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.