AWS vs. Azure: Cloud Computing Platform Comparison

March 31, 2020

The implementation of cloud computing has rapidly grown to be key driving energy for today’s businesses, as applications are migrated from on-premise data centers in a desire to innovate, reduce expenses, and boost agility. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) serves as a model, where a third-party service maintains and hosts central infrastructure, consisting of hardware, software, storage, and servers on behalf of a client. Generally, this practice includes the hosting of applications in an extremely scalable environment, where customers get charged only for the infrastructure that they use.

Early issues regarding security and data governance have largely been handled by the two leading public cloud vendors – Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure – with only the most significantly monitored businesses enduring to cautiously rise when it comes to the adoption of cloud services.

Overview

What is AWS?

What is Azure?

Table of Comparison between AWS and Azure

Detailed Comparison between Key Functionalities

Conclusion

Overview

Several organizations need to know the comparison of AWS and Azure before they decide which cloud is best to get started with to fulfill their cloud computing needs. However, in reality, this is not a technology decision. Both AWS and Azure are powerful performers with similarities in nearly 99% of the use cases. Selecting between Azure and AWS is something more than a business decision and relies on the needs of the organization.

For example, if an organization requires a powerful Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provider or any Windows integration, Azure would be preferred, while if an enterprise requires an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS ) or assorted set of tools then AWS might be the finest solution. Nowadays, another parameter taking immense popularity to make a decision is how much integral analytics tools are accessible on these platforms.

What is AWS?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud service platform by Amazon that offers services in various domains like compute, delivery, storage, and other capabilities, which help the businesses to scale and develop. These domains can be utilized in the form of services to create and deploy diverse types of applications in the cloud environment in such a way that they collaboratively generate a scalable and competent outcome. AWS offerings are classified into three categories that are: Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Software as a service (SaaS), and Platform as a service (PaaS).

What is AZURE?

Microsoft Azure is a cloud service platform from Microsoft that also offers services in various domains such as compute, storage, database, developer tools, networking, and other functionalities. Azure services are also classified as the Platform as a service (PaaS), Software as a service (SaaS), and Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), utilized by developers and software engineers to create, deploy and manage services and applications in the cloud environment.

Detailed Comparison Between Key Functionalities

1. Compute

The fundamental roles of a computer are: Calculate, process, and compute. The right cloud service provider can help scale up to 1000’s of processing nodes in a few minutes. The organizations requiring faster data analysis or graphics interpretation, two choices are available- either purchase additional hardware or migrate to the cloud, which is the motive of public cloud services.

AWS’ primary solution for computing is EC2 that provides scalable computing on-demand and can be customized for various services such as the EC2 container service, AWS Lambda, Autoscaling, and Elastic Beanstalk for app deployment. While the compute offerings by Azure are based on VMs with multiple other tools like Cloud Services and Resource Manager that help to deploy applications on the cloud.

AWS still offers the broadest range of services, more than 100 across compute, storage, database, analytics, networking, mobile, developer tools, management tools, security, IoT, and enterprise applications.

2.Storage

Key functionality of cloud service providers is storage capacity. Running services in the cloud encompass data processing, which needs to be stored at some point in time. AWS’ storage services run longer; however, Azure’s storage functionalities are exceptionally reliable. Both Azure and AWS are robust in this capability and engross all the necessary features like server-side data encryption and REST API access. Azure’s storage mechanism is known as Blob storage, and AWS’s is known as Simple Storage Service (S3).

AWS’s cloud object storage solution presents high availability and automatic duplication across different regions. Temporary storage in AWS begins operating when an instance initiates and stops when an instance ends. It also gives block storage like hard disks and can be connected with any EC2 instance or kept aside. Azure utilizes page blobs and temporary storage for VM based volumes. Its Block Storage option is similar to S3 in AWS, where two types of storage are offered by Azure that is hot and cool. Cool storage is moderately less costly than Hot, but one has to acquire extra read and write costs.

3. Pricing

The price of the platform is a key factor of attraction for organizations planning a shift to the cloud. With the growing competition amongst cloud service providers, there has been a constant descending trend on cost since recent times now. Both AWS and Azure provide free startup tiers with limited usage limits that allow users to experience and use their services before they can actually buy.

AWS offers a pay-as-you-go model and charges per hour while Azure’s pricing model is also pay-as-you-go, but they charge per minute. AWS can ensure more savings with increased usage- as the more you use, the less you pay. You can buy AWS instances based on one of the following models –

Reserved Instances– Paying a fixed price based on the use- you can reserve an instance for 1 to 3 years
On-demand Instances- Pay for the functionalities that you use without paying any fixed cost
Spot Instances- Tender extra capacity based on the availability

Azure offers short-term proposals to its users, enabling them to select between prepaid or monthly charges. When it comes to the pricing model, Azure is a little less flexible than AWS.

4. Database

Nowadays, all software applications need a database to store information. Both Azure and AWS provide database services, irrespective of whether you require a relational database or a NoSQL. RDS (Relational Database Service) by Amazon and Microsoft’s similar SQL Server database both are highly accessible & durable and also present automatic replication.

AWS works seamlessly with NoSQL and relational databases, presenting a mature cloud environment for big data. AWS’ core analytics service, EMR, a managed Hadoop, Spark, and Presto solution, helps to set up an EC2 cluster and enables integration with different AWS services. Azure also supports NoSQL and relational databases both as well as Big Data via Azure HD-Insight and Azure table. Azure offers analytical products through its exclusive Cortana Intelligence Suite that is accessible with Hadoop, HBase, Storm, and Spark.

Amazon’s RDS supports six popular database engines- MariaDB, MySQL, Amazon Aurora, Microsoft SQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle, while Azure’s SQL database service is only based on MS SQL Server. The interface and tools of Azure make it easy to execute different DB operations while AWS has more assortments of instances that you can stipulate and obtain extra control over DB instances.

5. Content Delivery and Networking

Each cloud service provider offers several networks and partners that integrate the data centers across the world through various products. AWS offers Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for users to make isolated networks within the cloud. Within VPC, users can generate route tables, private IP address ranges, subnets, and network gateways. Similarly, Azure provides Virtual Network (VNET) for users to produce isolated networks. Both providers present firewall options and solutions to expand on-premise data centers into the cloud.

Conclusion

The above-stated comparison has put some light on various functionalities of AWS vs. Azure. There is no clear winner in the race of cloud service providers, as organizations always have the opportunity to select the most important features from each of them to facilitate a multi-cloud strategy. Companies require high service uptime and flexibility to leverage the hosting of multiple data centers.

Comparing Azure and AWS is extremely difficult as both continuously launch new pricing structures, new products, and new integrations frequently. The decision to choose either of the platforms will depend on the needs of organizations. Despite the consequences of the comparisons, concluding the right public cloud service provider needs thorough research on what the organization really needs.

Getting confused about selecting the one? Get expert advice with AWS and Azure Consulting at Encaptechno today!