Experts from the consulting company Yakov and Partners and Yandex B2B Tech analyzed how Russian companies use cloud technologies and what results they achieve by transitioning to hybrid infrastructure and implementing artificial intelligence solutions. According to the study 'Cloud Technologies: Trends and Development Prospects,' businesses are not only expanding their use of cloud services but also deriving substantial economic benefits.
Financial Impact Recognized by Businesses
According to research, amid the active adoption of cloud solutions, nearly half of companies estimate the impact exceeds 3% of their EBITDA — significantly outweighing cloud-related expenses. Moreover, in the digital sectors, the financial impact is even higher: over 5% of EBITDA across IT, e-commerce technologies, telecommunications, and media. Companies primarily see the value in scalability, improved data availability, and higher reliability rather than direct cost savings. Under these conditions, about half of organizations spend more than 5% of their annual IT budget on cloud solutions, and more than 30% intend to increase investments in the future.
The majority of companies plan to expand their use of cloud technologies in the coming years. An overwhelming 94% of respondents plan to continue using cloud solutions — 44% intend to scale existing ones, and 28% plan to implement cloud systems in new scenarios.
Hybrid Capabilities and Platform Quality Are Key in Selecting Cloud Providers
When choosing a cloud provider, the primary criterion is the quality of the platform and its accompanying services, which outweighs pricing. Reliability, regulatory compliance, and the quality of technical support are significantly more important than cost for most companies, experts note.
The study shows that Russian companies are rapidly transitioning to hybrid models: more than 70% use both public cloud and on-premises infrastructure. Adoption of PaaS and SaaS solutions reaches 65–66%, with more than half of organizations combining IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS services.
We are seeing steady growth in the use of cloud technologies across all segments. Our goal is to ensure consistently high performance and security both in the cloud and within clients' infrastructure — especially amid the rapid growth of AI workloads that require powerful, scalable, and reliable infrastructure
Grigory Atrepyov, CEO of Yandex Cloud (part of Yandex B2B Tech)
Companies actively use PaaS services to accelerate development, data analytics, and AI adoption. The most in-demand solutions include data storage and processing services, developer tools, and ML and AI services. Real-world use cases demonstrate substantial impact: analytics platforms reduce report preparation time by more than half, automated consultations lower support team workloads by 20%, and generative services for product card creation accelerate publishing processes tenfold.
A ‘Cloud Breakthrough’
The global public cloud market nearly tripled from 2020 to 2024, reaching almost USD 600 billion. It is expected to continue its steady growth and reach USD 1.26 trillion by 2028.
Public cloud now accounts for more than 60% of the global software market. Due to rapid growth, the public cloud segment overtook on-premises solutions in 2021 and is expected to continue absorbing its share. Under a positive scenario, it could reach around 80% of the software market by 2030. This rapid expansion is driven largely by demand for computing resources for AI, as well as the advantages of flexible and scalable consumption models
Maxim Bolotskikh, Partner and Head of the AI and High-Tech Practice at Yakov and Partners
Unlike the global market, the Russian public cloud market is still less mature, accounting for about 35% of the domestic software market. Despite growth rates comparable to global trends through 2024, Russia's growth is expected to slow thereafter due to the overall cooling of the IT market and rising demand for hybrid scenarios. Nonetheless, projected growth rates will remain above global averages, and over the next five years, the market is expected to nearly triple, approaching parity with on-premises solutions.
Experts estimate that by 2030, the Russian public cloud market across key solution types will reach a record RUB 1.24 trillion. Digitalization and demand for flexible solutions are the main growth drivers. The market volume includes all cloud software, private cloud consumption, and intra-group consumption of cloud providers' solutions. About 70% is attributable to external consumption.
Cloud Maturity as a Driver of AI Leadership
The Russian cloud services market is demonstrating confident growth, and companies are becoming increasingly strategic in selecting providers. This indicates that cloud solutions have moved beyond being a mere tool for IT cost optimization. Today, they represent a critical foundation for digital transformation and the deployment of breakthrough technologies, including artificial intelligence. Our study shows that companies with high cloud infrastructure maturity enjoy a significant advantage in the race to adopt AI
Marina Dorokhova, Director of the AI and High-Tech Practice at Yakov and Partners
Experts note that high levels of AI adoption are observed primarily among companies with intensive use of public cloud — about 30% of such organizations. In contrast, among companies with low cloud usage, the adoption rate is below 2%.
There is a clear positive correlation: the more mature a company's cloud capabilities, the more successfully it adopts AI technologies. This is because a well-developed cloud infrastructure provides the scalability, flexibility, and computing power required for effective AI deployment
Ilya Golod, Engagement Manager at Yakov and Partners
