AWS, Azure, Google Cloud : Best Cloud Platform?
Cloud computing has evolved significantly in improving the way businesses operate. It is no longer a concern of whether to adopt cloud computing or not; instead, the debate is which cloud platform to use. Among the countless industry rivals, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform stand out as the top three providers dominating the worldwide cloud business.
So, the question is, which cloud vendor would suit your business requirement? What are the deciding factors in the argument between AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud?
In this article, three cloud giants are contrasted, and you will get answers to your queries.
Let’s get started.
How Do You Select the Best Cloud Provider for Your Business?
There are tons of cloud vendors available in the market offering an extensive range of services. Choosing the appropriate cloud providers that match your business’s requirements is crucial for long-term success. You need to consider key factors while choosing a Cloud service provider. Let’s explore some of those factors:
Availability Zones and Regions
The availability regions refer to the geographical locations of the cloud data centers, while the availability zones are isolated data centers within a single area. Various regions deliver varying service quality in terms of latency, solution portfolios, and pricing. So, you need to consider the supported regions and availability of cloud providers before making any decision.
Let’s have a look at availability zones and regions
- Amazon Web Service has 87 availability zones within 27 geographical regions and with 400+ edge locations and 13 regional edge caches.
- Microsoft Azure operates 60+ regions with at least three availability zones and over 116 edge locations (Points of Presence)
- Google Cloud Platform has 27 regions and more than 82 zones across 200+ countries, including 146 network edge locations and CDN to deliver the content.
Market Share and Growth Rate
Amazon Web Service (AWS) continues to lead competitors in the high-growth cloud infrastructure industry, maintaining 33% of the market share in Q1 2022, according to statistics by Synergy Research Group.
Microsoft Azure controls 22 percent of the cloud industry, an increase of nearly two percentage points yearly. Google Cloud Platforms ranks third with a 10 percent market share and is growing at a rate close to 1 percent each year.
According to the report, globally, Cloud revenues increased by 34 percent each year to $53 billion in Q1 of this year. Despite the market’s huge size, the average growth rate in the past four quarters was 36%.
Comparing the Pros and Cons of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform
AWS: Pros and Cons
It is evident that AWS is the dominant player in the cloud computing sector, with approx. 33% of a market share. One of the reasons for its popularity is the 200+ managed services delivered by AWS and the simplicity with which it may be employed.
In addition to this, there are several other factors that justify it being a leading market player. AWS enables your organization to continue using its existing programming paradigms, operating systems, databases, and infrastructures.
It offers a cost-effective service that allows you to pay only for the services you use, with no up-front costs or long-term obligations. You can deploy your application faster and can easily add your remote capacity.
When you move to the cloud, Amazon Web Services may experience some common cloud computing challenges. Downtime, restricted control, and backup protection are just a few examples.
AWS defines default resource restrictions that vary by region. Images, volumes, and snapshots are the resources that is available. You can only start a certain amount of instances per area.
Microsoft Azure: Pro and Cons
One of Microsoft Azure’s strongest advantages is its integration capabilities, which largely involve integration with other Microsoft products such as SQL Server, Excel, Access, and so on. Furthermore, Microsoft offers significant discounts on service contracts to its clients.
Microsoft Azure seems to be more foresighted than its competitors; otherwise, it would not be delivering a hybrid cloud model so early in its journey. Even though its competitors, like Amazon Web Services, are still testing the waters, Azure is already in it. Your data centers can get connected seamlessly to the cloud with Azure.
Microsoft Azure supports a vast number of languages, including. NET, PHP, Java, Python, and Node.js, giving the CSP an advantage over its competitors, like AWS, which does not support programming frameworks like.NET.
Microsoft Azure appears complicated for organizations to execute, manage, and maintain since it delivers so many services. Despite their high-quality services and global reach, Microsoft is not particularly effective at dealing with a large number of consumers and treating each one as an individual.
Google Cloud: Pros and Cons
When it comes to cloud services, Google Cloud, which includes Google Workspace, is a formidable competitor. Google’s container service gives users a substantial edge because it created the Kubernetes standard, which is now used by competitors AWS and Azure.
Even though Google Cloud entered late in the market, it provides highly specialized services in three main aspects: big data, machine learning, and analytics, as well as robust scalability and steady load balancing with a short response time.
Since Google Cloud offers a significant advantage to its user, it also lacks in some aspects. Google cloud offers limited service compared to AWS and Azure and it does not have a conventional relationship with its corporate clients. It has limited global data centers which hinder its service delivery. In future, we can expect more out of Google cloud than its competitors.
Final Thoughts
Aws continues to set the benchmark for performance and stability. It has become an undisputed industry leader in terms of quality, features and security. Meanwhile, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud strive to evolve its presence by providing excellent service in cloud computing.
Are you still wondering which cloud vendor is right for your business?
You need to understand that every cloud migration project is unique in itself. It depends on your organization’s specific needs, goals, industry, and resources. While looking for the best cloud vendor for your business, keep in mind your specific needs and workload and have a comparative analysis.
