Yet Another Analyst Believes Microsoft Could Unseat Amazon, Cites ‘Paranoia’ Surrounding AWS

Business Insider is reporting that RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Alex Zukin believes Microsoft could unseat AWS as the dominant cloud player.

AWS currently holds a commanding lead in the market, with some 47.8% market share. In spite of that, Amazon’s status as a leading retailer is proving to be a handicap, especially when trying to win business from companies that compete with it.

“There’s the perception that Amazon has access to all your data and owns all your data,” Zukin told Business Insider. “That perception does sometimes get in the way of signing large long term strategic engagement in some industries that Amazon is particularly competitive with.”

Zukin cites the example of Walmart, one of Amazon’s biggest competitors, who is using Microsoft’s Azure primarily because it’s not AWS.

In addition to the competitive factor, there’s also the barrier-to-entry many developers experience with AWS. AWS is one of the most comprehensive cloud platforms available, but it also has a reputation for being difficult to use. Often its tools are better suited to hard-core programmers than business IT departments. In contrast, Microsoft has deep roots in the consumer and business industries, with a heavy focus on making things as easy as possible for non-programmers. This gives it a major advantage over AWS.

There have been multiple reports recently that Microsoft is gaining significant ground in the cloud market. There have also been previous reports that this is, at least in part, because companies trust Microsoft more than a company they routinely compete with. As a result, Microsoft’s momentum seems to be picking up speed at a rate that should be alarming to Amazon, as well as others. If Amazon wants to retain its spot as the dominant cloud player, it will need to address the issues threatening to unseat it.