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Pandemic Fuels Growth of Cloud Infrastructure in Education

In education and a few other sectors, one of the “lasting impacts” of COVID-19 will be an increased reliance on cloud infrastructure, according to a new analysis.

According to a new report from market research firm International Data Corp. (IDC), worldwide growth of cloud-based enterprise infrastructure grew at a greater rate than non-cloud, 12.5% versus 6.3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020. Cloud infrastructure reached $15.1 billion versus $13.5 billion for non-cloud in Q1.

Cloud includes shared and dedicated. Investments in shared cloud infrastructure increased 11.6% year over year, reaching $10.3 billion. Spending on dedicated cloud infrastructure increased 14.7% in the same period, reaching $4.8 billion. According o the report, 45.5% of dedicated cloud infrastructure was deployed on premises.

According to the report, education is one of the sectors that will feel a lasting impact from COVID-19 on cloud enterprise infrastructure: “A lasting impact on IT infrastructure will be an increased reliance on cloud platforms for delivering commercial, educational, and social applications, as well as an intensified focus among organizations on business continuity and risk management, helping to drive digital transformation initiatives and increase usage of as-a-service delivery models.”

The United States saw some of the slowest growth in cloud infrastructure in the first quarter, increasing 4.5%. Canada saw the greatest growth (40.3%), followed by China (35%).

Further details can be found on IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Enterprise Infrastructure Tracker: Buyer and Cloud Deployment.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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