Key Cloud Players Reveal Customer Journey Importance

Blog by Carly Read, Senior Reporter at CX Today

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Key Cloud Players Reveal Customer Journey Importance
Contact CentreReviews

Published: November 5, 2021

Carly Read

News of the global cloud infrastructure spend tipping the scales at $49.4 billion in Q3 – up 35% – is one of many fantastic CX Today articles that has caught my eye this week. The study highlights the fact cloud services continue to be in staggering demand as we close the book on 2021, with the report, conducted by Canalys showing how expenditure has grown $12.9 billion over Q3 2020 and $2.4 billion since last quarter. 

It’s hardly surprising, what with remote working becoming permanent and prominent across many sectors, a major driver in the reasons behind the spike in cloud sales along with the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise and fall of cases.  

But what I did find of interest was the top three key players in the report behind such a surge. Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounted for 32% of total cloud infrastructure services spend in Q3 2021, making it the leading cloud service provider. It grew 39% on an annual basis. Microsoft Azure was the second largest cloud service provider in Q3, with a 21% market share. It grew over 50% for a fifth consecutive quarter and Google Cloud was the third largest provider and grew 54% to account for 8% of the market. 

I had expected to see other contenders such as Five9 among the top three players, or NICE. But these didn’t appear in the report. What I also found of interest was despite how much Google Cloud had grown it only accounted for 8% of the market overall. We’ll update readers as to where these contenders appear when we get the results of Q4 – perhaps the leadership board will look starkly different in 2022.  

I was also keen to delve into reasons why less than 30% of businesses are choosing to prioritise the full customer journey. Our article revealed companies that fall under the figure are failing to cultivate and nurture customer relationships throughout the social purchase journey, and putting their long-term social commerce growth at risk.    

Regardless, the same report uncovered social commerce is expected to grow by 31.4% by 2027 and the global social commerce market is estimated to hit a massive $604.5 billion by the same year.   

Should businesses and brands want a slice of the social commerce pie – or capitalise from the booming cloud contact centre market – the customer must come first. Demands continue to be higher than ever, and as we know the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer an excuse for poor CX. Businesses must place a higher value on the heads of their customers – to not just retain their customer base, but to exceed in the new year. 

 

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