixel 9 Pro
Here are the 7 best Pixel 9 and Pixel Watch 3 features landing in March’s Pixel Feature Drop
Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4000C Saint Laurent Rive Droite Edition
Bang & Olufsen's latest reworked turntable is a masterpiece of retro revival, in a breathtaking wooden presentation box
Apple Watch Series 10
Apple unveils new Apple Watch bands – here's what's in the Spring 2025 collection
iPad Air M3
Apple makes one hardware change to the iPad Air that might be the best indicator of its true lightweight tablet intentions
Shure MoveMic 88+ lifestyle image
Shure's tiny MoveMic 88+ gives creators a cheap and easy way to record crystal clear audio on a smartphone