Migrating to the cloud is a big investment, so it’s important you choose the right provider for your business. And really, it comes down to options – Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Let’s explore these two big players so you can decide which cloud provider best suits your business needs.  

What is Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a set of cloud services that can help your business achieve fearless growth. No matter how big or small your company, Azure can provide you with the freedom to build, manage and deploy apps using your favourite tools and frameworks. Azure offers a range of functionalities including, analytics, storage, computing, networking and more – all of which integrates with your cloud environment to help you achieve fearless growth.  

Benefits of Azure: 

• Create a hybrid cloud environment with ease  
• It has a comprehensive set of compliance offerings 
• Covers more global regions than any other cloud provider 

What is AWS? 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has over one million customers and has been around for over 13 years. You’ll have the ability to scale your business through their services, including compute, storage and delivery.  

Benefits of AWS: 

• It’s one of the longest standing cloud solutions 
• Easy to use application hosting 
• Can use Amazon’s identity and security services 

Azure VS AWS: Features 

Azure and AWS have very similar features. However, Azure has some remarkable features that AWS simply doesn’t. These include; Azure Visual Studio Online, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Event Hubs and Azure Scheduler. Microsoft Azure offers a more advanced Hybrid Cloud with its integrated cloud service with multiple deployment options, allowing you to better manage your private and public cloud as one.  

AWS offers a wide range of IaaS solutions, including; Compute, Storage and CDN, Database and Networking. But AWS doesn’t offer as comprehensive hybrid cloud option as Microsoft does.  

Depending on what you’re looking to do in your cloud environment will help determine whether your company would benefit from Azure or AWS. If you decide Azure is the way for you or just want to find out a bit more, then our experts know a thing or two about Azure and will help you identify whether it will provide your business with the cloud environment you’re looking for. 

Azure VS AWS: Global coverage  

Having a cloud provider with a global infrastructure will allow you sustainably scale your business across the world. Now, who doesn’t want that? Azure and AWS both have a global footprint and operates in different regions across the world. But who has the most coverage?

AWS has 66 availability zones within 21 graphic regions and has plans to open in four more regions, including Bahrain, Cape Town, Jakarta and Milan. 

Microsoft Azure infrastructure is in 54 regions and is available in 140 countries, with six more announced. That’s more than any other cloud provider. Azure provides you with the infrastructure you need to take your application to a global scale.  

Azure VS AWS: Deploying Apps  

Cloud computing can make deploying an application a walk in the park. But what cloud provider offers the best tools for deploying your applications?  

Microsoft Azure provides you with the tools you need to not only deploy your app but scale it to your business’s needs. Azure has multiple application deployment options to ensure you have a smooth deployment process, including; cloud services, container service, batch and application services. 

AWS has similar solutions with Lambda, Elastic Beanstalk and container services. However, Amazon does not offer as many application hosting features as Azure.  

Azure VS AWS: Security 

Security is a big concern to many businesses, especially in the cloud. Azure and AWS are two of the biggest cloud providers, and both have the capabilities of making sure your cloud environment is secure. 

Microsoft has created their own version of role-based access control (RBAC) called Azure Directory. RBAC will help you enhance and simplify security as you control users’ permissions. Thanks to Microsoft background on networking, they’ve been able to develop a complex and strong security feature that will allow you to manage users access successfully.  

AWS has also developed its own RBAC, called Identity and Access Management (IAM). It doesn’t have as complex security services as Azure, but it does offer additional services such as GuardDuty and DDoS. 

Azure VS AWS: Pricing   

AWS is five times more expensive than Azure for Windows Server and SQL Server. You could save up to 71% on your Windows Virtual Machines with Azure compared to AWS EC2.  

Here at Cloud Direct, we’ve created our own portal to allow you to monitor your Azure spend and usage called PROVIDE. This will help you get a better understanding of your current and future costs in Azure.  

Both AWS and Azure follow a pay as you go model allowing you to only pay for what you use. With Azure you pay by the hour, whereas with AWS you pay by the minute which is a more precise pricing model.  

The good news is, Azure and AWS both offer a free trial of their services – meaning you can try before you buy.  

Depending on what you’re using the cloud for will determine which provider will be more cost-effective for your business. Our experts are happy to help you understand how much you could save in Azure. 

Azure vs AWS: Partners 

Working with a partner when migrating to the cloud can make a huge difference. A partner can provide added value to your cloud environment. And if you’re looking to make the most of your cloud, then it’s important you’re choosing the provider that has partners to help you have a seamless migration. 

AWS has over 100,000 partners that can help add value to your business. They have partners that specialise by industry, including; government, education, non-profit and more.  

Azure has slightly fewer partners, with a total of 68,000 MSP partners. But it’s all about quality, not quantity – right? Azure has recently launched the Azure Expert MSP programme to ensure you’re getting the best partners for your cloud migration. This is made up of around 35 Azure Expert MSPs around the world. And we’re proud to be one of them.   

More than 95% of Fortune 500 companies use Azure. Why? Microsoft has over three decades of experience, with over 68,000+ partners and over 90 certifications – the most comprehensive set of compliance offerings any cloud service provider has to offer.  

If you would like to find out how Microsoft Azure could support your business, then please get in touch with one of our experts.

We also hold regular Azure Roadshows across the country. If you would like to discover the power of Azure, then visit our events page to find an Azure Roadshow near you.