Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud outgrew market leader AWS in the Q1 global cloud stakes, as the latter battled supply constraints.
That’s according to the latest estimates from Canalys (now part of Omdia).
Global cloud infrastructure services spending vaulted 21% to $90.9bn the first three months of the year.
Although AWS continued to boss the market with a 32% share, its 17% growth was eclipsed by its two closest rivals, and marked a deceleration from its 19% Q4 growth tally.
This was “largely driven by supply-side constraints, which limited the ability to meet rapidly rising AI-related demand”, Canalys said.
Commanding a respective 23% and 10% marketshare, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud grew 33% and 31% during the quarter.
In recent months, UK channel partners dedicated to the three hyperscalers have pursued contrasting strategies. While Google Cloud partner Telana – formerly Ancoris – diversified into the Microsoft Azure space in April by acquiring Sundown Solutions, Qodea has doubled down on its one-hyperscaler rhetoric.
Overall, the cloud services market sustained steady growth during the quarter, as enterprises accelerated cloud migration and explored the adoption of generative AI, Canalys said.
To boost the enterprise adoption of AI at scale, leading cloud providers are intensifying efforts to optimise infrastructure – most notably through the development of proprietary chips – aimed at lowering the cost of AI usage and improving inference efficiency, the analyst added.
“As AI transitions from research to large-scale deployment, enterprises are increasingly focused on the cost-efficiency of inference, comparing models, cloud platforms, and hardware architectures such as GPUs versus custom accelerators,” Canalys Senior Director Rachel Brindley stated.
“Unlike training, which is a one-time investment, inference represents a recurring operational cost, making it a critical constraint on the path to AI commercialisation.”
