Verizon's 2011 Cloud Services Investment: 'Well Over $2 Billion'
The nation's second largest telecom company has made it no secret that cloud services is one of its key objectives this year, and Terremark Worldwide Group President Kerry Bailey said the company's acquisitions of cloud provider Terremark for $1.4 billion and Verizon's more recent purchase of cloud software player CloudSwitch put Verizon's cloud investment above $2 billion this year, according to a Bloomberg report. Bailey made the comments during a press meeting in Amsterdam at the opening of its flagship European data center there.
Verizon has been the most aggressive telecom targeting cloud computing as traditional carriers and service providers look to dominate the cloud services market fueling a market ripe with cloud acquisitions and consolidation.
Along with Verizon bulking up its cloud presence with key acquisitions, others have also stepped to the plate. Telecom giant CenturyLink acquired cloud provider Savvis earlier this year and Time Warner Cable scooped up cloud player NaviSite in a $230 million acquisition. Meanwhile, AT&T said it would invest $1 billion in cloud services and mobility this year and rumors continue to circulate that Sprint is getting into the cloud services game.
Along with showcasing Verizon's push to the cloud, Bailey also pointed out that Verizon believes the total market for cloud services will hit $150 billion by 2020, a massive leap from the $10 billion market it is now. And in the next 4 years, Bailey said, the cloud services market will grow by $90.
"We think we'll have a pretty good share of that," Bailey said, according to the Bloomberg report.