A new report in the Wall Street Journal claims that Amazon Web Services (AWS) commands 41 percent market share in the commercial cloud market, compared to just 20 percent for Microsoft and 6 percent for Google. This despite many years of research, investment, partnerships, and improvements.

Microsoft, a distant number two in this market, has invested in its Azure-based cloud services and has struck partnerships with firms like Grab Holding and General Motors in a bid to catch up to Amazon.

But the WSJ article is mostly about Google, which grew its share of the market by 1 percentage point in 2021, in part by aping Microsoft’s strategy.

“In certain instances, Google pursues investments and partnerships in attractive growth areas, which is a common practice across many companies within the enterprise industry,” a Google spokesperson told the publication when asked about its strategy for competing with much bigger players in this space.

The stakes are high for Google because the vast majority of its revenues still come from advertising. But instead of just trying to buy share, Google is instead striking partnerships of its own and investing its cloud technology. Google Cloud recorded more revenue in the first nine months of 2021 than it did in all of 2020, the publication notes. The business is expected to grow 50 percent to almost $20 billion for the full year.

Tagged with AWS, Microsoft Azure