Microsoft Azure accounts for 22% of global cloud infrastructure spending

Three leaders tower over the competition.

What you need to know

• Canalys data indicates cloud infrastructure services spending shot up by 36% in the second quarter of 2021.
• 31% of that spending goes to Amazon Web Services.
• 22% goes to Microsoft Azure.

Canalys has data illustrating the breakdown of global cloud spending in quarter two of 2021. Spoiler: Amazon and Microsoft dominate the stats, with Google coming in at a tidy third place while everyone else is lumped into the "other" category. Between the three leaders, 61% of all cloud infrastructure is accounted for, as of 2021's second quarter.

Amazon Web Services controls 31% of the pie, while Microsoft Azure has 22% and Google Cloud is down at 8%. Combined with the 39% of market share that falls under the control of other service providers, total Q2 2021 spending on cloud infrastructure totals $47 billion. That's over $5 billion more than last quarter and over $12 billion more than this same quarter last year, according to Canalys (via The Register). The pandemic was cited as one of the reasons for the sector's growth.

These numbers help give perspective on the unending cloud wars between Microsoft and Amazon, and to a lesser extent, Google. The two primary giants have gone toe-to-toe in a number of cloud-related fields, such as with their gigantic legal debacle over the Pentagon's cloud computing JEDI contract. And there's a rumor that Amazon is gearing up to take on Microsoft's cloud-based offerings when it comes to productivity apps via its own 365-esque bundle experience.

There are some areas where Microsoft is carving an exclusive win for itself, such as its partnerships with Pepsi and Mars. But, at the same time, Amazon has had big wins of its own. Time will tell who manages to edge out who and control the majority of the cloud cash pie.