Make your business flourish without investing much using cloud services. There are multiple cloud platforms to choose from. Before we jump into which cloud computing services are the best for your organization, we would want to brief you about what cloud computing exactly is. Our readers need to know that cloud computing is a platform that delivers computing services like storage, database, servers, software, intelligence, networking, and also analytics. Using cloud computing services helps enterprises manage and operate all their functions under one roof without having multiple tools for different operations. Because you pay only for the services you use, it is cost-effective, makes the operations efficient and scalable as and when the company needs to.
There are several good computing services out there in the market, but you must choose your business's right cloud platform. Every business has varied needs and requirements, and your cloud should be able to fulfil them. Factors like industry, size, turnover, number of employees, etc., also form the basis of choosing the right cloud service provider for your business. Cloud computing has evolved drastically since its inception, and now the question of "do we need cloud computing for our business? has shifted to "What is the best cloud platform for the enterprise?
The market is flooded with cloud services, but currently, the most used and popular computing services include AWS, Azure, and Google cloud. They top the charts as the most secure public clouds for enterprises and individuals. Let's try to understand all the three service providers to help you choose your business's right cloud service provider.
What Is Amazon Web Services?
A subsidiary of amazon.com, Amazon Web Services provides cloud computing services to organizations, individuals, companies, and government, on-demand and on a paid-subscription basis. With years of providing services, it has become one of the oldest and most experienced players with a massive user base. It is known as one of the most trusted and reliable service providers. Launched back in 2006, with services including simple storage service and elastic compute cloud, expanded into Amazon Cloudfront, Content Delivery Network, etc.
AWS computing services are by far the most evolved and functional because it has an advantage of about five years from the other two providers.
1. Availability
Currently, AWS has 66 availability locations, with another 12 in the pipeline.
2. Services
The list of services that AWS provides include:
- Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud - IaaS
- AWS Elastic Beanstalk - PaaS
- AWS Lambda for - Containers
- Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud Container Service - Serverless Functions
- Amazon Relational Database Service - RDBMS
- Amazon DynamoDB - NoSQL: Key–Value
- Amazon SimpleDB - NoSQL: Indexed
3. Storage
When it comes to computing service providers, storage is one of the primary concerns. AWS provides varied services for storage.
- It uses Amazon Simple Storage Service for Object.
- It uses Amazon Elastic Block Store for Virtual Server.
- It uses Amazon Glacier for Cold storage.
- It uses Amazon Elastic File System for File storage.
4. Networking
As per Networking is concerned:
- For Virtual Network, AWS provides Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
- For Elastic Load Balancer, it offers Elastic Load Balancer.
- For Peering, it offers Direct Connect.
- For DNS, it offers Amazon Route 53
5. Who Uses Them?
As one of the oldest providers, AWS has a big client base, including brands like Netflix, Airbnb, Unilever, BMW, Samsung, MI, Zynga, etc.
What is Azure Computing Services?
Azure Computing Services was launched in 2010 as Azure, and it was renamed Microsoft Azure in 2014. It is an equally competitive service provider. It offers cloud services, including analytics, storage, computing, and networking. It has an open and flexible enterprise-level platform that is faster to use. Azure has covered about 16% of the world market right now. It offers big data analytics and data exploration capabilities. It also consists of a data factory that offers data integration services that help in the data-driven workflow.
1. Availability
Azure currently has availability in 54 regions and 140 countries across the world.
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2. Services
The list of services that Azure provides include:
- Virtual Machines for IaaS
- App Service and Cloud Services for PaaS
- Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for Containers
- Azure Functions for Serverless Functions
- SQL Database for RDBMS
- Table Storage for NoSQL: Key–Value
- Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL: Indexed
3. Storage
For data storage, Azure provides:
- Blob Storage for Object Storage
- Managed Disks for Virtual Server Disks
- Azure Archive Blob Storage for Cold Storage
- Azure File Storage for File Storage
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4. Networking
Here’s what Azure provides for Networking:
- Virtual Networks (VNets) for Virtual Networks
- Load Balancer for Elastic Load Balancer
- ExpressRoute for Peering
- Azure DNS for DNS
5. Who Uses Them?
Azure currently has users included Fortune 500 companies, Johnson Controls, Polycom, Fujifilm, HP, Honeywell, Apple, etc.
