Cloud computing adoption accelerates in China as economy recovers from coronavirus pandemic

China’s cloud service spending soared amid the economic disruptions caused by Covid-19 and the strong growth will continue as the economy regains momentum in the post pandemic era, according to a report.

The country’s cloud infrastructure spending in the first quarter rose 67 per cent year on year to US$3.9 billion amid the coronavirus lockdowns, maintaining its No 2 position behind the US, according to data from Canalys.

China’s spending accounted for 12.5 per cent of the world total in the first quarter compared to 10 per cent a year ago as the country ratcheted up its cloud adoption rate as part of a digital transformation plan.

“New cloud migration and cloud-native opportunities are emerging as organizations assess their response to the crisis, optimise future emergency continuity plans and develop new processes and services,” Canalys chief analyst Matthew Ball said in the report.

“Additional funding through government-led ‘new-infrastructure’ economic stimulus measures into areas such as connectivity, health care, education, transport and urban areas will also drive cloud use over the next 12 months.”

Cloud computing enables companies to buy, sell, lease or distribute a range of software and other digital resources as an on-demand service over the internet, just like electricity from a power grid. These resources are managed inside data centres.