Big Cloud gets bigger: AWS's growth alone in 2018 matched Google's total haul – but Bezos beast is still on the hunt

Amazon Web Services bulked up in 2018, jugging down a protein shake of $2.3bn in cloudy infrastructure services revenues – equalling Google's total haul for the 12 months. In dollar terms, Jeff Bezos's cloud services wing grew 41 per cent year on year to $7.6bn, figures from Canalys show. Microsoft was up 75 per cent to $3.4bn …

[Anonymous Coward]

Private on prem cloud?

Isn't that where all of the MSP's were at before Amazon (and Azure to some degree) swept them away? HPE, IBM, CSC etc etc

I guess the difference is being able to configure the AWS kit using the AWS control panels, which whilst I'd be the first to admit are a bit clunky, at least they are becoming an industry "standard" and recruiting people to do it is easier.

I do wonder though quite how much premium AWS will charge you to use it on-prem. Its going to be eye watering, even compared to the eye watering amount AWS cloud costs. I guess Bezos isn't going to get his Martian tax avoidance zone without it though.

On a side note if you dig into it, a lot of those "Amazon" datacentres for AWS aren't Amazon buildings already - they are using various co-lo providers. Its not quite how you imagine it when you watch the AWS promo videos ;-)

[Anonymous Coward]

So Azure is still catching up with AWS whilst Google cloud is going nowhere fast

I was amused to see Google are hiring senior cloud managers from Oracle. After all, who knows more about running an empty cloud that no one wants than Oracle?

[ratfox]

Makes sense! Oracle people are good at sales even when they don't have a product; while Google people are shit at sales even when they have a product.

[jliv]

I think Oracle were good at sales back in the day. Most of their best talent left years ago. Now it’s mostly fat cat order takers and the odd youngster who didn’t know what he was signing up for. Google would do well to look elsewhere for enterprise sales talent.

[Anonymous Coward]

"So Azure is still catching up with AWS whilst Google cloud is going nowhere fast"

Not sure Azure is catching up, it's growing faster by % but not by actual revenue. Googles a distant third, but still growing so I wouldn't rule them out particularly given the maturity of their underlying platform compared to MS. Then we get to the real story - Alibaba are fourth, IBM are fifth and struggling and no mention of a number of other companies who launched clouds but have likely failed.

"I was amused to see Google are hiring senior cloud managers from Oracle. After all, who knows more about running an empty cloud that no one wants than Oracle?"

Large IT decisions are made at board level rather than within IT - Oracle execs knew it and they have the contacts on the boards of large companies to bring in the sales and justify their bonuses with Google. And if not, then no big bonuses.