According to Gartner, the cloud computing market is on the cusp of reaching a staggering $300 billion by 2021, accounting for nearly a quarter of all IT expenditures. Companies of all sizes and domains are increasingly embracing cloud services to enhance operational efficiency, bolster data security, and unlock new revenue streams. By leveraging cloud computing, businesses can access their data from anywhere, at any time, thereby fostering greater flexibility and agility.

Migrating to the cloud is a critical and costly decision that demands meticulous research and planning. Enterprises often face immense pressure when selecting a cloud service provider (CSP) that aligns with their business needs. In the competitive cloud platform landscape, two giants have emerged as the most popular choices – Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Although these two CSPs share many similarities and offer comparable services, they differ in several key aspects. Let’s delve into the fundamental features of both computing platforms and explore the primary differences between them.

Cloud Computing Landscape: A Comparative Analysis

Amazon pioneered the cloud service provider market in 2002, thereby gaining a significant head start and securing a dominant market share of 33%. Azure entered the market in 2010 and has since garnered a market share of 13%. As the oldest cloud player, AWS has evolved into a formidable platform at an unprecedented rate. It offers an extensive array of computing services and functions across 19 categories. Given its industry experience and feature set, AWS can be considered a comprehensive CSP. However, Azure, backed by Microsoft’s impressive legacy and reputation, boasts advanced and familiar features that appeal to enterprises. Microsoft Azure Cloud Storage has been expanding rapidly and boasts more global regions than any other cloud provider. In 2018, AWS generated $25.7 billion in revenue, while Azure reached $23.2 billion.

Compute

Computing power is a critical factor that determines the ability to scale a large number of nodes in mere minutes. AWS’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provides the core compute service, while Azure’s Virtual Machines and Virtual Machine Scale Sets are designed for scalable computing on demand. AWS EC2 users can configure Virtual Machines (VM) with custom or pre-configured AMIs (Amazon Machine Image), whereas Azure provides a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) for configuring VMs.

AWS and Azure both offer a range of predefined instance types that dictate compute and I/O speeds, as well as performance parameters. While load balancing (ELB) and auto-scaling are inclusive features of AWS services, Azure provides auto-scaling on a per-app basis or as part of its platforms. Moreover, the open-source software of Azure VM supports a variety of operating systems, including Linux distributions, Windows Server, SQL Server, Oracle, IBM, and SAP.

Data Storage Solutions

When evaluating a cloud service provider, the capacity for data storage is a pivotal consideration. The type of data, use case, and requirements all have a profound impact on the choice of data storage solution. Typically, object storage is utilized for housing vast volumes of unstructured data, whereas block storage is employed for structured, transitional data. File storage tiers come into play when accessing active and inactive data. Both AWS and Azure provide ephemeral storage for every running instance, although this is destroyed when the instance is terminated. Additionally, both offer exceptional permanent storage capabilities, enabling companies to process and store their data securely. Amazon Web Services' block storage is known as Simple Storage Service (S3), while Azure's equivalent is Blob storage. Both cloud service providers offer fundamental functionalities, including REST API access, batch import, and server-side data encryption.

Microsoft Azure offers three distinct classes of storage: Hot, Cool, and Archive. Frequently accessed data is stored using Hot, rarely accessed data is stored using Cool for a minimum of 30 days, and Archive is used for storing rarely accessed data for at least 180 days with flexible latency requirements. AWS also provides data archiving services through Amazon Glacier. Both AWS and Azure cloud storage services fully support relational databases, NoSQL databases, and Big Data.

Networking and Content Distribution

A robust networking and content distribution infrastructure is vital for enterprises, as it enables the delivery of content in a way that enhances customer experience. To achieve this, it is essential to minimize latency by keeping data close to end-users. A cloud content delivery network that interconnects data centers helps reduce the spatial distance between servers and users. Amazon's network is termed a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), while Azure's network is called Virtual Network. Both networks allow users to create isolated networks within the cloud, as well as subnets, route tables, private IP address ranges, and network gateways.

AWS leverages an API gateway for cross-premises connectivity, whereas Azure relies on a VPN gateway. Load balancing configuration, which enables the distribution of incoming network traffic across a group of resources, is available in AWS through its Elastic Load Balancing and in Azure via Load Balancer and App Gateway. Both Amazon Web Services and Azure offer a range of solutions for extending on-premise data centers into a public or hybrid cloud.

Cost Structure

As the battle for cloud supremacy intensifies, prices have been experiencing a downward trajectory. AWS and Azure offer entry-level tiers with limited usage caps, enabling prospects to trial their services before committing to a purchase. Both cloud service providers operate on a Pay-As-You-Go pricing paradigm, with Amazon billing per hour and Azure billing per minute. AWS instances can be procured in three models: On-demand, Reserved, and Spot. The On-demand model requires no upfront expenditure, and users only pay for their actual usage. If an enterprise wishes to reserve an instance for one to three years, they can opt for the Reserved method, which involves paying an upfront cost based on usage. Whenever excess capacity becomes available, customers can bid for it, a method known as Spot instances.

Data Protection

Despite growing confidence in public cloud infrastructure, many companies remain cautious about entrusting their sensitive data and operations to the cloud. Security is of paramount importance in cloud computing, particularly in light of the rising number of high-profile hacking cases, security breaches, and technological attacks. Both Amazon’s cloud services and Microsoft’s cloud platform ensure exceptional security on their cloud infrastructure by offering role-based access control (RBAC). Azure’s RBAC is called Active Directory, while AWS’s RBAC is called Identity and Access Management (IAM).

Final Verdict

Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure may differ in their infrastructure and offerings, but each can effectively cater to the diverse needs of any organization. The choice between Azure and AWS ultimately boils down to your business requirements and needs. Therefore, conduct a thorough analysis to determine what you need and what the provider offers before making a decision.