Cloud Computing in Defence: Macroeconomic Trends

Militaries are now catching up and are looking to exploit the benefits of cloud computing on the grounds of cost, scalability, and flexibility.

Macroeconomic Trends

Listed below are the key macroeconomic trends impacting the cloud in defence theme, as identified by GlobalData.

Covid-19

The unplanned rush to remote working as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic means companies and governments have had to rely on technology to keep their operations running as offices lay empty. Cloud services suppliers – notably Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Alibaba, and IBM – had to step up and bear the brunt of a transformed business landscape.

Companies that would never have contemplated allowing their employees to work from home have been forced to rethink their opposition as cloud services delivered collaboration on a massive scale.

Protectionist policies

Global trade creates a network of interdependencies between different countries, tying their economies together. The goal of protectionism is to modify the balance of power in trading relationships by changing the rules in favour of one country. The US is actively pursuing a policy of protectionism by introducing tariffs on a range of products as part of the Trump administration’s America First agenda. In the technology sector, the relationship between the US and China is the most disrupted.

US-China trade war

The US-China trade war will heat up further in 2020 and beyond as China refuses to compromise on its aggressive, mercantilist, state-directed economic model. China’s self-perceived need to build a world-class internet infrastructure with public and hybrid clouds based on native components will only be strengthened by increased US-China tension. According to GlobalData forecasts, the US and China make up a combined 40% of the global cloud services market.

This is an edited extract from the Cloud Computing in Defense – Thematic Research report produced by GlobalData Thematic Research.