Poland is not only chasing Europe in terms of digitalisation – it is starting to overtake it. According to the latest Eurostat data, in 2023, cloud spending in Poland increased by 41.5% year-on-year, the highest in the entire European Union. For comparison, the average for EU countries was 19%. The scale of this growth is hard to ignore – and hard to attribute to just a ‘low base’. Not only is the pace of investment changing, but so is the way we think about technology.
For companies, the cloud is no longer synonymous with outsourcing infrastructure, but is becoming a tool for product development, scaling operations and – increasingly prominently – running AI models. It is no longer a supporting technology, but a strategic one. The importance of local data centres and providers that can balance scale with security and regulatory compliance is also growing.
The record growth rate did not come from nowhere. Several phenomena have overlapped: a more mature approach to post-pandemic digital transformation, accelerated AI development, rising energy costs and a chronic shortage of IT professionals. The result? The cloud is becoming the default choice – and Poland, from the providers’ perspective, is looking more and more like a growth market with real potential for regional leadership.
Cloud as a foundation for digital transformation
Only a few years ago, companies approached the cloud as a more convenient way to store data. Today, they think of it in completely different terms – as a platform for rapid product deployment, scaling AI and testing new business models. This turnaround can be clearly seen in Poland, where, as Eurostat indicates, adoption of cloud services is growing at the fastest rate in the European Union.
Among the main factors behind the acceleration is the explosion in the use of AI. The technology, which needs computing power, flexibility and an infrastructure capable of reacting almost in real time in order to operate, is naturally driving companies’ attention to the cloud. This is particularly evident in the small and medium-sized business segment, which previously treated the cloud with cautious detachment.
“The record 41.5 per cent year-on-year increase in cloud spending in Poland reflects a fundamental shift in companies’ attitudes towards the technology and is closely linked to the unprecedented pace of AI adoption. Our research shows that 740,000 Polish companies are already using AI, the largest increase in the entire European Union – up 56% over the past year.” – says Andrzej Horawa, CEO of Amazon Web Services in Poland.
For global providers such as AWS, Poland is becoming a market where demand is not only growing, but also maturing. Growth is no longer driven by simple server migrations – companies are increasingly starting from the cloud and designing their IT environments with future integrations with AI, process automation or modern data analytics in mind.
“We can clearly see that companies are no longer treating the cloud purely as a technology infrastructure and are starting to see it as a strategic route to innovation and business development. The range of more than 240 ready-made innovative services available in the AWS cloud fits in perfectly with this. AWS solutions allow us to quickly implement advanced AI models and build practical business solutions based on them, which is crucial in a dynamically changing market environment.” – Andrzej Horawa adds.
Such an operating model requires an ecosystem – both product and partner. Cloud providers are increasingly relying on integrator networks to help companies translate technologies into specific use cases. Scalability and low barriers to entry are an advantage here, but it is the availability of competence that determines implementations.
“Our partner ecosystem plays an important role in this process, helping clients identify specific AI use cases that deliver tangible benefits. From process automation to advanced data analytics, the possibilities are vast.” – says Andrzej Horawa, Amazon Web Services.
AWS announces further investments – both in infrastructure and localisation of AI services that support Polish. It’s a move in line with the expectations of a market that, as the data suggests, is only just getting off the ground.
“We expect cloud and AI adoption in Poland to accelerate further in the coming years. AWS is consistently investing in infrastructure and competence development, and more and more of our AI services support Polish, so Polish companies can fully exploit the potential of these disruptive technologies.” – concludes Horawa.
New business needs: speed, resilience, flexibility
Digital transformation is no longer the domain of large corporations alone. It is also a daily reality for medium-sized companies, which need to react faster, operate more efficiently and at the same time be resilient to disruptions – from technological to geopolitical. It is this need for operational flexibility that has made the cloud the first choice solution for an increasing number of Polish companies.
From a business perspective, cloud computing today offers more than just savings. It is a model of operation that allows IT resources to be mobilised immediately, services to be scaled according to seasonality or market demand, and costs to be kept under control. Companies want rapid deployments and solutions that do not require months-long transformation projects.
“The increase in cloud spending in Poland is a response to the specific challenges faced by business today. According to Polcom’s report ‘Digital transformation of the SME sector in 2024-2026. IT investments, cloud and new technologies’, 62% of enterprises plan to invest in the cloud by the end of 2026 for two important reasons – higher scalability (73%) and efficiency (56%) of resources provided by an external provider. ” – comments Piotr Szypułka, Director of the IT Infrastructure Department at Polcom.
