India's cloud market to cross $7 bn by 2022: Nasscom

New Delhi: Growing adoption of Big Data, analytics, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things is expected to push cloud market in India to grow 3-fold to $7.1 billion by 2022, a report by Nasscom said on Tuesday.

The report titled 'Cloud – Next Wave of Growth in India', prepared with Google Cloud and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, said cloud spending in 2018 was estimated to be about six per cent of the total IT spending.

Indian infrastructure as a service (IaaS) spending was estimated to be about $1 billion in 2018 and is forecast to grow at 25 per cent per annum to reach $2.3–2.4 billion in 2022.

Factors that can drive the IaaS uptake in India are improved infrastructure, economic benefits, increased innovation, vibrant startup and connected ecosystem, the report said.

The Indian software as a service (SaaS) market, on the other hand, is expected to grow at 36 per cent per annum and touch $3.3-3.4 billion by 2022.

This boost is expected on the back of lower cost of workforce, abundant talent availability, mature sales eco-system, adoption of newer technologies like AI and machine learning to build products.

Globally, the cloud spending on IT is growing at 16.5 per cent (CAGR) and is expected to touch $345 billion by 2022.

To accelerate the cloud growth momentum in India in the right strategic direction, the report recommended that the Indian government set out tangible time-bound targets for cloud and a sharper focus on the multitude of other infrastructural and operational factors (reliable power, sustainable land regulations, and high-speed connectivity).

"India's cloud computing market is poised for growth and, the technology is increasingly being embraced across businesses as well as consumers.

Complementing the ecosystem are the futuristic technologies such as AI, ML, advanced analytics and immersive media that are aiding in the seamless adoption of SaaS, IaaS and PaaS offerings," Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said.

She added that to bolster India's cloud market story, there is a need to exercise innovation.

"Innovation to reduce the cost of services and thus, a wider usage of cloud. This report will be a ready reckoner for all to understand the imminent need for Cloud and the underlying opportunities," Ghosh said.