Increasing demand for software as a service (SaaS) applications to drive the growth of the global cloud market

The majority of the enterprises across verticals have adopted the work from home model to safeguard employee well-being and maintain operational efficiency, surging the demand for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based collaboration solutions. There would be a surge in demand for a range of other SaaS-based business continuity and productivity tools in the next few years, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM)/Digital Experience Platform, Online Marketing tools, Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Business Process Management (BPM), Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), Enterprise Content Management,  Learning Management Systems (LMS), Cloud-native security platforms, Contact center, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Analytics. In addition, scientific application simulation, genomics, and 3D modeling, which require high-performance computing environments, would rely on a public cloud environment setup.

Cloud infrastructure and digital service providers are estimated to continue to increase their IT budgets to meet strong end-user demands for cloud and digital services. This which would continue to expand and grow at a double-digit rate as enterprise buyers increasingly shift their IT budgets to the as-a-service model.

The retail segment to show the highest growth rate during the forecast period

The consumer goods and retail segment is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR in the cloud market during the forecast period, followed by the IT & ITeS segment. Retailers are upgrading their IT infrastructure to take advantage of the unified and collaborated workforce to increase overall productivity.  Additionally, the majority of the retailers are moving their focus on commerce websites as online shopping has gained traction during the pandemic as the majority of the population is isolated at home amidst pandemic.

The healthcare segment to record higher investment and growth in 2020

The healthcare systems need scalable and secured cloud infrastructure to manage and maintain patient information with high speed and flexibility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a high need for technologies such as cloud computing for the analysis of patients’ data. As the number of electronic health records is increasing, healthcare providers are expanding the use of scalable and highly secure storage cloud solutions to cater to a large number of cases.

Private doctors and healthcare institutions are providing online consulting amidst country lockdowns. The need for mobile ambulatory services has increased due to the virus outbreak. These facilities and services need cloud-based communication and collaboration platforms to improve operational efficiency and employee productivity. Healthcare providers are developing cloud-based applications to gain clinical insights on COVID-19 and estimate resource requirements, such as ICU beds and ventilators.

Thus, increased data analytics and clinical insight requirements, and high spending on cloud-based application development and ERP solutions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic are creating revenue opportunities for cloud service providers.

North America to record the highest market share in the impact of COVID-19 on Cloud market in 2019

North America held the largest market share in the impact of COVID-19 on cloud solutions across the major verticals. COVID-19 has severely affected the North American region due to various factors, such as a high number of immigrants traveling in the region, no initial stage lockdown in the country, and presence of a large number of virus carriers in the country at once, spreading the disease at a rapid pace.

The region majorly consists of two countries: the US and Canada. The North American region has been a major adopter of cloud, and that can be attributed to various factors, such as the large-scale cloud penetration and the presence of major cloud solution providers in the region.

The sectors in the region that are facing challenges amidst the virus outbreak are retail, healthcare, BFSI, and telecom sectors. However, telecom and healthcare have significant potential for the cloud. The state of the healthcare sector is extremely well-established in the North American region due to large scale implementation of advanced technologies such as cloud computing, AI and ML, and cloud automation techniques in healthcare organizations.

Additionally, vertical like BFSI and telecom are utilizing cloud collaboration and communication platforms to cater to remote working employees amidst lockdowns. This has significantly increased the usage of SaaS among these industries. Consumer goods and retail segment is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR in the cloud market during the forecast period followed by IT and ITeS segment. Additionally, retailers are upgrading their IT infrastructure to take advantage of a unified and collaborated workforce to increase overall productivity.  Further, the majority of the retailers are moving their focus on commerce websites as online shopping has gained traction during the pandemic as the majority of the population is isolated at home amidst pandemic.

In-depth interviews were conducted with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), marketing directors, innovation and technology directors, and executives from various key organizations operating in the cloud market.

• By Company Type: Tier 1 – 35%, Tier 2 – 45%, and Tier 3 – 20%
• By Designation: C-level – 35%, Directors – 25%, and Others – 40%
• By Region: North America – 45%, Europe – 20%, APAC – 30%, and RoW– 5%

Key market players profiled in this report include AWS (US), Microsoft (US), Google (US), Alibaba (China), SAP (Germany), IBM (US), Oracle (US), VMware (US), Rackspace (US), Salesforce (US), Adobe (US), Verizon (US), CenturyLink (US), Fujitsu (Japan), NTT Communications (Japan), Cisco (US), Dell (US), Equinix (US), HPE (US), Inspur (China), Cyrusone (US), Digital Relty (US), Lenovo (Hong Kong), Tencent (China), SAP (US), Cloudbees (US), Servicenow (US), Mendix (US),  Engine Yard (US), ADP (US), Workday (US), Ringcentral (US), Mitel (Canada), 8×8 (US), Slack (US), Zoom (US), Docusign (US), Citrix (US), Okta (US), Nextiva (US), Intermedia (US), CrowdStrike (US), Carbonite (US), Cyberark (US), Infosys (India), Accenture (Ireland), Capgemini (France), TCS (India), AT&T (US), T-Mobile (US), Vodafone (United Kingdom). These players have adopted various growth strategies, such as partnerships and new service launches, to expand their presence further in the impact of COVID-19 on the cloud market and broaden their customer base.

Research coverage

The market study covers the impact of COVID-19 on the cloud market across different segments. It aims at estimating the market size and the growth potential of this market across by technology segment (SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS), vertical (Banking, financial services & insurance, healthcare and life sciences, IT and ITeS, retail and consumer goods, telecom, energy and utilities, government & public sector, and manufacturing), and region. The study also includes an in-depth analysis of the key market players, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and key market strategies.

Key benefits of buying the report

The report is expected to help the market leaders/new entrants in this market by providing them information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall impact of COVID-19 on the cloud market and its segments. This report is also expected to help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain insights to improve the position of their businesses and to plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report also aims at helping stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provide them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.