AWS vs Azure vs GCP: The 3 Big Cloud Providers

Cloud Computing provides and supports IT resources for all types of organizations and customers. Many cloud service providers are prevalent in the cloud computing market. They all provide options to the customer to select in which environment they host their data center. They also allow selecting service models like Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS), or Software as a service (SaaS). Based on the customer requirement, all these available options can be selected during the cloud migration of their infrastructure.

Most popular Cloud service providers in cloud computing platforms are

  • Amazon web services (AWS)
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google cloud platform (GCP)

Below, we will understand the basic differences between AWS vs Azure vs Google cloud.

AWS Cloud Platform

AWS stands for Amazon web services. It’s an on-demand cloud computing platform. AWS is the most popular cloud platform which provides numerous options to choose infrastructure and services based on their requirement and budget.

AWS cloud platform supports all types of service models like IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS available in the cloud computing world. Organizations can choose storage, power, network type, storage option to host their application. It also gives the option to select temporary storage and offers customers to choose a public cloud vs a private cloud.

Initially, it was launched in 2002 and again after lots of upgrades relaunched in 2006. After 2006, many new features were added to the AWS platform. It has almost everything which is required in cloud computing. More than two hundred services are available in AWS. It has all cloud-based products which are required in a cloud platform like computing, Internet of things (IoT), storage solution, Analytic tool, Enterprise application and better security options.

All these on-demand services are available in seconds on a pay-as-you-go option in pricing. It supports Linux, Windows, and recently launched Apple operating system. As per the latest data, Amazon web services (AWS) supports its services in 190 countries across the globe. AWS is highly secure, provides low-cost resources, and a scalable cloud platform.

Pros

  • It is the most developed.
  • It provides most of the services.
  • Best in terms of security & reliability.
  • Provides better computational capacity than its counterparts.

Cons

  • Requirement of paid Dev/Enterprise support.
  • For beginners, the vast range of services and choices can be daunting.
  • There are not many choices for hybrid cloud services.

Azure Cloud Platform

Another most conversed about cloud platform is Azure. The world’s best IT organization Microsoft developed the Azure cloud platform. Microsoft managed data center manages services and applications, and provides a platform to design, develop, test, and deployments in the cloud. Azure has 160+ data centres across the globe. It supports all the service models available in the cloud platform.

Azure has more than 200 plus cloud products that help in test, building, deploy and migrating in the public or virtual private cloud. Any type of organization can safely consider Microsoft Azure platform to resolve their challenges and provide solutions within their budget.

Microsoft spends more than one billion US dollars every year on security to protect data from any type of cyber threat. Their experts provide the solution to all types of business customers like healthcare, retail, government and banking. Azure supports open source technology, so customers can use any tools or technologies they need for their digital transformation.

Microsoft released Azure initially in 2010 and post that, they have added many features and services. It supports Linux and Windows operating systems. Azure Infrastructure can be configured by the Microsoft cloud support team or organizations can choose a third-party vendor or they can also configure and host by themselves. 

Pros

  • It is easy to integrate and migrate Microsoft services that are in use today.
  • There are numerous options available, including top-notch artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analysis services.
  • Compared to AWS and GCP, most services are more affordable.
  • Excellent support for hybrid cloud services.

Cons

  • Intended mainly for business consumers.
  • There are fewer service offerings than Amazon Web Services.

Google Cloud Platform

Google cloud platform or GCP is another cloud computing platform whose market share is growing rapidly. As the name suggests, it was developed and launched by Google. GCP is a cloud computing suite in which its services run on infrastructure of their products such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google search.

This is the reason the google cloud platform provides the best storage option, networking solutions, database tools, and a high-level computing platform. In networking also, it provides varied options to select during the configuration like Cloud DNS, CDN, and VPC (Virtual private cloud). It has all the flavours available which are developed by google like cloud speech API, Cloud video intelligence, Cloud vision API.

It provides Bigdata in its cloud platform and supports IoT (Internet of things) and machine learning. Cloud data preparation (CDP) and Cloud Data Flow (CDF) are used in GCP for analytics. Google cloud platform security is being used for compliance and security credentials in the GCP platform.

Initially, GCP was launched in 2008 and many new features were launched after that. GCP has features in which it provides backup services whereas AWS provides cloud-based disaster recovery services. Google cloud platform provides fewer services compared to AWS and Microsoft Azure. It provides 90+ services whereas AWS and Azure have 200+ services.

Pros

  • Compatible with other Google products and services.
  • It provides superb service for containerized workloads.

Cons

  • Limited number of services as compared to AWS or Azure.

AWS vs Azure vs GCP: Comparison Table

Below table summarizes the key points of differences between the 3 big cloud providers i.e. AWS vs Azure vs GCP:

Final Words

Considering pros and cons of these three cloud services reveals that each one has its own distinctive features, giving users a range of choices. Nevertheless, when we observe them more closely, it is clear that Amazon Web Services (AWS) has the greatest presence in the competition with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Although AWS is currently leading, it is impossible to predict for how long it will remain ahead of the game.

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