The cloud is literally everywhere. If you have streamed a show on Netflix, sent a message via WhatsApp, or stored a file in Dropbox, you have used the public cloud, quite likely without even realising it. Today, 90% of global companies are on the cloud, with a significant number on the public cloud. So, what is public cloud and why has it so dramatically transformed businesses?
Simply put, public cloud refers to computing services including applications, servers, storage, networking, and software are provided by third party companies over the internet. These services are available to anyone who wants to use or purchase them and are shared across multiple users, also known as tenants. Public cloud providers own and maintain the underlying infrastructure. Users can access resources on a pay-as-you-go basis, without having to buy or manage physical hardware. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are the top public cloud providers, and together garner a market share of around 60%1.
Typically, cloud services are delivered through three main models, each catering to different business needs and technical requirements. These include:
These public cloud service models vary in terms of user control, responsibility, and flexibility, offering scalable solutions for organisations of all sizes.
To say that the public cloud market has undergone a radical transformation, especially over the last two decades, will be an understatement. Initially adopted for its cost efficiency and on-demand availability, and scalability, the public cloud has matured into a strategic enabler of innovation, powering everything from artificial intelligence and big data analytics to digital customer experiences and global collaboration. This growth is clearly reflected in recent market projections. Global revenue in the public cloud market is expected to reach over $934 billion by 2025, underscoring the sector’s rapid expansion and critical importance to modern organisations2. In tandem, Gartner forecasts that end-user spending on public cloud services worldwide will rise to $723.4 billion in 2025, up from $595.7 billion in 2024, as organisations increasingly shift workloads to the cloud to boost agility and reduce reliance on traditional IT infrastructure3. The financial commitment by businesses is also becoming more pronounced, reveals Flexera’s 2025 State of the Cloud report, with 33% of organisations now spending over $12 million annually on public cloud services, a considerable increase from 29% in 20244.
The evolution of the public cloud is no longer just about cost savings or convenience; it is about competitive advantage, global reach, and the ability to adapt rapidly in the increasingly digital global economy.
The rise of the public cloud has been driven by its ability to solve several long-standing challenges in traditional IT environments. While there are several advantages to the usage of the public cloud, the significant ones include:
One of the key benefits of public cloud computing is scalability. Businesses no longer need to forecast long-term infrastructure requirements or overprovision resources. Instead, they can quickly scale computing power, storage, and other services up or down based on real-time demand. Take the example of a popular video conferencing platform that experienced a dramatic increase in users during the pandemic, growing from 10 million daily meeting participants at the end of 2019 to over 300 million by mid-20205. Its infrastructure, hosted on a leading public cloud, allowed it to scale rapidly without service issues.
Traditional IT models require heavy upfront investment in physical servers, networking gear, and maintenance staff. Public cloud eliminates the capital expenditure by offering a pay-as-you-go model, turning infrastructure into an operating expense. Research finds that migrating to the public cloud can help reduce TCO by up to 40%6.
Uptime is critical in today’s 24/7 business environment. Public cloud providers build redundancy and failover into their infrastructure to ensure high availability. This means services can continue running even if one data centre or server fails. The reliability offered by the public cloud is ideal for businesses that require continuous uptime, such as financial platforms or digital media streaming.
Provisioning new infrastructure in the cloud takes minutes, rather than weeks. This speed enables faster development cycles, shorter time to market, and more agile product iterations.
Public cloud also gives companies immediate access to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data analytics, which would otherwise be prohibitively complex or expensive to build in-house, especially for smaller companies.
Contrary to some concerns, public cloud providers offer robust security features. These include identity and access management (IAM), encryption at rest and in transit, DDoS protection, and compliance certifications across global standards. Security protocols are also regularly updated to combat the latest threats.
Despite its benefits, the public cloud is not without its limitations:
Few organisations today operate exclusively in a public cloud. Most opt for hybrid or multi-cloud strategies. Yet, as the cloud-native technologies advance and multi-cloud strategies come into focus, the public cloud market is poised to remain a central force in shaping the future of enterprise IT.
The rise of hybrid and multi-cloud strategies has transformed how organisations approach public cloud adoption. By combining public cloud services with private infrastructure or multiple cloud providers, businesses gain greater flexibility, avoid vendor lock-in, and improve resilience. But it’s not only that – hybrid cloud enables sensitive data to remain on-premises while leveraging the scalability of the public cloud. Gartner estimates that 90% of global organisations will adopt a hybrid cloud strategy in the next two years7. A multi-cloud environment allows organisations to select best-of-breed services from different providers. These approaches not only enhance the effectiveness of public cloud computing but also enable more agile, efficient, and secure IT environments suited to today’s complex digital demands.
Several other factors are influencing how the future of public cloud is shaping up. These include the infusion of AI to enhance cloud management, the advent of generative AI that is disrupting how the cloud is managed, serverless computing that further helps reduce cost and simplify operations, edge computing that enhances cloud performance, and many others. The future of public cloud is characterised by more sophisticated and integrated cloud environments that enable businesses to innovate and compete in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.