What Is Google Cloud Platform?
Offered by Google, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of Cloud Computing services. It runs on the same infrastructure that Google uses internally to provide products such as Google Search engine, YouTube, etc. It was established in 2011; Google Cloud Platform is relatively newer but still holds massive credibility. Initially, Google came up with its cloud platform to strengthen Youtube and Google search but then introduced its enterprise services for public use.
1. Availability
Google currently has available in 20 regions worldwide, with 3 more in the pipeline.
2. Services
The list of services that Google Cloud provides include:
- Google Compute Engine for IaaS
- Services Google App Engine for PaaS
- Google Kubernetes Engine for Containers
- Google Cloud Functions for Serverless Functions
- Google Cloud SQL for RDBMS
- Google Cloud Datastore and Google Cloud Bigtable for NoSQL: Key–Value
- Google Cloud Datastore for NoSQL: Indexed
3. Storage
For data storage, Google Cloud provides:
- Google Cloud Storage for Object Storage
- Google Compute Engine Persistent Disks for Virtual Server Desk
- Google Cloud Storage Nearline for Cold Storage
- ZFS/Avere for File Storage
4. Networking
- For Virtual Network, it offers Virtual Private Cloud.
- For Elastic Load Balancer, it offers Google Cloud Load Balancing.
- For Peering, it offers Google Cloud Interconnect.
- For DNS, it offers Google Cloud DNS.
5. Who Uses Them?
On the other hand, Google shares the same infrastructure as Google Search and YouTube, and, as a result, many high-end companies have put their faith in Google Cloud. Major clients of Google Cloud are HSBC, PayPal, 20th Century Fox, Bloomberg, Dominos, and more.
Based on that, all three prproviders’ervices, AWS being the most experienced, offers around 200+ services, whereas Azure has about 100+ services to provide right now. Google Cloud is the last in line with about 60+ services at present.
Pricing
All three platforms have their own benefits for business. One must choose as per their business requirement. The rise of adopting cloud computing helps businesses reduce the overall cost, offers innovative solutions, and allows the business to boost agility.
According to Gartner, the IaaS market was estimated to be worth a total of $64.3 billion in 2021, up from $50.4 billion in 2020.
Machines | AWS | Azure | Google Cloud |
---|---|---|---|
Small Instances | 2 virtual CPUs and 8 GB of RAM will cost nearly US$69 per month | Instance with 2 vCPUs and 8 GB of RAM, in Azure, costing US$70/month | 2 virtual CPUs and 8 GB of RAM at a 25 per cent cheaper rate costing US$52/month |
Large Instances | 3.84 TB of RAM and 128 vCPUs will cost around US$3.97/hour | vCPUs will cost around US$3.97/hour, 3.89 TB of RAM and 128 vCPUs. It costs around US$6.79/hour | 3.75 TB of RAM and 160 vCPUs. It will cost close to US$5.32/hour |
Sourced From: Chapter 247
In the end...
After giving you all the required factors based on choosing your cloud provider, here’s a breakdown of which among AWS, Azure, and Google cloud is best at what. This short briefing will help you decide based on the business requirements and allow you to conclude without spending much time quickly.
1. Availability Zones
With a headstart of about 5 years, AWS definitely has captured more regions than the other two providers.
2. Growth Rate
Although Gooogle Cloud came in at the end, its growth rate is 100%. Hence it has the maximum potential of the three providers.
3. Client Base
Although AWS seems to have bigger names, we would say that all three providers have a great client base. So, do not consider the criteria for making your decision. We would like to call this one a tie!
4. Services
As per the services provided by each provider is concerned, AWS seems to be the most experienced and reliable of the three.
5. Integration with Open Source and On-Premise Systems
Talking about integration with sources, including MS Tools, Azure takes the crown.
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6. Pricing
In this highly competitive market, Google Cloud seems to have the most affordable pricing of the three.
Looking at the market right now, we cannot really say if AWS will keep sitting on the crown for long because Azure and Google cloud computing both are working hard to reach the top. With the advantage of an early headstart, AWS competes for neck-to-neck with boure and Google cloud computing in other services. We would suggest you choose a provider that is right for your enterprise based on the needs. Consider all the factors before deciding to be assured that you choose the right one!