Cloud News South Africa

New research reveals Microsoft's cloud revenue in 2020 was a mammoth $59.5bn

According to research data analysed and published by Comprar Acciones, Microsoft's cloud revenue for 2020 totalled $59.5bn, 31% higher than Amazon Web Services (AWS), which ranked second. The pandemic assisted to drive cloud infrastructure in 2020 thanks to online games and remote work.
Photo by Matthew Manuel on Unsplash
Photo by Matthew Manuel on Unsplash

Based on Canalys data, worldwide spending on cloud infrastructure in 2020 amounted to $142bn. Compared to 2019’s $107bn, that was a 33% year-over-year (YoY) increase.

Top five cloud service providers accounted for 58% market share in Q4 2020

In Q1 2020, Microsoft generated $13.3bn, increasing to $14.3bn in Q2 2020, $15.2bn in Q3 2020 and $16.7bn in Q4 2020.

Comparatively, AWS cloud revenue was $10.22bn in Q1 2020, rising to $10.81bn in Q2 2020, $11.6bn in Q3 2020 and $12.74bn in Q4 2020. For the full year, Amazon made $45.4bn and captured the second spot.


Google Cloud moved to the third spot, overtaking Salesforce, thanks to its $13bn in annual revenue. Cumulatively, AWS and Google Cloud raked in $58.4bn during the year, lower than Microsoft’s tally.

Q4 2020 was particularly impressive for the market as a whole, with global spending soaring by 32% YoY to $39.9bn. Compared to Q3 2020, there was a 10% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase. It was the largest quarterly growth on record in dollar terms.

During the quarter, Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud accounted for a 58% share of the market’s revenue. According to Synergy Group, the top five service providers accounted for an 80% share of the market in 2020. Excluding Microsoft and AWS however, the market still grew at a 30% rate, highlighting opportunities even for smaller players.

Let's do Biz