Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure are the top 2 cloud service providers with a combined market share of more than 50% of the total cloud market. If there aren’t financial constraints, these two are the obvious choices when opting for cloud services. However, choosing one of them can be tricky.
In this blog, we would compare the features of these two and suggest which one is relatively better in a specific context.
Managed Services
AWS came into the market almost four years ahead of the Azure. Even with all the support documents, enterprises were in no position to migrate or manage AWS cloud on their own. Businesses requiredAWS consulting to migrate their applications to the AWS cloud practically.
Moreover, they required AWS managed servicesto build, deploy, and run the application on AWS. This is the reason why there are many experienced and competent AWS managed service providerand talent available on the market as compared to those providing services for Azure.
Availability of the talent to manage your cloud is a critical factor, and you should check such service provider in your area if you prefer to partner with local service providers only.
Enterprise Apps
The advantageAzure has is that it thrives in a Windows environment.On the other hand, AWS works best when deployed in a Linux environment.Most of the people around the world are familiar and comfortable working with MS office applications, and Azure, being Microsoft’s B2B powerhouse can utilize the Office365 suiteto its full potential.
So, in a sense, Azure is better for the enterprises because of the familiarity most of the professionals have with MS suite applications. Although AWS is suitable for industries such as retail and finance, where MS Suite is not required much, and most of the applications are deployed on Linux.
Moreover,many of the professionals who have used both of the platforms feel that AWS is an overwhelming platform with many features not presented in a user-friendly manner. On the other hand, users have honed themselves in using applications in the Microsoft suite environment.
However, AWS managed service provideroffer more mature and robust networking solutions. So, in the networking domain, AWS is more suited, especially since it iscritical for the organization to set up its networking infrastructure well.
Security
When it comes to security, Azure has the upper hand since it is a product of Microsoft — an IT empire that is almost synonymous to the computers.
Azure’s version of role-based access control (RBAC) is so strong that AWS directs its users to this feature on its platform. While AWS doesn’t offer sophisticated RBAC capabilities as Azure, it does offer advanced security services like DDoS protection.
The effectiveness of security is as good as the professionals handling it. If your IT infrastructure and networking is managed by competent cloud architects, then they will be able to successfully secure your operations, whether on AWS or Azure.
Compatibility with Latest Technologies
There are plenty of emerging technologies in the cloud space, such as infrastructure as code (IaC), predictive analytics, and containers. No matter which of these tools you are looking to deploy, there are chances that AWS hasthe upper hand in it, due to the fact it got a head start way before Azure. IaC tools are particularly offered better in AWS managed services.
Conclusion
Choosing a cloud provider is a big decision since the choice of IT infrastructure and the resources required to manage it depends on this decision. There are many points on which capabilities of AWS and Azurecan be compared. Though each of them has its specific strong points, any one of them can accomplish your organizational goals.
The main concern is the IT resources managing these cloud services. If the expertise doesn’t exist within your company, seeking outside experts especially AWS managed service provider is a logical choice. Also, it is recommended to go for comprehensive AWS consulting first before opting for AWS or any other cloud service. Daffodil Software has mastered the skills in administering, configuring, and deploying AWS cloud. We can offer you comprehensive AWS consulting services. For a complimentary consultation session with our experts, click here.