Cloud IT infrastructure spending stormed back in Q4 to secure modest yearly growth, says IDC

Total end user spending on IT infrastructure products for cloud environments recovered significantly in the most recent quarter bringing overall 2019 levels above the red line, according to IDC.Following two consecutive quarters of spending decline for server, enterprise storage and Ethernet switch for cloud, Q419 saw $19.4 billion (£x) in spending at a 12.4% year-over-year growth. Total spending for the year, at $66.8bn, saw 2.1% annual growth.IDC noted that, aside from occasional swings, the IT infrastructure industry is now at a point where spending on cloud IT infrastructure 'consistently surpasses' spending on non-cloud IT. Non-cloud IT infrastructure spend dropped 4.6% in the most recent quarter to $18.7bn, with a 4.1% decline across the year.The public cloud arena continues to drive the cloud IT infrastructure market but with only modest upswings: a 14.5% year-on-year growth for the most recent quarter but thanks to a weak middle part of the year - only a 0.1% growth overall, at $45.2bn. Private cloud grew 6.6% in 2019 to $21.6bn.When it came to specific companies, Dell Technologies was at the top of the pile for Q419, capturing 14.5% of market share. HPE and the New H3C Group saw second with 11.6% share, before a gap to Cisco and Inspur, both holding 5.9% of the market.