AWS Vs. Azure — Who wins the battle of the clouds?
In the digital space, cloud computing is at its peak right now with several companies working hard to gain the spot for the top cloud computing services in the world. According to a recent report, the global cloud service market would hit 454.2 billion US dollars by the end of 2022. At present, the industry is growing at an exponential rate.
Moreover, as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, there is a rise in demand for cloud services in the market. Some of the best website development services are emphasizing cloud computing to increase their market growth.
AWS and Azure are two of the best-rated cloud giants for quite some time now. Both of these have a lot of similarities in terms of basic features and capabilities. However, some major technical differences confuse a lot of entrepreneurs.
“Which cloud vendor should I choose?” — this is a recurring question among a lot of organizations.
Today, we will discuss the key differences between AWS and Azure cloud computing to help you figure out which one suits your company.
But first, let’s understand the basics of AWS and Azure.
What is AWS?
AWS or Amazon Web Services is a cloud computing service of the technology giant Amazon. AWS has over 200 services that are complementary to each other to help businesses produce a scalable and efficient outcome. Worldwide, many startups, large enterprises, and even government agencies use AWS as their cloud computing service.
One of the key features of AWS is that its services are broadly categorized into 3 types — Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS).
Now let’s talk about AWS’s biggest competitor — Azure by Microsoft
What is Azure?
Microsoft Azure came into the market in 2010 and quickly became of the top cloud computing services in the industry. The platform provides a vast range of services including analytics, computing, storage, and networking.
One of the best features of Azure is that it excels in the hybrid cloud market which makes it very in demand with many organizations.
Comparatively new in the marketplace, Azure is still growing with seamless integration of data with any working environment.
Azure Vs AWS Services — Key Differences
Now that we have an idea of the basic features of AWS and Azure, let’s talk about the major differences.
1. Cloud storage offerings:
Both Azure and AWS offer strong cloud storage solutions to different organizations. However, their offerings are different.
Amazon Web Services offers Amazon simple storage service (S3), Glacier, and elastic block storage (EBS). Azure, on the other hand, offers data storage in Azure blogs, Azure disks, Azure Queues, Azure Files, etc.
AWS has a restriction of 5 TB object size whereas, Azure has a limitation of 4.75 TB.
2. Computing Power Provisioning and Usage:
One of the biggest strengths a computing vendor should have is scalability.
AWS uses elastic cloud computing (EC2). In this, the resource footprint enlarges or decreases in size as a result of the elastic cloud system. Users may construct virtual machines or modify MIS as per their requirements.
For Microsoft Azure, the users can create a VM from the virtual hard disc (VHD) provided in the system. These virtual scales help to provide scalability and enable load balancing.
However, EC2 can be customized for various uses whereas, Azure VMs work with other cloud-deployment tools for customizations.
3. Data Privacy and Security:
For any cloud computing service, security is a big factor in any organization. AWS has centralized access for permissions which performs well in selecting secure alternatives and settings by default.
Microsoft Azure provides role-based access control. Microsoft’s Cloud Defender is an AI-powered solution for data and security that protects any new or upcoming threats.
4. Networking Capabilities:
Cloud computing services are responsible for content delivery and network performance.
AWS uses Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) which helps organizations to create isolated networking systems under the cloud umbrella. Within a VPC, users can create private IP ranges, route tables, network getaways, and others.
As a counterpart to VPC, Microsoft Azure has its virtual networking system which has pretty much all the functions of the VPC. This virtual private network provides cross-network communication.
Both of these vendors have firewall alternatives to extend on-premise data. This helps to emerge data centers into the cloud without harming the business operation or the database.
5. Documentation And User-Friendliness:
Although Azure has a large ecosystem of productivity tools that influences a lot of businesses, its documentation and recommendation system is less intuitive than AWS. All the user accounts and information are kept in one place, but Azure is less search-friendly.
If you are a first-time cloud computing service adopter, AWS is more user-friendly. AWS offers an informative dashboard and also provides rich documentation of its services.
6. Market Growth and Share
As the top players in the cloud servicing industry, both AWS and Azure has pretty big shares in the market. According to recent reports, AWS has 31% of total cloud infrastructure services spent in 2022. In 2021, Amazon grossed over $13.5 billion in revenue. This makes AWS the top cloud computing service provider globally.
However, Microsoft’s Azure isn’t behind the game, securing the position of second largest cloud service provider with 24% of the market share. In 2021, Azure saw a massive 50% increase in revenue, which was much higher than the prediction of 46%.
7. Database
In terms of data durability and management, both of these services are capable of handling structured and unstructured information or big data.
AWS has Amazon RDS which is compatible with six database engines- Amazon Aurora, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL, Oracle, and MariaDB.
Azure has Azure SQL which is a server database solely based on Microsoft SQL. The interface of Azure database has a smoother interface. But AWS offers better provisioning and more instances.
In comparison, Azure’s tooling and interface make it easy for businesses to complete numerous operations within a set time. However, for big data handling, AWS provides a better and more mature environment.
AWS Vs. Azure — Pricing Differentiation
The pricing models for both these cloud computing services are different. Although both of them offer to pay as you go structure, AWS charges businesses on an hourly basis. Azure, on the other hand, bills you per minute basis.
When it comes to subscription plans, Azure has more flexibility to offer than Amazon Web Services. The per-minute basis model gives users more precise pricing than AWS. It also enables companies to take short-term commitments to see whether the service suits their business model.
AWS bills you on an hourly basis with instant purchases like:
· On-demand- This is where you only pay for services that you use.
· Spot- This is where users bid for extra capacity
· Reserved- This service gives you a reservation for three years with an upfront payment.
Which One Should You Choose?
There are a lot of similarities between AWS and Azure as both of them offer incredible products and services. Both of them offer multiple applications and services. The key differentiation is in the pricing and documentation approach of the two services.
At a glance, here are some of the major differences you can find between these two cloud vendors:
1. Cloud Storage Offerings:
· AWS- Offers services including AWS S3, EBS, and Glacier.
· Azure- Offers services like Blob Storage, Disk Storage, and Standard Archive.
2. Computing power provisioning and usage:
· AWS- Leverages EC2 system to offer customization.
· Azure- Users can opt for creating a VM from a virtual hard disc (VHD).
3. Data and Privacy:
· AWS- Secures alternatives and threats by default with a centralized system.
· Azure- The Cloud Defender service is an AI-powered tool that gives protection and security.
4. Networking capabilities:
· AWS- Uses Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) to allow organizations to create isolated networking systems.
· Azure- Has its virtual networking system that offers provides cross-network communication.
5. Ease of use and Documentation:
· AWS- has a user-friendly dashboard and extensive documentation.
· Azure- Keeps all the information in one place, but the system is less intuitive and user-friendly.
6. Market share
· AWS- Has 31% of the market share in 2022.
· Azure- Has 24% of the market share at present.
7. Database
· AWS- Uses Amazon RDS compatible with six database engines.
· Azure- Azure SQL is based on Microsoft SQL and provides a smoother user interface.
There is no doubt that Microsoft has a huge ecosystem with a range of scalable tools, business apps, and Windows. This whole package does influence a lot of businesses in integrating Azure as their cloud service provider.
However, if you are a small business owner and getting your hands warm into cloud servicing, AWS might be a better option. Even top-rated app development companies suggest AWS for first-time adopters due to its affordability and user-friendliness.
To Conclude
Most companies need to find a reliable cloud computing system and IT support to run day-to-day operations effortlessly.
If you are an entrepreneur who needs to get in touch with software developers, you can hire dedicated software developers and other customized solutions at an affordable price.
