Microsoft corp. has been revealed as the leading competitor as companies race to recover from a two year reduction on cloud computing spend, Amazon and Google fall by the wayside. Microsoft stands behind giant Amazon as no. 2 in the market, but still ahead of rival Google.
Microsoft is not only expanding its cloud infrastructure, but also exploring a broader expansion into investment and capacity due to rising demand for AI services. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to develop AI infrastructure in Australia over the next two years, with an investment of A$5 billion. The firm has also confirmed the construction of new data centers in Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as the US.
While Microsoft’s Azure cloud business reported sales growth which outshone analyst estimates with 29% in the September quarter, Amazon.com Inc’s AWS’ revenue growth resulted in just 12% while Google’s cloud unit saw growth rise by 22% in the quarter from the previous year.
For Google, this is a deceleration from growth in the last quarter, sales for the unit were $8.4 billion. Wall Street projections stood at $8.6 billion for the same period and profit also ran short of estimates. Amazon’s cloud-revenue proved to be a varied affair, with figures slightly lower than anticipated.
Meanwhile, Microsoft cloud business’ growth came in at higher figures than analyst’s predicted, this partially may be due to corporate customers’ keen interest in new AI products on offer. The company confirmed that they have taken cloud market share from competitor brands, but didn’t state which of these were in question.
As interest in AI grows, customers are therefore swayed by the potential for development in this area. Microsoft already has an established range of AI tools under its belt, consequently gaining reputation as a leader in the landscape due to its OpenAI partnership. Microsoft has announced that the venture has helped to promote new customer growth.
Azure OpenAI has attracted over 18000 customers to date, increasing from 11000 previously. The company has also invested $13 billion in OpenAI, serving as its cloud provider. The organization’s rising demand for computing power therefore benefits Microsoft.