Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily cloud news and commentary show. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the cloud.
In today’s Cloud Wars Minute, I break down why Google Cloud’s explosive Q4 numbers validate its move to #1 — and what its accelerating momentum means for Microsoft and the rest of the market.
Highlights
00:02 — A month ago, I moved Google Cloud up to the #1 spot on the Cloud Wars Top 10, moved Microsoft down to #3. That was predicated in large part on the tremendous job Google Cloud has done in building sort of the twin pillars: AI and cloud, the way its customers are building for the future, not just perfecting what they’ve done in the past.
00:27 — And also the company’s impressive growth rates, showing that more and more, in spite of the size differential between Microsoft and Google Cloud, Google Cloud was winning a disproportionate share of new business, showing it is becoming, back then, the favored cloud and AI vendor.
00:47 — Well, the Q4 numbers for Google Cloud came out yesterday, and there’s no doubt that that was the right call To make. Google Cloud’s Q4 revenue jumped 48% to $17.7 billion and they beat Microsoft for the first time ever in a very key metric, it’s the really the big thing I want to talk about here today.
01:50 — Microsoft’s last three quarters, it grew 27% 26, 26. For Google Cloud, it’s 32, 34, 48. Google Cloud is on a massive acceleration run here. So, in spite of the fact that the numbers here, the revenue figures, are different, what we see is Google Cloud accelerating wildly. Well, Microsoft has leveled off again.
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02:23 — The key point here, this key metric I talked about up above, if you look at the incremental revenue gains each company made, looking at what calendar Q3 ended, September 30 to calendar Q4 December 31, those are the periods we’re looking at. Google Cloud’s revenue Q3 to Q4 went up $2.5 billion from just over $15 to $17.7, Microsoft’s went up $2.4 billion $49.1 to $51.5.
03:30 — While the heart of this discussion is around Google Cloud, Microsoft has been doing an extraordinary job in this very competitive market, but that’s why I call it the greatest growth market the world has ever known. We’re seeing companies perform in this market unlike any other industry at any time in human history.
04:47 — The big thing about it here is you’ve got these smaller, disruptive cloud and AI players, Google Cloud at #1, Oracle #2, Microsoft down at #3. I moved AWS down to #7. It’s doing some really good things in a lot of ways, but as far as the company setting the agenda in line with their customers for the future for the AI economy, it’s Google #1, Oracle #2, Microsoft #3.
