AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud: Comparing the Top Cloud Providers

This post will compare AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud from different perspectives to help you choose the best cloud provider.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) together cover 67 percent of the cloud computing market share worldwide. Better services, superior technical assistance, global presence, and vast experience in managing cloud infrastructure are the key reasons behind their growing popularity in the corporate world. This post will compare AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud from different perspectives.

As an entrepreneur or a business owner, you need a dependable cloud provider to offer more flexibility and scalability to your company. We will see the differences between AWS vs. Google Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure in this post, and it will help you select the right cloud provider for your company. Even if you think of working with all three cloud service providers, you can get insight about the right vendor for specific services by reading this post.

Let’s get an overview of these providers without further ado!

AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud: Overview

We will start getting the introduction of these three robust cloud providers from Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Amazon Web Services

The eCommerce giant Amazon came up with AWS in the year 2006 with services like Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). AWS is designed to offer a custom cloud computing platform to individuals, governments, and companies on a paid subscription basis. AWS is the oldest player in the cloud computing marketing.

Microsoft Azure

Initially known as Azure, this platform was launched in the year 2010. Microsoft-powered Azure platform has strengthened its presence among competitors through some excellent enterprise-grade features since its exception. It is a competent Cloud Computing platform for modern businesses.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Offered by the search engine giant Google, GCP is a suite of Cloud Computing services. GCP runs on the same cloud infrastructure that Google uses internally for YouTube and other end-user products. GCP was launched back in 2011, and within a decade, it has established its strong presence in the domain of cloud computing.

Talking about the individual market share of these three platforms, AWS leads with 32 percent. The market share of Microsoft Azure is 19 percent, and that of Google GCP is 7 percent, respectively. Let’s understand the concept of Multi-Cloud before comparing AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud.

What Is Multi-Cloud and How Does It Benefit Companies?

Some companies take services from multiple cloud providers to meet their diverse business requirements. This approach is called a multi-cloud approach. Here, cloud providers are compatible with the company’s private cloud network and extend its capabilities. It is basically Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) that more than one cloud vendor offers.

Organizations adopt this strategy to reduce redundancy or to get rid of vendor lock-in, whereas some companies adopt it to meet the complex requirements of their custom applications. A multi-cloud strategy can bring modernization and enable companies to follow best practices for compliance. It also offers agility, flexibility, and scalability to companies. 

What Are the Key Differences Between AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud?

As leading cloud computing platforms, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer a range of services, including networking, storage, databases, and computing. Let’s go through the key differences between Amazon AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud.

• Pricing: AWS is generally the most expensive platform, followed by Azure and Google Cloud. However, AWS also offers a variety of pricing options, including reserved instances and spot instances, which can make it more affordable for some workloads.
• Performance: All three platforms offer high performance. However, AWS has a slight edge in terms of compute performance.
• Security: All three platforms offer strong security features. However, AWS has been in the cloud computing market for the longest and has a more mature security infrastructure.
• Support: All three platforms offer 24/7 support. However, AWS has a larger support team with experienced professionals.

How Do We Compare the Pricing Models of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud?

When we compare Google Cloud vs. Azure vs. AWS from the perspective of pricing, Azure remains the most expensive for general-purpose instances. However, it remains a cost-effective platform for compute-optimized instances. On the other hand, GCP is the most expensive option for different compute-optimized instances; it offers the double RAM of the rest two options.

Price Comparison for 1-Year Commitment

When it comes to 1-year commitment options, AWS is the cheapest option for general-purpose instances. Google Cloud offers the highest discount for both general-purpose and compute-optimized options.

Price Comparison for On-demand Cloud

Google Cloud is the costliest option for on-demand compute-optimized instances. However, it offers the maximum features and RAM based on the different on-demand models. You can consult a reputed cloud computing service provider to know more about these models in line with your business requirements.

It is fair to mention that when we compare GCP vs. AWS vs. Azure, AWS is the cheapest option for general-purpose instances, and Google Cloud gives the highest discount. In compute-optimized instances, it is better to compare pricing models carefully to get the best deal. Here is a brief account of features offered by AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

What Features Are Offered By AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud?

As renowned Cloud Computing providers, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer many features that are beneficial for modern businesses. Out of these platforms, AWS is the most evolved and richest in the number of services offered. It offers 200+ services, whereas Azure offers around 100+ services, and Google Cloud is trying to catch up with Azure and AWS by offering more than 60 services. These services include compute, database, and storage services.

AWS

• Largest cloud platform in the world.
• Well-established and mature platform.
• Strong security and compliance features.
• Good documentation and support.

Azure

• Second-largest cloud platform in the world.
• Built on Microsoft's enterprise technology stack.
• Strong integration with other products and services of Microsoft.
• Good documentation and support.

Google Cloud

• Third-largest cloud platform in the world.
• Innovative and cutting-edge platform.
• Strong focus on open-source technologies.
• Good documentation and support.

When we compare AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud, we should keep in mind that no platform is superior to the rest. The best cloud platform is what fulfills your specific business needs.

How Secure Are AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud?

All three cloud platforms focus on the security of their cloud services. AWS offers a wide range of security features and compliance certifications. It also offers various tools to help users secure their corporate data and dedicated applications. Google Cloud also offers advanced security features for the same reason. Azure has a dedicated Azure Security Center to ensure the safety of the data and applications.

Which Cloud Platform Is Right for You

Here, we make a table for the pros and cons of AWS, Azure, and GCP that will help you find the right cloud platform.

A wide range of corporate customers use these three platforms. Large enterprises, SMEs, and even startups utilize these platforms to meet their business needs. Talking about noteworthy customers, Netflix and Spotify count upon AWS; SAP and Volkswagen rely on Azure, and Google and Uber use GCP.

Conclusion

Comparison of GCP vs. AWS vs. Azure shows that  AWS is the clear leader in terms of market share and availability zones. However, Azure and GCP are catching up with AWS quickly. Azure has the best integration abilities, and GCP has the best pricing options. We have also seen the top features, pros, and cons of these three platforms in this post. Hopefully, it will help you find the most suitable platform for your company.

It is necessary to consider that the cloud computing domain is evolving constantly, and these platforms launch new services every now and then. Therefore, it is essential to do complete research on the latest developments before making your final selection.

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