San Francisco (AFP)

Each quarter, Amazon, Microsoft and Google earn record revenues. C: the Internet of Things will multiply the use of clouds.

- Uses -

The rise of the cloud has gone hand in hand with that of 4G and smartphones: the combined power of the network and servers makes it possible to listen to music, watch videos, work remotely, post on social networks or order a car that we see arriving in real time on a map.

Businesses and individuals buy storage space, but also computing power, services and software, located physically in data centers and not on the computer or phone.

There are now cloud services even for video games, which however require very heavy data volumes and tiny latency times. As with other uses, "cloud gaming" makes it possible to dispense with expensive and regularly obsolete equipment.

- Market -

Most large companies and institutions use the cloud, either "private", with their own servers, or "public", being a client of a supplier, such as Amazon, Microsoft or Google.

These groups offer a whole range of options, from simple hosting to ultra-complete online services, with tools and software available, for which they provide maintenance and security.

"Public" clouds are thus supposed to allow savings and bring more flexibility in the event of changing needs.

In practice, many companies choose a "hybrid" system, combining the cost, power and flexibility of the public "cloud" with the security of the "private cloud".

"Companies use an average of 3 different public cloud providers," said Bob O'Donnell of Technalysis research.

Above all, beyond digital-fed companies, "we must not forget that the vast majority of companies have barely started their transition," he adds.

In 2020, the "public" cloud market is expected to reach $ 266 billion, up 17% from last year, according to Gartner. IDC, for its part, forecasts that it will double by 2023, reaching 500 billion.

- Actors -

By launching Amazon Web Services in 2006, the e-commerce giant took several steps ahead of its competitors. Research firms today lend it between 30 and 50% of the global public cloud market share.

AWS made $ 35 billion in revenue in 2019 and claims millions of users worldwide.

The only downside: in October, the US Department of Defense awarded a mega-contract of $ 10 billion to Microsoft, the number 2 in the market. A legal battle is underway, amid animosity between US President Donald Trump and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.

Microsoft does not give precise figures for Azure, its public cloud, thus avoiding comparisons. But this division ensures the IT group its best performance, quarter after quarter.

Azure represents around 15% of the market. Next come Google Cloud and the Chinese Alibaba, with around 5-6% each.

The cloud is a growing priority for the American leader in internet research, which highlights its capabilities in very large-scale data analysis and the possibility for hybrid or multiple cloud users to move their data from one supplier to another.

Google Cloud earned $ 9 billion in 2019 (+ 53% in one year).

- Outlook -

All suppliers focus on cybersecurity - their reputation in terms of data protection is essential to their business - but also, and above all, on machine learning to analyze and make the best use of the mountains of data produced at every moment.

The mega-contract of the Pentagon, for example, aims to modernize all of the computer systems of the American armed forces in a system managed by artificial intelligence.

They are also trying to reduce the ecological cost, since data centers consume a lot of energy to cool the servers.

In addition, 5G and autonomous vehicles will promote the development of "edge computing" or "peripheral computing".

AWS has thus teamed up with the operator Verizon, and Microsoft with AT&T, to deploy cloud technologies directly in the antennas.

It involves processing the data collected by the myriads of connected sensors (located in homes, factories, vehicles, etc.), in real time, without going through the servers.

"Zero latency" that promises to open up the field of possibilities.

© 2020 AFP