Scalability, no longer understood as just the technical ability to increase computing power, but as the ability of the entire organisation to adapt quickly, is becoming a key criterion for choosing an IT provider. At the same time, the role of the cloud in security policy is growing – especially in the context of the increasing number of cyber attacks and operational continuity requirements.
“Organisations increasingly need solutions that allow them to operate faster, more efficiently and with greater resilience to disruption – both technological and market. Investment in cloud computing is no longer seen solely through the prism of cost savings, but as a real opportunity to increase competitiveness. […] At the same time, in the face of an increasing number of cyber attacks, companies are treating the cloud as an important element of their security and operational continuity strategy.” – Piotr Szypułka adds.
From the perspective of IT service providers, this means they need to step into the role of not only a contractor, but also a technology advisor. The growth of the cloud market in Poland is increasingly linked to the quality of support: from the needs analysis stage to the long-term optimisation of cloud environments.
“From a market perspective, it is clear that the future belongs to the cloud, which allows computing resources to be optimally adapted to the specifics of the business. At Polcom, we support organisations not only technologically, but also strategically – helping them to go through the digital transformation process in a way that is secure, thoughtful and tailored to their actual needs.” – says Piotr Szypułka, Polcom.
Leapfrogging growth in Europe, Poland stands out for its pace
The European cloud market is growing fast – but Poland is growing even faster. This growth is being driven by extensive operational transformation. However, it is Poland that is seeing the most dynamic growth today, making it a key spot on the radar of infrastructure providers.
This accelerated growth is the result of several factors: the growing importance of remote working, the need to integrate AI solutions and increasing regulatory compliance requirements. For companies, this means they need to invest in environments that provide not only flexibility, but also security and full control over data. This is where providers that focus on transparency and localisation stand to gain.
“The growth in cloud spending is almost leaps and bounds, reaching almost USD 300 billion by 2027, according to IDC. The growing popularity is mainly explained by digital transformation: more than 70% of European companies are using cloud solutions to increase operational efficiency. The development of remote working and the rise of artificial intelligence are important, prompting companies to invest in cloud infrastructure that enables the implementation of advanced AI models.” – says Tomasz Sobol, Marketing Development Manager CEE at OVHcloud.
For OVHcloud, Europe’s largest cloud provider, Poland is a market where cost advantages go hand in hand with the expectation of greater control. Companies are increasingly asking not only about the speed of deployments, but where and how their data is processed – and this makes the topic of technological sovereignty a real differentiator.
“An investment in the cloud is also an investment in security and compliance with regulations, such as RODO or sector certifications, which are convincing companies to use cloud services that offer advanced security features.” – adds Tomasz Sobol – “In our region, on the other hand, Poland stands out, with the highest growth according to IDC. For Polish customers, value for money, transparent pricing, lack of vendor dependency and choice of data centre are key. All this is offered by OVHcloud, which, as Europe’s largest cloud provider, focuses on data sovereignty, offering a partner ecosystem that supports local companies in building cloud competence – a key factor in the further development of this market in Poland.”
Poland is moving from being a peripheral market to one that is setting the pace of change. It is not only attracting hyperscalers investing in infrastructure, but also customers who are increasingly consciously choosing the cloud model – financially, technologically and strategically.
Cloud for the public and regulated sector: a game changer
For years, the public sector and regulated industries treated the cloud with detachment – mainly due to compliance issues, data control and infrastructure location requirements. This began to change when global providers launched their own cloud regions in Poland. This was a signal to the market: cloud solutions are ready for compliance requirements.
Today, it is organisations operating under strong regulatory pressure – banks, authorities, healthcare companies – that are increasingly implementing the cloud as the default infrastructure model. It is no longer just about cost or flexibility, but about tangible results: reduced time-to-market, increased service availability or incident resilience. Adoption accelerated especially after the pandemic, when digital preparedness became a prerequisite for operational survival.
“The dynamic growth of cloud spending in Poland is the result of several factors: accelerated digitalisation after the pandemic, the growing digital maturity of organisations and the increasing awareness of the business benefits of the cloud model, both in the public and private sectors – including shorter time-to-market, higher levels of security and service availability, cost optimisation and scalability.” – says Robert Przychodzień, CTO at OChK.
OChK, as one of the few public cloud infrastructure operators with Polish roots, benefits from this change. As a strategic partner of Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, and at the same time a provider of the OChK Platform, its own public cloud, OChK plays an important role in the digital transformation of Polish companies – from administration to fintechs to startups. The key advantage? The ability to adapt the technology to the specifics of regulation.
