When it comes to investing in the cloud, European carriers are not keeping pace with operators in North America and Asia, according to new research from Informa’s Telecom Cloud Monitor. European operators accounted for only 7% of the US$13.5 billion that operators committed to cloud assets in 2011, while North American and Asian operators accounted for 90%, or US$12 billion.
In 2011, the top five telecom cloud investors were AT&T, Centurylink, NTT, Telstra, and Verizon. Leading European operators investing in the cloud were Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Portugal Telecom and Telefonica.
Globally, telecom operators launched a cloud service every other day in 2011, totalling 170 new services; and 127 telecom operators were active in cloud services, compared to only 80 in 2010. Five service clusters accounted for 70% of service launches: infrastructure as a service, storage, unified communications, business productivity applications, and security.
European telecom operators risk being sidelined while North American and Asian operators spend billions to build an international presence. Their investment strategy remains cautious while they work to stimulate local demand, according to the principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media Camille Mendler.
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For instance, the French Orange Business Services recently said that its cloud computing market reached over 3,600 customers. The company said it has seen robust growth in its customer portfolio in 2011, energized by the success of flexible computing express and cloud Pro offers.
Camille Mendler noted that the European Commission aims to define a common legal framework for cloud computing in 2012. Nevertheless, European operators are supporting local innovation: Half of the cloud services they launched in 2011 relied on European cloud technology vendors.
Informa’s research also pointed out fundamental differences among the 127 operators worldwide currently selling cloud services. According to the consultant firm, European operators are focusing on launching services at home, while North American operators are acquiring client bases and assets at home and abroad.
Asian operators are pursuing a blended strategy of infrastructure investment and service launch nationally and internationally. Meanwhile, Latin American, Middle Eastern and African operators are building up domestic infrastructure and competencies.
