Since its inception, cloud computing has come a long way to become a crucial aspect of businesses. In fact, Gartner Inc. predicts that the revenue of public cloud services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will total approximately$3 billion in 2020 alone. The question isn’t if your business needs cloud computing services, but which platform to opt for. The market’s flooded with cloud service providers that claim to provide uninterrupted connectivity and powerful features. However, only a few are truly at the top of their game; namely Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure Cloud, and Amazon Web Services take the forefront.
Each provider has its advantages that you should consider when selecting a cloud service provider to meet your needs.
Azure
Microsoft Azure Cloud (Azure) is one of the fastest-growing cloud computing platforms in the world, recently opening new cloud regions in the Middle East to deliver directly from data center locations in UAE – offering scalable cloud services for organizations.
Pros
- Integrates seamlessly into other Microsoft products/services
- Stellar support for Linux and open-source application stacks
- The ideal solution for hybrid cloud
- Recommended cloud service for use cases that run well in a virtualized environment
Cons
- Requires advanced technical knowledge to implement software
The good news is that LDC is specialized in Microsoft Azure implementations and is home to over 100 certified microsoft experts. Learn more about how to deploy on or get the most out of Azure with LDC here.
AWS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also a cloud computing platform by the retail conglomerate Amazon, and is the oldest in the industry. Having launched in the Middle East in 2019, AWS hasover a thousand active customers.
Pros
- An established provider
- A broad collection of services and partner ecosystem
- Recommended for all use cases that run well in a virtualized environment
Cons
- Requires advanced technical knowledge to implement software
- Lacks sufficient hybrid cloud support
Google Cloud
Google Cloud Platform (Google Cloud) is a suite of public cloud computing services that offer technical expertise and industry-leading tools in deep learning, and artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics are significant advantages.
Pros
- Has a sound reputation within the open-source community
- Massive investments in analytics and machine learning
- Recommended for big data and analytics applications, ML projects and cloud-native applications
Cons
- Prone to rigid contracts
- Still relatively new in the industry, has a small partner network
- Offers limited services for larger companies
What To Look For When Selecting A Cloud Services Provider
To make your decision easier, here is a comprehensive comparison of the features, advantages, and setbacks of the top three cloud services
- Security
All three of these cloud services ensure top-notch security for their clientele.
AWS supports industry-leading solutions, enabling companies to integrate security solutions into their workflow seamlessly. With Amazon Inspector, you can identify and eliminate app security deployed within the AWS environment.
In comparison, the Azure Security Center uses machine learning to monitor and track signals across its system to report suspicious activity and reduce potential attack surface.
As for Google Cloud, its data centers are equipped with laser beam intrusion detectors and biometric verification systems for all its employees. The provider also applies hundreds of layers of encryption to encrypt user data automatically. Thus, you can rest assured knowing your systems are safe.
- Architecture
With 58 regions across the globe, Microsoft Azure Cloud has an edge with its wider reach. Moreover, its disks have greater performance in terms ofstoring data at 2GB/second.
Google’s Compute Engine is similar to AWS in terms of architecture, but there are differences in the storage aspect.
AWS offers the most storage options and provides instances of virtual servers and machines within a user, while Azure provides all the hardware and its volume types are readily customizable,
While Google has the lowest price to performance ratio, it lacks strong storage options.
- Manageability
When it comes to manageability, AWS can be challenging as it doesn’t let you access services without explicitly granting access to data forehand. Because each account is isolated from the other, it can take considerable time to grant access, especially if you have multiple accounts on AWS. However, this makes AWS a great option if you need to run individual accounts only.
In contrast, because Azure’s Active Directory is the single source for authorization and permissions, it is more suited to enterprise-level accounts, as it allows access from a standalone account.
The best of both worlds, Google Cloud’s manageability, resides as a hybrid between Azure and AWS – making it easier to manage but is still left behind in terms of accessibility security.
- Cost
All three cloud services offer different pay-as-you-go pricing options as well as discounts for various services and free introductory tiers to allow trials before purchasing.
Google discounts its prices when you commit to one-year and three-year plans. On the other hand, Azure lets you save on discounts that goup to 72 percent when you sign up for either one-year or three-year terms. Consequently, AWS also offers steep discounts when you pay upfront for Reserved Instances.
Azure and AWS charge according to the pay-per-minute method, whereas Google’s charges by the second. Thus, Google Cloud indefinitely offers better value and can result in significant savings.
As a result, customers can seize services almost immediately, allowing you to stop paying the second you decide to switch services. Moreover, the providers also enable users to calculate the total cost of the solutions they wish to implement.
- Compatibility
Though rather obvious, Microsoft Azure Cloud is most compatible with Windows operating systems, which serves as its native operating system.
On the other hand, AWS integrates seamlessly into Windows, Mac OS, and Linux – offering a wider solution in terms of compatibility.
Consequently, Google’s compatibility expands across Windows, Mac OS (through a utility), and even Linux. As a result of its proactive AI and Data Analytics solutions, the cloud service provider adopts a much better compatibility regime in comparison to AWS and Azure.
- Flexibility
Given that most of its applications are open-sourced, Google’s flexibility far exceeds that of AWS or Azure.
That said, AWS is also readily compatible with all operating systems, extending this compatibility to its Auto Scaling Monitor. Thus, it uses machine learning to scale its capacity to meet the requirements of your running applications.
A wild card in the pack, Azure takes a differing approach by using MS service compatibility – so the solution can scale accordingly as users’ needs grow without compromising data integrity.
- Support
In terms of support, all three clouds provide multi-language support, handling all queries within 24 hours of contacting support.
Azure provides stellar support for SQL-based formats, giving users more room to experiment. Comparatively, Google provides basic storage and database support, which is simpler to handle.
Additionally, AWS also provides SQL-based support with an ElastiCache feature that provides additional memory, should you need it.
Key Takeaway
As the oldest service provider in the industry, AWS is a safe bet regardless of the size of your company.
But if you rely on a Microsoft-centric IT infrastructure, Azure is a good pick for you.
Google Cloud, on the other hand, does offer fewer services but is the most budget-friendly option on our list, making ideal for tech start-ups.
Ultimately, the ideal cloud provider for your business will depend on your unique business requirements.
Looking to begin your cloud journey? Get a free consultation here.