Global spending on cloud infrastructure saw an unprecedented surge in the second quarter of 2024, rising by 61.5% year-over-year to hit $42.9 billion, according to the latest data from the International Data Corporation (IDC). This growth, driven largely by heightened investments in artificial intelligence (AI), has outpaced the 41.4% increase in non-cloud infrastructure spending, which reached $19.4 billion during the same period.
The booming cloud market is a direct result of increased demand for AI applications, which have spurred higher server sales and enterprise storage spending. Although unit demand grew by a more modest 17.7%, rising average selling prices (particularly in GPU server shipments) have kept the market momentum strong.
Shared cloud infrastructure led the charge, with spending jumping 74.9% to $35.3 billion, representing 56.6% of total infrastructure investment. Meanwhile, dedicated cloud infrastructure grew by 19.2%, reaching $7.6 billion.
Looking forward, IDC forecasts total cloud infrastructure spending to reach $164 billion by the end of 2024, a 48.8% increase. Shared cloud infrastructure will continue to dominate, expected to rise 57.9% to $131.9 billion. Dedicated cloud, on the other hand, will grow by 20.4% to $32.1 billion. Non-cloud infrastructure will see slower growth, projected to increase by 11.7% to $67.5 billion.
Regionally, the Asia/Pacific area led cloud spending growth, with a staggering 110.7% year-over-year increase. The USA followed with 72.1%, while Canada, Japan, and Europe also saw significant growth.
With AI driving demand and cloud infrastructure becoming essential for emerging technologies, IDC anticipates this sector will reach $253 billion by 2028. As service providers and enterprises continue to ramp up investments, cloud computing is set to be the backbone of the future digital economy.
