Jefferies analysts recently conducted a survey of 40 US CIOs to assess the ongoing cloud computing battle between Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The survey results suggest that there is a growing focus on cloud adoption, with a slight preference for Azure emerging among CIOs. A key finding of the survey is the significant increase in cloud spending intentions, with 43% of respondents expecting to increase cloud spending by more than 10% in 2024 compared to 2023. This aligns with a shift towards cloud workloads, as 58% of CIOs anticipate having more than half of their workloads in the cloud by the end of 2025.
One of the drivers behind this growth in cloud spending is artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, with 54% of respondents citing AI as a top reason for increased cloud spending. The survey results also indicate a shift in cloud service provider preferences, with Microsoft Azure gaining ground against AWS. Currently, 45% of respondents identify Azure as their primary cloud provider, compared to 43% for AWS. This marks a change from the previous survey in December 2023, where AWS was in the lead.
Looking ahead, Jefferies notes that spending intentions slightly favor Azure over AWS, suggesting continued growth for Microsoft’s cloud offering. Despite the importance of cost optimization, the survey results are seen as positive for cloud providers, indicating that revenue hurdles may be behind them.
Article Source
https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/cloud-war-azure-has-slight-edge-over-aws-says-jefferies-432SI-3581201