By: Eoghan Nolan
March 14th 2006: the date Amazon Web Services went live and carried cloud computing into the mainstream.
It’s difficult to picture a technology company, service or product today that doesn’t rely on cloud computing. The cloud is no longer a revolutionary new trend; it is simply how businesses accelerate product development, improve operational efficiency, cut infrastructure costs and make data easier to manage.
It’s hardly surprising that the three internet giants — Google, Microsoft and Amazon — have turned this into a straight three-way contest. Over the past three years, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Microsoft Azure have released new services and features at a furious pace to close the gap with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Google and Microsoft have carved out sizeable market shares by specialising their offerings, yet a report by Canalys shows there is still a long way to go: Amazon holds over 30% market share, Microsoft around 15% and Google 5%.
How the Three Big Cloud Providers Compare
Amazon: AWS is the biggest cloud provider on the market. It is widely regarded as the most enterprise-ready option, and its maturity means plenty of training material is available. While AWS supplies a huge toolset for building and shipping applications, many enterprises find its pricing model hard to follow, and AWS was not designed with hybrid cloud in mind — so if you need a stack that interoperates with your own data centre, this isn’t the one.
Microsoft: Microsoft’s ability to differentiate itself from AWS has made Azure the second-largest cloud provider on the market (per RightScale’s 2019 State of the Cloud Report). Azure may lack AWS’s maturity, but it is a serious rival in terms of toolset size and versatility. Most of the essential development tools found in AWS also exist in Azure, and it adds unique touches such as seamless integration between the cloud and Microsoft software (like the Office Suite). Unlike AWS, Azure works with your company’s data centre, which makes it a popular hybrid-cloud choice, and its customisable pricing plan is seen as far easier to manage.
Google: GCP is very much the underdog in cloud services, but it has built real momentum over the years. On the whole, GCP offers a smaller toolset than AWS and Azure, yet its deep learning, data analytics and artificial intelligence tools are unmatched. GCP was also designed for efficiency, so companies that need fast services on a budget tend to favour it. Combine that with its customisable pricing and loyalty discounts and it’s easy to see why GCP is one of the most efficient and cost-effective cloud solutions around. When it comes to storage and database capacity, however, GCP cannot compete with AWS.
Understanding Vendor Lock-In
Many companies run several cloud services to avoid lock-in — becoming wholly dependent on a single provider’s cloud — but that isn’t always the smartest business decision, since configuring services to work across multiple clouds adds cost and development time. Spreading across providers can sometimes deliver benefits such as lower spending and broader service applicability, but only if you find the right fit and your monthly spend is high enough to justify keeping the option to switch.
Centralising your work with a single provider is usually simpler and more cost-effective, so every company should weigh carefully whether actively avoiding vendor lock-in (which can hurt your agility) matters more than making full use of a cloud service. Managing several cloud environments, after all, comes with a fairly steep learning curve. It can work — just be sure the adjustment period, toolset and price are worth it in the end.
Naturally, the three major providers would rather you used only one service — they want all of your business, not just a slice. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Providers tend to sweeten the deal when you move all your data onto their platform, which gives you more leverage to negotiate the best price or secure discounts and incentives that offset the cost of migration.
Which Cloud Suits Small and Medium Companies?
AWS and Azure are the most comprehensive cloud providers available and generally the most accessible. AWS, however, can be pricier and harder to navigate than Azure and GCP because of its larger toolset. A 2016 Clutch report found that enterprises lean on AWS for its maturity and vast toolset, while small and medium-sized businesses stay with Azure or GCP for cost-effectiveness and speed. Even so, keep in mind that most companies mix and match providers. The most common pairing is AWS as the primary cloud with GCP as a secondary service, though combining AWS and Azure is also popular.
Keep an Eye on Your Costs
Again and again I hear about teams and companies caught out by hefty monthly cloud bills. All three providers make it far too easy to leave a service running or bump up an instance size and rack up huge costs. Always bring in a third-party cost management service, or sign up for Azure Cost Management, to keep your spending in check.