Cloud computing is predicted to be the main IT trend in the upcoming years and will have a huge impact on world economy. A wide range of organizations—from small start-ups to global corporations, and from government agencies to non-profit organizations—have begun using cloud computing applications.

Besides Microsoft, the main contributor behind the invention, Salesforce and Amazon Web Services have actively created a global market for cloud computing, leading to a rise in demand for the service since its advent in 1999. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google were the top 3 cloud computing service providers in 2019.

The global average cloud adoption rate is currently 7.9%. In the Asia-Pacific region, India is the second largest growing cloud service market; China leads the adoption of cloud services in this region. The growth rate of the Indian public cloud services market was 29.2% by the end of 2019. The overall Indian public cloud services revenue is forecast to reach $3.39 billion in 2019, as against $2.63 billion in 2018. By 2020, the market size is projected to increase to $4.28 billion. The Indian public cloud services revenue represented only 1.2% of the global public cloud servicer revenue total in 2019.

India’s cloud adoption rate is about 6%. As the market for cloud services in India gradually blooms, the adoption rate will accelerate because of both the higher spending in the IT sector and the rate of adoption of cloud across sectors. However, there are some major roadblocks to adopting cloud computing in the Indian public sector, such as the use of age-old IT infrastructure, lack of stakeholder awareness of the benefits of using cloud computing, unavailability of skilled manpower, low levels of broadband connections, cybercrime, and most importantly, the cultural and technological challenges to embracing cloud.

This research deliverable showcases the global overview of cloud computing and its applications. It emphasizes on the impact of cloud computing on the Indian public sector and outlines Frost & Sullivan perspective and recommendations for companies operating or willing to adopt this technology. Frost & Sullivan’s advisory and operational support has unique partnering benefits for companies that are looking to adopt/invest in, or to scale up operations through cloud technologies. Frost & Sullivan works closely with a large range of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to early stage companies, enabling them to accelerate their growth in all operating environments.

Author: Krishanu Banerjee