Poland’s cloud computing market reached PLN 2.9 billion in 2022, an increase of nearly 28% y/y, and in 2023 total cloud spending by businesses and institutions in Poland will rise to PLN 3.6 billion, according to a PMR report.
Despite weaker forecasts compared to last year’s report, from 2023 to 2028 PMR does not assume a CAGR below 20% in any of the key cloud computing market models, with the public cloud model experiencing greater growth.
The growth of the cloud computing market follows a number of factors. Previously, the COVID-19 pandemic was a key factor, leading to a surge in investment in tools to improve remote working and security of company resources. Despite the return to pre-pandemic conditions, the trend for remote working continues, according to the report.
The growth in the value of the cloud market is also a result of the ongoing digital transformation of businesses in Poland and the associated increased demand for tools and services based on this technology. The expansion of the largest global providers and the development of the so-called cloud regions in Poland also have an impact on the growth of interest in cloud solutions and, consequently, the value of the market.
The macroeconomic environment will not be unequivocally unfavorable for the development of cloud computing in Poland in 2023-2024. A barrier to development will be high inflation, which will affect the cloud market in two ways. Higher prices for services may hamper its real growth as a result of reduced demand for more advanced solutions and the freezing of new projects and staying with the basic set of tools. On the other hand, however, price increases will raise the nominal value of the market, they stressed.
It should be borne in mind that prices for cloud services have remained stable over the past few years. This policy has been a standard way for cloud providers to compete. However, market uncertainty, including the negative impact of inflation, the war in Ukraine and, above all, the rising level of energy costs, have put cloud providers in a position to adjust their pricing policies. Price hikes for cloud services have already been announced by several major players, including Microsoft, Google, SAP, Oracle and OVHcloud, among others, in 2022.
The cloud computing market in Poland in 2022 has also been influenced by a new factor – the war in Ukraine. PMR’s research conducted for this year’s report shows that the war has caused a change of attitude toward the cloud in about 30% of companies in Poland. In the case of large companies, one in five admitted that the war was a factor in their decision to migrate to the cloud, mainly by completing migration projects started earlier more quickly. In practice, they were supposed to be spread out more over time, but the war has changed the perspective in this case.
Of all the industries taken into account, the construction sector and the food industry saw the most need for changes in their approach to the cloud as a result of the war in Ukraine. The development of this area in the mentioned industries was accelerated in 58% and 46% of the surveyed companies, respectively.
Source: PMR