Cloud Storage Statistics: Making Smarter Decisions

Cloud storage grew 96% from 2021–2025

Cloud storage adoption is accelerating rapidly, driven by businesses and individuals moving workloads, collaboration, and data management online.

From 2021 to 2025, cloud storage has grown 96%.

This near-doubling reflects the increasing reliance on digital-first strategies, remote work, and data-heavy technologies like AI.

In 2025, according to Semrush, global search volume for “cloud storage” is 145.9K. The top countries are the U.S. (33.1K), India (27.1K), and the UK (9.9K). The CPC stands at $3.82, signaling competitive market demand.

Historically, cloud storage adoption started with enterprises in the early 2010s, expanding to small businesses and consumers by the late 2010s. The pandemic in 2020 accelerated demand, and by mid-2020s, cloud storage became an essential utility, much like internet access.

This aligns with Gartner’s forecast, which estimates that global public cloud spending will reach $723.4 billion in 2025, an increase of 21.5% from 2024.

IDC highlights that not just storage capacity, but security and compliance demand are driving additional investment in cloud-based storage solutions.

By 2030, AI chips for data centers and cloud are projected to exceed $400 billion, while cloud storage is expected to continue its strong growth.

Cloud storage is no longer optional, it’s the backbone of the digital economy.

SMBs Keep an Average Of 160 Files Containing Sensitive Data In Their Cloud Storage (Kaspersky)

Examples of sensitive data include financial records, password, medical records and more. 

Cloud storage has become an important tool for small and medium businesses. 

When cloud storage providers become more reliable, the number of sensitive data stored is set to increase. However, SMBs should take precautions like encryption methods for all sensitive information. 

The Global Cloud Storage Market is Expected to Grow to Over $376.37 Billion By 2029 (Fortune business)

The global cloud storage market is expected to increase from $83.41 billion in 2022 to $376.37 billion by 2029. This is an annual growth rate of 24.0%. 

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for cloud storage went up. This caused the global market share to grow by 13.8% between 2019 and 2020.

In 2021, the global cloud storage market size was worth 70.19 billion dollars. 

iCloud Leads Cloud Storage Searches, 2025

In 2025, according to Semrush, iCloud is the most searched cloud storage service, with 87.9k monthly searches, followed by Google cloud storage (56k) and Samsung cloud storage (37.1k).

Search demand shows iCloud as the leading cloud storage service by interest.

High search volumes suggest iCloud and Google are strongest in consumer mindshare, while smaller players like pCloud lag far behind.

Apple’s tight ecosystem integration likely boosts iCloud interest, while Google’s productivity suite keeps it competitive.

Apple leads the global mobile vendor market with 27.48% share, strengthening iCloud’s position as the most searched cloud storage service in 2025.

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Samsung follows with a 21.59% share, showing strong regional presence that helps explain its continued search visibility, even if it lags iCloud and Google in global cloud storage demand.

Search demand is expected to tilt further toward ecosystem-driven providers (Apple, Google, Microsoft) as AI-powered storage becomes mainstream.

Google Drive is The Most Popular Cloud Storage Service (Goodfirms)

648 respondents revealed that Google Drive is the most favored cloud storage service in 2020. 

Dropbox follows behind, with Onedrive and iCloud coming in at about the same level of popularity. 

Take a closer look at the breakdown. 

60% Of All Corporate Data is Stored in The Cloud  (Cision)

As of 2022, over 60 percent of all corporate data is stored in the cloud. 

In 2015, only 15% of corporate data was stored in the cloud. 

Data stored in the cloud has been on a steady rise, allowing businesses to transform their operations more quickly than ever before.

Cloud Storage is Expected To Reach 200 Zettabytes (Arcserve)

By 2025, the combined use of private and public cloud storage is expected to skyrocket to 200 zettabytes. 1 zettabyte is equal to 1 billion terabyte. 

The data size is exploding - with more people connected to the internet, a rise in smartphone usage, more connected devices and an increase of software developers coding.

A massive 200 Zettabytes of data is expected to store on everything from phones to cloud networks by 2025. 

54.62% of People Use 3 Different Cloud Storage Providers (Goodfirms)

Due to syncing and collaboration capabilities offered by modern devices, new habits are formed. Over half of all respondents are utilizing three or more cloud storages regularly. 

From quick setup to low upfront cost, it is no surprise that a majority of people are utilizing multiple cloud services. 

It is clear that there has been a major shift in the way people store and share online data. 

Google Drive has More Users Than Dropbox  (Wikipedia)

In 2018, Google Drive reached 1 billion active users. This was almost double the amount of Dropbox's 500 million user count that same year.

By 2020, Dropbox had 700 million users. 

With its seamless integration with Android devices and the Google ecosystem, it's no surprise that Google Drive has become so popular. 

48% of Businesses Store Their Data on The Cloud (Panda Security)

48% of organizations now rely on cloud storage. The amount of corporate data stored on the cloud is increasing. 

Surprisingly though, only 32% of these organizations believe that protecting this data should be their responsibility. 

As a result, they may not be doing what is needed to keep their systems secure and their information safe.

65.28% of People Use Personal Cloud Storage as Their Primary Data Storage  (Goodfirms)

In 2020, the majority of 648 survey participants revealed that cloud storage is their primary method for storing data.

The main reason people use cloud storage is because it is easy to drag and drop files, and no need to bring hardware storage around.

The younger generation is more likely to use cloud storage than older generations.

27% of People Store Their Passwords and Login Data in Cloud Storage Services (Statistia)

In 2020, 27% of 743 respondents used cloud storage to store password and login data.  

71% of people choose cloud storage to save photos, followed by backing up files (53%) and music & video (41%). 

Check out the usage breakdown:

44% of IT Decision Makers View Cloud Storage as Top Focus (Dell)

In 2022, 44% of 1000 IT decision makers view cloud storage as their top focus when it comes to exploring other cloud services. In 2021, cloud storage is also the top focus. 

Protecting data takes the next priority—with 41% focused on cyber recovery, 40% backing up information, and 38% dedicated to disaster preparedness. 

This decision offers many benefits, such as increased scalability, performance, expertise while decreasing operation costs. 

Only 1% won’t want to use any cloud services. 

Wrap Up

Cloud storage has become an essential part of daily life, powering personal and corporate data needs alike. 

Companies and individuals are taking advantage of its scalability to store valuable data without worrying about hardware and maintenance costs. 

Explosive growth in the industry shows no signs of slowing down. 

Its growth is only continuing as our appetite for digital information continues to grow exponentially.