Cloud computing has been growing massively ever since its inception. The major cloud providers are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure. The real question is not whether you should have a cloud computing service, but which cloud platform you should choose. In this article we will discuss how these services vary from each other.
An overview:
AWS is the most prominent cloud service provider that comes with a variety of amazing features such as storage, databases, and AI machine learning model. It has the biggest pool of users, customers, and partners. Many believe AWS to provide the best security services due to its multifaceted encryption and constant security updates.
Azure is the second largest cloud service provider. Azure is the perfect choice for large businesses with its quality security features, seamless integration with Microsoft, and a trusted team of experts to take care of your company’s important data. Also, Azure offers hybrid capabilities to meet the need for public as well as private cloud solutions.
Google Cloud is the third largest cloud provider in the market. Although AWS and Azure the ruling the market currently, Google Cloud is growing with an excellent rate of 36% yearly, expanding faster than its competitors. One of the reasons why Google Cloud is growing faster is because of its affordable price offerings that made many businesses choose this cloud service option. It supports open-source tools and offers vertex AI and machine learning capabilities.
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud
- Compute Services:
| Services | AWS | Azure | GCP |
| IaaS | Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud | Virtual Machines | Google Compute Engine |
| PaaS | AWS Elastic Beanstalk | App service and Cloud services | Google App Engine |
| Containers | Amazon Elastic Compute
Cloud Container Service |
Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) | Google Kubernetes Engine |
| Serverless Functions | AWS Lambda | Azure Functions | Google Cloud Functions |
- Database Services:
| Services | AWS | Azure | GCP |
| RDBMS | Amazon Relational Database Services | SQL Database | Google Cloud SQL |
| NoSQL: Key-Value | Amazon DynamoDB | Table Storage | Google Cloud Datastore
Goole Cloud Bigtable |
| NoSQL: Indexed | Amazon SimpleDB | Azure Cosmos DB | Google Cloud Database |
- Storage services:
| Services | AWS | Azure | 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 |
- Networking Services:
| Services | AWS | Azure | GCP |
| Virtual Network | Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) | Virtual Networks (VNet) | Virtual Private Cloud |
| Elastic Load Balancer | Elastic Load Balancer | Azure Load Balancer | Google Cloud Load Balancing |
| Peering | Direct Connect | ExpressRoute | Google Cloud Interconnect |
| DNS | Amazon Route 53 | Azure DNS | Google Cloud DNS |
Key tools of AWS, Azure and GCP:
- AWS:
AI and machine learning capabilities: AWS offers a list of AI generated services, for example, DeepLens feature which is an AI powered camera used for optical character recognition and image recognition. AWS’s SageMaker is also an AI powered service used for deploying and training machine learning models. It also includes Alexa services, IoT messaging, and Lambda serverless computing.
- Azure:
Cognitive Services: AI and machine learning features of Azure includes cognitive services such as_
- Bing Web Search API
- Text Analytics API
- Face API
- Computer Vision API
- Custom Vision Service
Moreover, Azure also includes IoT services and Azure Functions as a serverless computing service.
- Google Cloud:
Google cloud has advanced AI features such as TensorFlow which is a software library used to build machine learning apps. Google cloud also offers APIs for natural language, translation, speech, etc. Furthermore, GCP incorporates IoT as well as serverless services.
Conclusion: Which one is the best?
Now let’s come to the conclusion of this AWS vs Azure vs GCP debate to find out which platform is the best for users. According to recent data it’s pretty much evident that AWS is the clear winner amongst all three cloud providers. However, Azure and GCP are also catching up and climbing the ladder to the top with their own set of advanced tools and features. GCP is winning the market due to its affordable prices and Azure is best for providing hybrid cloud solutions.