Choosing the Best Cloud Service Provider Between AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud

AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud- what should be your pick between these three platforms? Which would be more suitable for your business? There are multiple factors that you need to consider before deciding on any cloud service provider. In this blog post, we will do a detailed comparison between AWS vs GCP vs Azure to help you make the right choice.

Cloud computing has transformed the way organizations operate. It has been nothing less than a revolution in the IT world. Today, cloud computing is no longer an option, it’s a must. Most enterprises are moving to the cloud to harness its benefits such as reduced infrastructure maintenance, scalability, increased availability, and more. The question, however, is which platform should you opt for. There are three cloud service providers that dominate the global market- AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud (GCP).

Let’s get an overview of these big 3 cloud providers.

1. Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services or AWS is currently the largest and most matured cloud computing platform. It is a subsidiary of Amazon.com and offers a wide range of services to different entities which can include individual developers, large enterprises, and governments. The cloud platform has a huge user base today.

AWS is the oldest player in the cloud computing market. It was established in 2006 and offered services like Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3).

2. Microsoft Azure

Four years after the AWS launch (in 2010), Microsoft Azure stepped into the market. It was initially just called “Azure” but was renamed “Microsoft Azure” in 2014. It is the second-largest cloud platform in the world after AWS and offers more than 200 products and services.

Microsoft Azure is one of the fastest-growing cloud platforms and is used by more than 95% of Fortune 500 companies. The cloud provider offers tailored services for Microsoft-centric enterprises, however, it is not just limited to window-based services. It supports open-source languages, technologies, and platforms, and gives users the freedom and support to develop any application.

3. Google Cloud (GCP)

Provided by Google, Google Cloud Platform or GCP is a suite of Cloud computing services that runs on the same Google infrastructure that the tech giant uses for its search engine, Gmail, YouTube, etc. Though the platform was launched in 2008, the services were made available to the public in late 2011.

Within a decade, GCP has made a good presence in the cloud industry. Today, the platform offers more than 100 services in different segments like computing, networking, big data, etc. GCP has also introduced services like Google Workspace, enterprise Android, and Chrome OS. Though it’s the smallest compared to its other two counterparts, it offers a robust set of services and supports building any kind of application.

AWS vs GCP vs Azure: Factors to Consider Before Selecting a Cloud Service Provider

There’s fierce competition between Amazon AWS vs Google Cloud vs Azure. All three are best in their own way. However, if you are in a dilemma as to which one you should choose, consider the following factors-

1. Region and Availability

It’s important to take into account the region and availability as these can directly affect your cloud’s performance due to factors like latency and compliance requirements. Let’s now talk about the numbers.

AWS– As of March 2022, AWS is spread across 26 geographic regions and has 84 availability zones.

Microsoft Azure– Azure cloud spans over 60 regions with a minimum of 3 availability zones in each region and has over 116 edge locations.

Google Cloud– Currently, GCP covers 29 geographic regions, 88 zones, and 146 network edge locations.

Clearly, Microsft Azure has the broadest geographical coverage.

2. Services

It all comes down to the services these cloud providers offer. AWS and Azure offer more than 200 services while GCP offers 100+ services. But it’s always not about the number of services else no one would have preferred GCP. Let’s take a look at some of the common services offered by each cloud platform in terms of compute, database, storage, and networking. Below I have prepared AWS vs Azure vs Google cloud comparison table.

2.1 Compute Services

Services	AWS	Azure	GCP
IaaS	Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)	Azure Virtual Machine	Google Compute Engine
PaaS	AWS Elastic Beanstalk	App Service and Cloud Services	Google App Engine
Containers	AWS Elastic container/Kubernetes Service	Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)	Google Kubernetes Engine
Serverless Functions	AWS Lamda	Azure Functions	Google Cloud Functions

2.2 Database Services

Services	AWS	Azure	GCP
RDBMS	Amazon Relational Database Service	SQL Database	Cloud SQL
NoSQL	DynamoDB, SimpleDB	Table Storage, Azure Cosmos DB	Google Cloud Bigtable, Google Cloud Datastore
Data Warehouse/Data Lake	Amazon Redshift	Azure Synapse Analytics	Google BigQuery

2.3. Storage Services

Services	AWS	Azure	GCP
Object Storage	Simple Storage Service (S3)	Blob Storage	Google Cloud Storage
File Storage	Elastic File System	Azure File Storage	Google Filestore
Virtual Server Disks	Amazon Elastic Block Store	Managed Disks	Google Compute Engine Persistent Disks
Archive Storage	Amazon Glacier	Azure Archive Storage	Google Storage

2.4. Networking Services

Services	AWS	Azure	GCP
Virtual Network	Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)	Virtual Network (VNet)	Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
Load Balancing	Elastic Load Balancer	Azure Load Balancer	Google Cloud Load Balancing
DNS	Amazon Route 53	Azure DNS	Google Cloud DNS
CDN	Amazon Cloud Front	Azure CDN	Google Cloud CDN
Peering	Direct Connect	ExpressRoute	Google Cloud Interconnect
Firewall	AWS Firewall/Web Application Firewall	Azure Firewall	Google Cloud Firewall

3. Pricing

Let’s now talk about AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud pricing. Pricing can depend on several factors such as user requirements, usage, services, used, etc. The plans of these 3 big cloud providers are quite competitive and they also have some additional cost management options.

Here’s the pricing model of AWS, Azure, and GCP on the basis of machine type.

Machine Type	AWS	Azure	GCP
Smallest Instance	Smallest instance having 2 virtual CPUs and 8 GB RAM will cost you around USD69/month.	For the same instance, it can cost around USD70/month.	GCP is relatively cheaper than the other two, offering the same instance at USD52/month.
Largest Instance	Largest instance that includes 128 vCPUs and 3.84 TB RAM will cost you approximately USD 3.97/hour.	Largest instance includes 128 vCPUs and 3.89 TB RAM will cost you approximately USD 6.79/hour	Largest instance includes 160 vCPUs and 3.75 TB RAM will cost you approximately USD 5.32/hour

AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud: Pros and Cons

To help you make a better decision, we have listed a few pros and cons of the three cloud providers.

Pros of AWS

1. It is the most mature cloud platform.

2. It provides most of the services that you may require.

3. Considered the best in cloud reliability and security.

4. Compute capacity is more than Azure and GCP.

Cons of AWS

1. Can be a bit overwhelming for new customers because of too many options.

2. Limited options for hybrid cloud.

3. Requires purchasing Dev/Enterprise support

Pros of Microsoft Azure

1. Relatively cheaper than AWS and GCP for most services.

2. Offers some amazing services like best-in-class AI, ML, and Analytics.

3. Existing Microsoft services can be easily integrated and migrated using the Azure cloud provider.

4. Offers remarkable support for hybrid cloud strategies.

Cons of Microsoft Azure

1. Caters more to enterprise customers.

2. Fewer service offerings compared to AWS.

Pros of GCP

1. Shows great compatibility with other Google products and services.

2. Global fiber network.

3. Great support for containerized workloads.

Cons of GCP

1. Has limited support for enterprise use cases.

2. Fewer services compared to Azure and AWS

Conclusion

It will be difficult to say that one cloud provider is better than the other two. Even if we say it, it would be more of a personal choice. We have listed the factors along with the pros and cons of the three major cloud providers. So, decide for yourself which one can be more suitable for your business.