Amazon’s cloud computing giant, now under new leadership since June, continues to dominate the market
11/21/2024
The global cloud computing market reached $84 billion in the third quarter, driven by companies storing and transferring vast amounts of data—a trend attracting billions of dollars in investments. These investments are not only for building data centers but also for securing the energy needed to power these facilities and their vast computing infrastructures. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the industry leader, is among the big tech companies with billion-dollar expansion plans and views Brazil as a critical source of renewable energy for its projects.
In an online interview with Valor from AWS’s Seattle headquarters, CEO Matt Garman emphasized Brazil’s importance in the company’s renewable energy-driven data center strategy. “Brazil is 100% part of our data center expansion strategy with renewable energy generation,” said Mr. Garman, who became CEO in June after serving as vice president of global sales, marketing, and services. A founding member of AWS, Mr. Garman joined the company as a trainee in 2006.
Mr. Garman highlighted Brazil’s role in Amazon’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. “Our strategy isn’t just about buying credits but about investing in new projects to add renewable energy to the grid. We believe that makes a real difference for the world, rather than simply purchasing offsets,” he explained.
Of the 500 renewable energy projects AWS has initiated globally over the last five years, two are in Brazil. One is a 122-megawatt solar farm in São Paulo, which began operations in October, and the other is a 49.5 MW wind farm inaugurated in Rio Grande do Norte earlier this year.
Data centers, major consumers of energy, face increasing demand due to the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI). According to the International Energy Agency, energy consumption by data centers will more than double between 2022 and 2026, reaching 1,000 terawatt hours (TWh)—equivalent to Japan’s entire electricity consumption.
AWS’s energy strategy also includes nuclear power, which Mr. Garman views as essential for meeting global energy demands. “We’re making significant investments in nuclear energy because, over the next five to ten years, it will be a critical component of addressing the world’s carbon and energy needs,” he said. “Solar and wind alone won’t suffice. Increasing nuclear power capacity will also be part of the solution.” In October, AWS signed three agreements in the U.S. to develop small modular nuclear reactors.
With “less than 20% of workloads [applications, services, and resources] migrated to the cloud so far,” Mr. Garman projects significant growth in data center construction in the coming years to accommodate increasing demand.
AWS has operated data centers in Brazil since 2011, and in September, the company announced a significant investment of R$10 billion over the next decade to expand its local infrastructure. Meanwhile, its competitor Microsoft revealed plans in October to invest R$14.7 billion in the country over the next three years.
According to consultancy Synergy Research Group, AWS dominated the global cloud services infrastructure market in the third quarter, holding a 31% share. Microsoft ranked second with 20%, followed by Google at 13%. Together, the three tech giants accounted for 64% of the $84 billion invested in the cloud market during the third quarter of this year.
For Mr. Garman, one of the key factors behind AWS’s continued leadership is its focus on helping customers reduce costs. “In 2023, many customers were worried about the economy and looking for ways to optimize costs,” he says. “We took a proactive approach and helped them reduce their bills.”
This cost-saving strategy has paved the way for new cloud and AI projects, according to Mr. Garman. “What we’re seeing now is that many of these customers, after tightening their belts in their core businesses, are reinvesting those savings into building AI applications on the AWS cloud.”
Looking ahead to 2025, even with Republican Donald Trump potentially returning to the White House, Garman doesn’t foresee any changes to AWS’s business operations. “We’ve supported the U.S. government through both Republican and Democratic administrations,” he says. “I’ve worked closely with both, including during the first Trump administration. We’ve been strong partners and have developed business with federal agencies.” U.S. government entities are among AWS’s cloud customers.
AWS’s revenue in the third quarter increased by 19%, reaching $27.4 billion, in line with analysts’ forecasts. However, Wall Street continues to raise its expectations for cloud revenue and the spending strategies of “big techs,” especially as they ramp up investments in AI tools. Mr. Garman remains unfazed by these pressures. “The analysts’ job is to have high expectations,” he says. AWS’s operating profit for the quarter rose by 49.8% year-on-year, reaching $10.45 billion. Operating expenses grew by 5.7%, totaling $17 billion between July and September.
*By Daniela Braun — São Paulo
Source: Valor International