Apple, Dropbox Lead Cloud Storage Market

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Michael Endler.

The variety of cheap and attractive cloud options continues to grow. But according to a Strategy Analytics study released Thursday, the U.S. market is being dominated by major companies with developed ecosystems. The report found that Apple, whose fusion between services and hardware has largely set the standard for such ecosystems, is leading the field, followed by Dropbox, Amazon and Google.

Strategy Analytics examined almost 2300 connected devices and concluded that Apple’s iCloud and iTunes Match services accounted for 27% of users. The other players boasting a double-digit usage share were Dropbox with 17%, Amazon Cloud Drive with 15% and Google Drive with 10%. No other competitors claimed more than 4% of the field…

The study found that cloud adoption is heaviest among younger people, particularly those between 20 and 24 years old, and that only Apple attracts more females than males. Not surprisingly, given Apple’s large lead, music storage is the leading cloud use case. Around 90% of Apple, Amazon and Google’s cloud users rely on the services to store their tunes, and even Dropbox — which, unlike the others, isn’t built around a content ecosystem — serves as a music repository for 45% of its users. Strategy Analytics noted that Dropbox is likely primed to grow in this area; thanks to its December acquisition of Audiogalaxy, a music storage and streaming company, Dropbox could soon introduce features such as a native music player…

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