There is no doubt that cloud computing has changed the course of business, as it has enabled companies to preserve a decent portion of their budgets, but it has also helped them expand and scale more easily, manage more workload, and deploy apps without issues. The perks of moving to the cloud are many, but the process of selecting the right provider and their solution is an arduous one. Over the past few years, two major players have come out to the very top of the cloud computing industry, AWS and Microsoft. Today we will tell you about the difference between AWS and Azure

There is Google, too, of course, but for the time being, the two names we have mentioned previously remain top picks for companies of various sizes and industries. This guide is meant to help you determine the key differences between the AWS cloud solution and Microsos Azure so that you can find out which one makes the most sense for your business, and how you can integrate your existing processes with these cloud solutions. 

Deciphering Azure

Microsoft cloud brainchild, so to speak, has stolen the spotlight since it came to be a decade ago. While it is a younger player compared to AWS, Azure is a fierce competitor with two major types of services, PaaS (platform as a service) and IaaS (infrastructure as a service).

The level of infrastructure support provided by Azure has been considered the finest in the industry by many. The name is synonymous with innovation and growth, so it makes perfect sense that it has become a very close race between the two cloud providers over the past few years.

Understanding AWS

Ever since it launched in 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been a leader in cloud computing and a trusted provider for individuals and large-scale businesses alike. This particular provider has three main tiers of services categorized as SaaS (software as a service), IaaS, and PaaS.

With a wide array of available tools and so many years of growth and progress, AWS has been in the lead in the cloud computing industry and has often been the first choice for many companies. Now, with Azure to compete with, AWS needs to work even harder to retain its reputation.

Support plans can differ

As you likely already know, all cloud providers need to offer a scale of services and matching payment systems, so as to make sure that the service is fairly rated and that different users can find or customize the level of support and service they need. While AWS has a sliding payment system for their support services, Azure has a flat monthly fee, making sure that you can count on their support no matter the abundance of work needed.

To maximize the potential that Azure offers, most businesses will rely on Azure-managed services to make the most of its built-in automation features, build stronger infrastructures, and ensure lower costs across the board. The flexibility of Azure enables this approach, making it a top pick for many who will use experts to handle their cloud migration and future cloud management needs.

Pricing as a major contributor

Like most competitive providers, both Azure and AWS offer free trial periods for their users to give them a sense of what it means to work with each solution. For some users, for example, the sheer variety of tools of AWS will be the key selling point, while the user-friendliness of Azure might tip the scales in this brand's favour for others.

For many companies, it boils down to the cost-effectiveness and the perceived value they get for the money they pay. AWS offers per-hour billing, which can be on-demand, allowing you to pay for what you use, spot, which allows you to bid for extra capacity, or reserve with upfront costs. Azure, on the other hand, goes the extra mile and charges per minute, which offers more precision in what the user is paying for and makes a more compelling case.

Scalability, computing, and security

One of the key reasons companies today are moving to the cloud is the ability to scale more efficiently, take on more business, and above all, work seamlessly, even remotely. The level of scalability of your cloud solution, however, depends on the provider that you choose, and the specific service package that you select. That is why both providers have Autoscaling as one of their key selling features, necessary to ensure seamless growth for any business.

The difference, however, lies in their computing offering. AWS has customizable EC2 instances, as well as Elastic Beanstalk which simplifies app deployment, as well as AWS Lambada. On the other hand, Azure focuses on Virtual Machines or VMs. Both providers need to comply with the latest standards in cloud computing, while it does matter to note that Azure was the first to apply for the new Cloud privacy, ISO 27018 standard.

The beauty of both providers is that they offer a great degree of flexibility depending on your needs, especially because more competitors are joining the playing field, and Google isn’t too far behind as another favourite choice of many enterprise-level organizations. Choosing one doesn’t mean that the user won’t switch to the other once the contract is up, so it’s in their best interest to keep their users happy and interested, and it’s up to you to tailor a solution that will help you skyrocket your business.