Telcos accelerate shift to cloud

Telcos accelerate shift to cloud is profiled by BTW Media because published evidence links it to internet infrastructure, governance, operational dependencies, or market visibility.

• CSPs’ investment in cloud infrastructure will grow 12% in 2025 — double last year’s rate
• The telco cloud market is projected to reach $24.8 billion by 2030, according to Omdia

What happened: Telcos ramp up cloud spending amid digital transformation

New research from analyst firm Omdia shows that communications service providers (CSPs) are significantly accelerating their investment in cloud infrastructure. Global spending on telco network cloud is expected to hit $17.4 billion in 2025, representing a 12% year-on-year increase — twice the growth rate recorded in 2024. The report also forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 7.3% through to 2030, with the total market value reaching $24.8 billion by then.

Omdia attributes this growth to a shift toward cloud-native network functions and AI-driven automation. Telcos are increasingly moving from traditional virtualised network functions to containerised systems, which allow for greater flexibility and scalability. As network workloads become more complex, service providers are focusing their investments on platforms that can handle both virtualised and containerised environments efficiently.

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Why it’s important

This trend marks a major step in telcos’ long-term digital transformation. By adopting cloud-native architectures, operators can modernise their infrastructure, automate routine processes, and deploy services more quickly. It also enables them to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning for predictive maintenance, network optimisation, and customer experience improvement — key areas of competitive differentiation in the 5G era.

At the same time, the shift toward cloud-based networks signals deeper collaboration between telecom operators and cloud providers. As more network workloads migrate to hybrid and public clouds, major hyperscalers are strengthening partnerships with telcos to provide reliable, scalable infrastructure. While concerns remain over security and data sovereignty, Omdia’s forecast suggests that the momentum behind cloud transformation is now too strong to ignore, with most leading operators investing heavily to future-proof their networks.