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Amazon Web Services (AWS) was the leading cloud service provider with 32 per cent market share in Q1 2021, as cloud infrastructure services spending grew 35 per cent to $41.8 billion in the first quarter, according to a new report.

Microsoft Azure grew 50 per cent for the third consecutive quarter, taking 19 per cent market share in Q1 2021.

Google Cloud maintained its momentum, growing 56 per cent in the latest quarter to account for a 7 per cent market share, according to the report by market research firm Canalys.

The trend of using cloud services for data analytics and machine learning, data center consolidation, application migration, cloud native development and service delivery continued at pace.

Overall, customer spending exceeded $40 billion a quarter for the first time in Q1, with total expenditure nearly $11 billion higher than in Q1 2020 and nearly $2 billion more than in Q4 2020, according to Canalys data.

"Cloud emerged as a winner across all sectors over the last year, basically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of lockdowns. Organizations depended on digital services and being online to maintain operations and adapt to the unfolding situation," said Canalys Research Analyst Blake Murray.

"Migration and cloud spend will continue as customer confidence rises during 2021. Large projects that were postponed last year will resurface, while new use cases will expand the addressable market," Murray said in a statement.

The acceleration of digital transformation over the last 12 months, with organizations adapting to new working practices, customer engagement, and business process and supply chain dynamics, has elevated demand for Cloud

Investment at the edge, including 5G, is a key area, especially for the development of ultra-low latency applications and use cases, such as autonomous vehicles, industrial robotics and augmented or virtual reality, the report noted.