Digital-First Projects Propel US Cloud Services Spending To $18 Billion In Q1

Research firm Canalys said U.S. organizations have spent over $18 billion on cloud services in the first quarter of this year alone, TechRepublic reported. That’s an increase of 29 percent from the same time in 2020.

The spending was also the highest in two years, which the report stated showed a strong desire for cloud products.

As for a reason for the higher spending, Canalys said per the report that there has been more of a focus on digital transformation during the pandemic, as people have moved more to the internet in order to avoid the virus.

And now, as the economy recovers from the slowdown of the pandemic, several larger enterprises have restarted cloud migration projects, which had been put on hold, according to the report.

In addition, there has been more demand for digital services because of the ongoing work-from-home trend. And, content streaming, online gaming and eCommerce have become more popular in the past year, the report stated.

The U.S. was the biggest market for cloud infrastructure in the last quarter, which made up around 44 percent of global spending. The U.S. government has been making way for more spending through investments like $1 billion to the Technology Modernization Fund as part of the American Rescue Plan, according to the report.

In addition, the report stated there is likely to be a further boost in government cloud spending, which will see an increase in efforts to modernize the tech and improve the strength of the country’s cybersecurity.

PYMNTS reported that while web apps and applications programming interfaces (APIs) can be used for payments and location-based services, they can also become vulnerable to more advanced cyberattacks, which can target personal data and disrupt the customer experience, with criminals wielding a number of tactics to get around security measures.

Theft attempts could range from basic credential theft to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven attacks that could result in account takeovers (ATOs) across whole networks.