2021 China Basic Cloud Services Industry Report: Market Overview and Player Insights

Source: Full Stack Cloud Architecture, based on "China Basic Cloud Services Industry Report (2021)". The report tracks the basic cloud services market and provides player insights.

The cloud adoption process in enterprises accelerates, with companies leveraging abundant cloud resources for innovative business initiatives. New adopters configure resources based on capabilities and growth prospects, while mature users deepen cloud‑enabled innovation.

Public cloud services remain dominant. The pandemic boosted demand for audio‑video, short‑video, and internet entertainment traffic, further driving public‑cloud growth. Post‑pandemic, enterprises continue cloud‑first habits, and previously delayed on‑premise projects resume.

Looking ahead, accumulated pandemic‑driven demand will be released, and the convergence of cloud capabilities with business innovation will expand opportunities for big‑data and AI platforms on public clouds.

Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and Huawei Cloud rank as the top three IaaS providers in China. In 2020, market concentration rose, with the top five firms holding 76.3% of the market.

Market dynamics show Alibaba and Tencent retaining the top two spots, Huawei climbing to third, while Tianyi Cloud and Amazon Web Services intensify competition through rapid customer acquisition and service expansion.

Internet‑focused cloud vendors still lead, but IT‑background providers are gaining momentum. Future competition will focus on combining generic IaaS resources with industry‑specific features, ecosystem development, and serving both head‑tier and mid‑to‑tail customers.

The PaaS effect may reshape the “one‑super‑strong, many‑strong” IaaS+PaaS landscape. Revenue remains IaaS‑centric, and leading vendors continue to dominate the combined market.

Vendors with strengths in databases, big data, and AI are poised to capture market share by leveraging PaaS investments and differentiating through technology.

Chinese cloud providers expand overseas by supporting Chinese enterprises’ IT infrastructure abroad and serving international divisions of internet, media, and gaming companies. Overseas players like Amazon leverage global infrastructure and compliance expertise to assist Chinese outbound firms.

Geographically, African, Middle‑East, and Southeast Asian “Belt‑and‑Road” countries are key targets for Chinese cloud expansion, while Europe and the US face political constraints.

Public‑cloud customers are concentrated in the internet sector (e‑commerce, gaming, audio‑video), accounting for nearly 50% of revenue. Large internet customers show diminishing marginal benefits from public cloud, prompting some to adopt private or hybrid clouds, while others maintain stable, high‑cost relationships with providers.

Non‑public‑cloud customers, mainly government and finance, represent about 60% of that segment, with traditional industries increasingly adopting hybrid or dedicated clouds to accelerate digital transformation and later focus on big‑data and AI capabilities.

Download the full "China Basic Cloud Services Industry Report (2021)" for detailed data and analysis.