“Hyperscalers’ investment in building cloud regions in Poland has also played an important role, enabling cloud adoption also in regulated sectors.” – Robert Przychodzień adds.
In the coming years, according to the OChK, the cloud will evolve towards turnkey data platforms and managed services that reduce the time to innovate and increase security. In this model, integration competence and regulatory expertise, rather than just infrastructure provision, become key.
“In the coming years, the key trends will be the building of modern data platforms, the widespread use of artificial intelligence in process automation, and – in the face of ever-increasing security challenges – the development of private cloud platforms for enhanced protection of sensitive data. […] Our expertise in artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics and cybersecurity allows us to build modern and regulatory-compliant solutions that enable organisations to meet their business objectives.” – says Robert Przychodzień.
The cloud in the regulated sector has moved from ‘maybe someday’ to ‘we must now’. With this shift, the role of providers is changing – from vendors of computing power to strategic partners who understand the language of compliance.
Energy economics and the lack of people: practical arguments
The growth of the cloud market in Poland is not only the result of companies’ strategies or ambitions, but also hard calculations. Electricity costs, which have been at an elevated level for several years, have significantly affected the cost-effectiveness of maintaining an in-house IT infrastructure. More and more companies are coming to the conclusion that it is not economical to continue investing in server rooms.
In this context, the cloud is becoming not so much a technological choice as an operational trade-off – between cost, availability and scalability. Added to this is the chronic shortage of IT professionals, which makes it difficult to develop local on-premises environments. Companies expect simplicity, speed and availability – even for distributed teams.
“One of the key factors in the dynamic growth of the cloud market in Poland is rising energy costs – for many companies, maintaining their own server rooms is becoming unprofitable. They are increasingly opting for cloud services, which, thanks to economies of scale, make it possible to significantly reduce operating costs.” – says Rafał Brzozowski, Product Manager, Comarch Enterprise Solutions.
In the cloud model, the customer pays for actual usage rather than maintaining redundant resources ‘just in case’. Additionally, modern SaaS and PaaS environments give companies the ability to deploy systems instantly – without the need for a full-time DevOps team. For companies that want to keep up the pace with limited IT staff, this is often the only viable solution.
“In addition, cloud solutions provide high availability of software operation, which, in the face of rising customer expectations and a shortage of IT specialists, is becoming a critical business case.” – Rafal Brzozowski adds.
Comarch – as a provider that has been developing its own cloud for years – sees an increase in demand not only for infrastructure, but also for turnkey industry solutions in a service model. Customers expect not only stability, but also integration with existing systems and readiness for remote working, which remains the operational norm for many companies.
“We are seeing an increase in demand for rapid deployments, easy integration with existing infrastructure and the ability for our customers to provide remote working by accessing the software from outside the office.” – says Rafał Brzozowski, Comarch – “Comarch , having been developing its cloud computing for more than 20 years, has unique experience in building stable, secure and scalable services. The company not only invests in infrastructure in Poland, but also systematically develops its own systems in the SaaS model, responding to market expectations and supporting digitisation processes.”
For companies that do not want or cannot compete with the largest hyperscalers in terms of budgets or IT teams, local providers with turnkey SaaS solutions are increasingly the first choice. Especially when fast start-up, security and cost predictability become key.
What’s next. Cloud + AI = the new normal
The increase in cloud spending in Poland is only the beginning of a larger shift. Technology trends – most notably the rise of AI – are redefining the way companies design their IT environments. Fewer and fewer organisations are treating infrastructure as a resource to be managed, and more and more as a service that should be ready for rapid deployment of machine learning models, real-time processing and instant scalability.
The cloud is becoming a natural environment for artificial intelligence – because of the cost, speed of deployment and availability of specialised services. What was not so long ago the domain of pioneers is now becoming a basic expectation. Companies no longer just want access to resources – they want ready-made platforms, integrated ecosystems and a predictable deployment model.
From a market perspective, this means a shift in focus from IaaS to PaaS and SaaS and an increase in demand for managed services. Customers are looking for competence – not just infrastructure. This is an opportunity, but also a challenge for technology partners, who need to complement their offerings with consultancy, architecture and security – often tailored to the specific industry and regulations.
For cloud providers, this means increasing pressure on the availability of local data centres, support for Polish language in AI services and compliance with industry requirements. For companies – the need to build in-house competencies that allow them not only to use off-the-shelf solutions, but also to adapt them to their operational specifics.
Poland today has unique conditions to maintain a high rate of cloud adoption: a dynamic market, growing company needs and a mature ecosystem of local partners. The next phase of development, however, will be less about technology – and more about an organisation’s ability to use it consciously.
