Worldwide public cloud end-user spending to reach nearly $500 billion in 2022

Gartner projects global end-user spending on public cloud services to reach $494.7 billion in 2022, up from $410.9 billion in 2021. In 2023, end-user spending is expected to reach nearly $600 billion.

“Cloud is the powerhouse that drives today’s digital organizations,” said Sid Nag, research vice president at Gartner. “CIOs are beyond the era of irrational exuberance of procuring cloud services and are being thoughtful in their choice of public cloud providers to drive specific, desired business and technology outcomes in their digital transformation journey.”

Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is expected to grow at the fastest rate of 30.6% in 2022, followed by desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) at 26.6% and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) at 26.1%. The new reality of hybrid work is driving organizations to shift away from traditional client computing solutions, such as desktops and other physical in-office tools, and toward DaaS, with spending expected to reach $2.6 billion by 2022. End-user demand for cloud-native capabilities drives PaaS spending to $109.6 billion.

Worldwide Public Cloud Services End-User Spending Forecast (Millions of U.S. Dollars)

“Cloud native capabilities such as containerization, database platform-as-a-service (dbPaaS) and artificial intelligence/machine learning contain richer features than commoditized compute such as IaaS or network-as-a-service,” said Nag. “As a result, they are generally more expensive which is fueling spending growth.”  

SaaS remains the largest public cloud services market segment, with end-user spending expected to reach $176.6 billion in 2022. Gartner anticipates steady velocity in this segment as enterprises take multiple SaaS routes to market, such as cloud marketplaces, and continue to break up larger, monolithic applications into composable parts for more efficient DevOps processes.

End-user spending on public cloud in MENA will reach $5.8 billion in 2022, up 18.8% from 2021. Cloud system infrastructure services (IaaS) are expected to grow the most (39%) in 2022, followed by cloud application infrastructure services (PaaS). Cloud application services (SaaS) are expected to be the most expensive vertical for MENA end-users in 2022.

MENA Public Cloud Services End-User Spending Forecast (Millions of U.S. Dollars)

Emerging cloud computing technologies such as hyperscale edge computing and secure access service edge (SASE) are disrupting adjacent markets and forming new product categories, generating new revenue streams for public cloud providers. 

“Driven by maturation of core cloud services, the focus of differentiation is gradually shifting to capabilities that can disrupt digital businesses and operations in enterprises directly,” said Nag. “Public cloud services have become so integral that providers are now forced to address social and political challenges, such as sustainability and data sovereignty.

“IT leaders who view the cloud as an enabler rather than an end state will be most successful in their digital transformational journeys,” said Nag. “The organizations combining cloud with other adjacent, emerging technologies will fare even better.”