Cloudvergelijking: AWS versus Azure versus Google Cloud

Tegenwoordig is cloud computing een must-have en de vraag van elk bedrijf is welke provider ze moeten kiezen. Hier is een vergelijking van AWS versus Azure versus Google Cloud.
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud

AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are all leading cloud service providers that offer a wide range of services and features.

AWS, or Amazon Web Services, is the oldest and most mature of the three, with a wide range of services and a strong focus on security and compliance. It is also the most widely used cloud platform, with a large ecosystem of partners and third-party developers.

Azure, from Microsoft, has been rapidly gaining market share and is known for its strong integration with other Microsoft products and services, as well as its wide range of artificial intelligence and machine learning services.

Google Cloud, from Google, is known for its strong focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as its powerful data analytics and big data capabilities. It also has a strong focus on open-source technologies.

All three providers offer similar services, including virtual machines, storage, databases, and networking. However, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the best choice will depend on the specific needs of your organization.

AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud

This article focuses on highlighting every aspect of the world’s 3 leading cloud computing providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. While all providers have excellent services, it’s important to choose something that’s available and suitable for your personal needs.

Let’s get started in comparing AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud.

Features and services

AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud Features and Services

 

Being in the industry for the longest time, AWS is the most feature-rich cloud giant you can go with. However, the other two services still provide users with powerful capabilities that need to be highlighted in order to draw a fair comparison. That said, to learn more about Azure specifically, resources like AZ-900 Exam Dumps can be a great way to test and expand your knowledge.

Compute services

Services

Amazon (AWS)

Microsoft Azure

Google Cloud (GCP)

IaaS

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud

Virtual Machines (VMs)

Google Compute Engine

PaaS

AWS Elastic Beanstalk

App Service and Cloud Services

Google App Engine 

Containers

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud Container Service

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)

Google Kubernetes Engine

Serverless Functions

AWS Lambda

Azure Functions

Google Cloud Functions

Storage services

Services

Amazon (AWS)

Microsoft Azure

Google Cloud (GCP)

Object Storage

Amazon Simple Storage Service

Blob Storage

Google Cloud Storage

Virtual Server Disks

Amazon Elastic Block Store

Managed Disks

Google Compute Engine Persistent Disks

Cold Storage

Amazon Glacier

Azure Archive Blob Storage

Google Cloud Storage Nearline

File Storage

Amazon Elastic File System

Azure File Storage

ZFS/Avere

Database services

Services

Amazon (AWS)

Microsoft Azure

Google Cloud (GCP)

RDBMS

Amazon Relational Database Service

SQL Database

Google Cloud SQL

NoSQL: Key–Value

Amazon DynamoDB

Table Storage

Google Cloud Datastore
Google Cloud Bigtable

NoSQL: Indexed

Amazon SimpleDB

Azure Cosmos DB

Google Cloud Datastore

Strengths and weaknesses

AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud Strengths and Weaknesses

 

Each of the 3 cloud computing giants has its own pros and cons. To come to a fair conclusion, we need to highlight what the providers do right and what they could improve on.

Provider

Strengths

Weaknesses

Amazon (AWS)

• Dominant market position with a 5-year head start

• Feature-rich

• Extensive training

• Global reach

• Difficult to use without training

• Cost management

Microsoft Azure

• Integrate with Microsoft tools and software

• Hybrid cloud

• Support for open source

• Inefficient documentation

Google Cloud (GCP)

• Aims to be portable

• Discounts and flexible contracts

• DevOps expertise

• Support for open source

• Steadily increasing reach worldwide

• Fewer features and services

Availability zones

As mentioned above, AWS has a 5-year headstart when it comes to cloud computing. This also shows in the worldwide coverage of the service, taking the first place in availability. Don’t let this discourage you from other solutions, however. Both GCP and Azure are available in multiple zones and regions worldwide.

Let’s take a look at the respective availability zones for all 3 of the cloud computing giants:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) is currently available in 66 zones. It has been announced that 12 additional zones are currently on the way. For a more detailed view, visit the official AWS website.
  • Microsoft Azure is currently available in 54 regions worldwide, in 140 countries all around the globe. Be on the lookout for more zone announcements by following the Microsoft Azure blog.
  • Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is already available in 24 regions with 73 total zones. GCP offers three zones per region with a few exceptions.

Pricing

AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud: Pricing

 

It’s hard to draw a clear comparison when it comes to the pricing of various cloud providers. As each and every provider comes with different plans, discounts, and features, comparing the price of everything is hard. Instead, we’ll cover the estimated amount of money you can expect to spend as an average user. Nevertheless, proper cloud spends management is a useful instrument to reduce cloud costs and save the budget.

  • For a small Amazon Web Services instance, you can expect to pay around $69 USD per month. The price of a large instance however increases to around $3.97 USD per hour.
  • A small Azure instance will cost you nearly the same price as AWS’ option, coming at a $70 USD per month fee. However, the largest Azure instance is almost double the price, charging you $6.79 USD per hour.
  • Google Cloud will provide you a basic instance for only $52 USD per month. A large GCP instance will cost you $5.32 per hour, coming right in the middle.

As you can see, generally speaking, AWS and Azure have almost the same pricing due to the same free tier offer and additional pricing options. Google Cloud is usually the cheapest provider for serverless computing compared to the other two because of its low compute price.

High-profile customers

Your vendor’s customer base shouldn’t be the key point when choosing them, but it may help highlight the kind of services they provide. All three cloud computing giants have accommodated a high-profile customer base, allowing us to take a look at what and who they provide.

Let's take a look at some notable customers:

Amazon Web Services


Amazon Web Services (AWS)
is currently used by Netflix, Twitch, Facebook, BBC, Airbnb, Lamborghini, etc.

Microsoft Azure


Microsoft Azure
is currently used by Verizon, Fujifilm, Apple, HP, Xbox, LG Electronics, Coca-Cola, etc.

Google Cloud


Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
is currently used by PayPal, 20th Century Fox, eBay, Intel, Yahoo, Target, Twitter, etc.

Final thoughts

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