Cloud Battles

Ever since cloud computing came onto the scene, there has been a steady evolution in what this technology can offer to ordinary people and businesses.

In order to harness the power of various digital technologies to achieve continued growth, many businesses are attempting to escape the limitations of on-premise hardware, networks etc.

We are now witnessing the IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-service) era, where a business can handle large sums of data in its day-to-day operations, making use of remote servers and software provided by a third-party.

As demand for these kinds of services grows, more cloud vendors have emerged, both public and private, providing an assortment of packages to appeal to as many customers as possible. The public cloud provider space is now front and center, with three major brands battling for supremacy.

While AWS (Amazon Web Services) is currently dominant, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platforms are consistently making gains in the market. For businesses looking to choose one, let’s take a closer look at what has made these three the cream of the crop and how they are different from one another:

Amazon Web Services

The major strength of AWS is its wide array of services covering different areas such as storage, developer resources, analytics, security and more. The platform also excels in regard to configuration choices, reliability and security.

Another evident benefit of AWS is its ecosystem of partners and overall user base from which other customers can learn how to make the most of their cloud offerings.

One of AWS’ shortfalls has been its slow movement in creating more conducive packages for customers who intend to use multi-cloud or hybrid approaches, retaining some on-site infrastructure.

AWS also tends to come off as a little bit complex for customers trying to sift through their diverse offering while gauging the overall price implications relative to their desired ROI.

Microsoft Azure

The platform has successfully focused on converging the typical computing needs of enterprises such as productivity software and developer resources, to make itself a one-stop-shop for C-level executives. This can be partly seen from Microsoft’s move to combine Azure, Teams and Office 365.

Azure blends well into companies whose workflows already include Microsoft tools such as Active Directory, Windows Server and System Center, making the move to the cloud smoother.

This platform has also increased support for open source technologies, with Linux facilitating about a half of its workloads.

However, Azure has been known to experience multiple outages, with a major global one happening in May 2019. This means that as a business, you may need a contingency plan that relies on another cloud vendor for any vital applications.

Microsoft also falls short when it comes to the quality and cost of their technical support, and field solution architecture.

Google Cloud Platform

While all three platforms offer AI-powered solutions to varying extents, Google Cloud Platform is considerably ahead when it comes to machine learning capabilities.

Catapulting off their search engine success, GCP can serve as a go-to for all things AI, with resources such as their open source deep learning library, TensorFlow.

The main downside for this platform is its inadequacy in dealing with the enterprise market. It tends to fall short in aspects like ISV (Independent Software Vendor) licensing, contract negotiation, discounting and integration with enterprise systems.

This is in part due to their earlier focus on solutions geared towards the open source community, and low-profile innovations at large organizations.

With a few pros and cons of each IaaS platform laid out above, it may not be so straightforward trying to determine which one is the best. This is because every organization has its own unique requirements. Here are a few general rules worth following when evaluating the best option for your business:

Consider going with a platform that accommodates multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies. It is important to be able to bring your on-premise infrastructure into the fold and also utilize services that may be exclusive to a particular vendor.

It is also prudent to opt for a vendor with less downtime and security issues. Make sure you can receive effective technical support whenever it is needed.

Are you wondering which public cloud vendor is better for your business operations?

Let the experts at ASB Resources draw up a strategy that points you to the right platform and particular offerings for your organization. Schedule a call with one of our experts today!