The world lent heavily on a new digital infrastructure when the coronavirus crisis struck earlier this year — and, for the most part, the system bore the strain.
This year’s surge in videoconferencing, online shopping and video gaming has put businesses such as Zoom and Netflix in the headlines. But some of the companies that provide the foundation for these services could turn out to be equally big winners from the lockdown.
Cloud computing — where data is stored and applications processed in large centralised data centres, with users accessing the technology over the internet — has been on the rise for two decades. Wall Street is now betting that the pandemic will bring a step-change in the uptake of the technology.