Public cloud can give $41.09b boost to GDP: report

The deployment of a public cloud is also expected to add 22,000 jobs.

The deployment of public cloud in Singapore can contribute about $41.09b (US$30b) to its GDP between 2019 to 2023, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study commissioned by Google Cloud. This is equivalent to about 1.7% of the annual GDP.

Seven out of 10 respondents, composed of IT decision makers in the city, said that revenue uplift is the key driver of the value addition followed by 65% choosing productivity improvement.

Public cloud deployment is also estimated to create nearly 22,000 jobs, with around 8,000 in digital and technology-related roles. It will also impact another 21,000 jobs through second order effects in the city.

Including Asia Pacific markets, namely Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, the public cloud is projected to contribute up to $616.47b (US$450b) cumulatively, contribute to the creation of nearly 425,000 direct jobs and impact another 1.2 million jobs indirectly.

“If providers, users and regulators address the adoption challenges to further boost adoption, the impact across the six markets can go up to [$794.56b] for GDP contribution whilst creating 770,000 direct jobs,” according to the abstract of the study.

The study said that digital native businesses are the biggest drivers of adoption within Singapore, along with banking and financial services, retail, public sector and media. They are expected to capture over 90% of the economic impact.

The key reasons cited by these users for adopting public cloud are enhanced productivity, better security, faster time to market, and the need for scalable and reliable infrastructure to scale new businesses, products and services.

Sectors surveyed included digital native businesses and internet start-ups, banking and financial services, retail, media and gaming, public sector and manufacturing.