AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud grow once again, driven by AI

What happened

Reuters reported in May 2024 that AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud had posted revenue growth above analyst expectations, against a backdrop of recovering enterprise cloud spending after a period of cost restraint.

The article pointed to artificial intelligence as one of the drivers behind that rebound: companies were expanding their cloud infrastructure consumption to train and deploy models, alongside resuming migration projects that had been paused during 2023.

What it means for a mid-sized business

The simultaneous growth of the three major providers is not just a market headline: it signals that demand for cloud capacity keeps rising, which can translate into more available services but also into catalogues and pricing that change frequently.

For a mid-sized business, the challenge is not picking the biggest provider, but understanding which workloads belong in the cloud, which are better kept on-premises or managed locally, and how to stop consumption growing without control or visibility of the real cost.

What to review

Before expanding or renewing cloud contracts, it's worth checking the following:

• Which workloads genuinely justify running on public cloud and which work better on owned or managed infrastructure.
• Whether cost controls and consumption alerts exist before the bill arrives at month end.
• What data residency and security requirements each contracted service must meet.
• Whether the internal team has the training needed to manage the active cloud services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did all three providers grow at the same time?

According to Reuters, a recovery in enterprise cloud spending coincided with higher demand for infrastructure to support artificial intelligence projects.

Does more cloud supply mean migration is cheaper?

Not necessarily. Availability increases, but the final cost depends on how each architecture is designed and managed.

Should an SME move everything to the cloud because of this trend?

No. The decision should be based on the needs of each workload, not on overall market growth.