In the cloud computing space, two giants continue to dominate the field: Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). With the trend toward cloud migration continuing to surge, their popularity will only continue to surge.
If you’re like most businesses today that are completely or partially moving their organization’s workloads and applications to the cloud, you may be wondering how to choose between the two most popular cloud service providers.
Since both platforms offer a variety of features that are attractive to different businesses, this is a common dilemma many businesses are facing.
In this article, we’ll break down the features, benefits, and best use cases of Azure and AWS to help you decide which cloud services provider is right for your business.
Rapid technology advances and competitive pricing are fueling the race for businesses to update and modernize their IT infrastructures to remain competitive in today’s marketplace.
Many are choosing to leverage the benefits of moving partially or entirely to the cloud to optimize their technology to give them a competitive advantage.
Businesses of all sizes are increasingly moving to the cloud because it provides a secure way to store and access data off-premises without the need to buy and maintain expensive data storage equipment in-house.
The versatility of cloud platforms is helping to drive the growth of the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) trend. Businesses enjoy the pay-as-you-go model used by cloud providers to get the storage, servers, and networking they need without the hardware.
Both Azure and AWS provide similar ability to scale cloud resources. They allow businesses to run their software and IT infrastructure virtually in the cloud.
Azure was launched in 2010 as Windows Azure, before being renamed to Microsoft Azure in 2014.
About 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Azure, including Microsoft itself, eBay, Verizon, LG Electronics, Shell, Walmart, 3M, and Boeing.
As of August 2024, more than 485,000 businesses were using the cloud platform for their daily operations, representing a 24 percent market share.
Microsoft offers a discount to businesses with existing Microsoft licenses.
Azure is best suited for established businesses that have on-prem Windows servers and existing Microsoft licensing.
Some users find that Azure has a relatively intuitive interface that’s easy to use, especially for beginners.
Azure has a strong suite of built-in security tools, policies and procedures to help safeguard your data, including data encryption, controlled access and identity management, network security, and threat detection.
Azure supports a wide range of compliance standards including HIPAA, FedRAMP, NIST SP 800-53, ISO 27001, SOC 1, and SOC 2, among others.
Launched in 2006, AWS is the oldest and most dominant cloud services provider in the world. Although estimates vary, it commands anywhere from about 40 percent to about 50 percent of the total cloud computing market.
In fact, the cloud behemoth is bigger than all of its competitors combined. An estimated 2.38 million businesses were AWS customers in 2023. Its largest customers include Apple, Netflix, JPMorgan Chase, Nasdaq, Ford Motor, and McDonald’s.
AWS earned $90.8 billion in revenue in 2023, compared to Azure’s 2023 revenue of $68.1 billion. In October 2024, Amazon reported $10.45 billion in third quarter operating income for its cloud platform, representing 60 percent of the parent company’s profit, according to CNBC.
Businesses that need networking services in the cloud for remote or hybrid staff may benefit from using AWS. AWS offers more than 200 on-demand services and unique features available for many different workloads.
While business hours are typically 9-5, businesses are actually running 24/7/365 and need a cloud solution that will keep pace with their infrastructure demands. AWS’s expansive geographic footprint and storage capacity helps ensure increased uptime and network performance for businesses.
Although it does have its share of enterprise customers, AWS actively targets startups. Startups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the fastest-growing segment in AWS’s customer base.
Entrepreneurs looking for native cloud services, especially start-ups with a strong web presence, stand to benefit from AWS’ extensive options and functionality. Without the upfront costs of an on-prem IT infrastructure, startups can get up and running quickly, while scaling their cloud service options as they grow.
With Amazon itself being the world’s largest online retailer, it stands to reason that AWS would target that slice of the cloud marketplace. It offers a wide array of customizable plug-and-play tools for e-commerce businesses to host their web platforms and reach customers.
Since AWS has so many data centers around the world, it can offer increased reliability and accessibility for businesses, especially international businesses.
AWS comes with robust security controls. It supports 143 security standards and compliance certifications, including PCI-DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, FedRAMP, GDPR, FIPS 140-2, and NIST 800-171.
Whether you decide to go all in on migrating to the cloud, remain completely on-prem, or opt for a hybrid combination of the two, there are a number of factors you have to consider, including:
After reading this article, you now understand some of the main differences between Azure and AWS, along with some of the pros and cons of each cloud service provider. Keep in mind that while these are the two largest cloud platforms, there are many others.
Need more help choosing a cloud provider? Check out this article 8 Questions To Ask When Vetting Cloud Providers For IT Services.
Read here to learn why employee security awareness training is critical to safeguarding your sensitive data and IT infrastructure.
If you're considering moving some or all of your data, networking, or IT infrastructure to the cloud, you may be thinking about turning to an external managed IT company for help.
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