Azure leads in growth, but AWS keeps its share in record-breaking Q4.

According to data released by Synergy research Group, cloud spending exploded by $2.8 billion during the fourth quarter 2019. This is the largest sequential-quarter growth in cloud market history.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) was the leader of the charge. Although AWS’ year-over year growth has been slowing (in its most recent financial reports, AWS recorded a 34 percent decrease in its year-over year growth), it has maintained pace with the overall cloud market which Synergy estimates has grown 37 percent year-over year.
AWS’s closest competitors outpaced the market in Q4. Despite slow growth, AWS’ cloud dominance is unaffected. According to Synergy, it currently holds 33 percent of global market.
Microsoft Azure, its closest competitor, reported a 62 per cent year-over-year rise, giving it 18% of the market — almost three percentage points more than the year-ago period.
The top five market share leaders are Google, Alibaba, Tencent. “Google, Alibaba, and Tencent are significantly outpacing overall market growth. They are also gaining market share. Synergy stated that revenues increased by at least 50% year-over-year for all three companies. The five market leaders together account for more than 75 percent of total market.
Synergy reported that the total cloud market revenues for 2019 reached $96 billion. Q4 brought in $27 billion.
John Dinsdale (chief analyst at Synergy), stated that “the year ended with a bang” because Amazon and Microsoft both posted big sequential gains on cloud revenues. “The 2019 market was more than twice as large as the 2017 market, thanks to strong growth from other cloud providers and these market leaders,” said John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy. We will continue to witness strong growth due to secular trends in this market.