A study by Synergy Research Group reveals the top 5 cloud service providers in 2015.
The cloud platforms with the largest market shares are the same in 2016, with Amazon AWS in first place, Microsoft Azure in second and Google in third (cf Gartner Research Group study).
For 2017, experts predict a similar ranking to previous years.

To answer the obvious question:

Which platform to choose?

we turned to a number of resources.

Focus today on a comparison between Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure.

In the beginning was Amazon

Amazon AWS made its debut in the cloud in 2004, initially offering only SQS services.
As time went on, they were able to offer other cloud services such as Amazon S3, Amazon RDS, AWS CloudFront, Amazon EC2 and AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
As for Microsoft, it started out in the cloud in 2010 with cloud computing services.
Like AWS, they eventually offered other cloud services such as SQL databases, Azure Active Directory, virtual machines, Azure CDN and application services.

Synergy Research Group survey of top 5 cloud providers

Synergy Research Group’s August 2015 study showed that Amazon held 31% market share, compared with Microsoft 9% and Google 4%.
Another 2016 study by Gartner reveals the top 3 cloud service providers.
Amazon retained its leadership position, closely followed by Microsoft.
Google remains in the leaders’ rankings, overtaking IBM.

Gartner survey of cloud providers in August 2016

Let’s find out what Amazon AWS and MS Azure have in common!

  • The elements of a public cloud: self-service, instant provisioning, autoscaling, security, compliance, identification and management features.

  • They are investing in new cloud services, as requested by customers.
    This leads to deeper offerings.
    For example, AWS (Elastic Map Reduce) and Microsoft (HDInsight) provide support for clusters.

  • AWS and Microsoft have added machine learning tools as well as functions for the so-called Internet of Things.
    Customers can use both services to create a mobile application or even high-performance computing environments to suit their needs.

  • Both platforms provide Docker services, linked to the container topic that is creating so much buzz in the cloud.
    Microsoft has created its own Hyper-V technology for containers, which will work both in its data centers and on-premises, as part of the Windows Server 2016 release.

Feature comparison

Storage space

Storage space

AWS offers a temporary storage space that starts working at the same time as the instance.
Once the instance has finished, the storage is destroyed.
AWS also provides Block Storage, which resembles hard disks.
Block storage can be attached to an instance or kept separately.
In addition, AWS offers archive services with Glacier and object storage with S3 Services. MS Azure uses what they call Page Blobs and temporary storage for VM-based columns, files and a Block Blobs server for object storage.

Database

AWS supports NoSQL and relational databases such as Big Data.
As far as databases are concerned, Azure supports NoSQL, relational databases and Big Data using HDInsight and Windows Azure Table.

Database
Compute

Compute

EC2 is AWS ‘s core computing offering.
EC2 provides a wide range of options to facilitate users’ access to customized offerings.
Other AWS compute services include EC2 Container Service, AWS Autoscaling and Lambda, as well as Elastic Beanstalk for application deployment.
Microsoft Azure ‘s compute system is based on its virtual machines, which are attached to other tools such as Ressource Manager and Cloud Services to deploy applications on the cloud platform.

Networking

Azure Virtual Networking (VNET) and Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) enable users to group virtual machines into isolated networks in the cloud.
Users can identify the range of private IP addresses, network topology, network gateways and create subnets.
Both platforms offer advanced solutions for extending your on-premise data center into a public or hybrid cloud.

Networking
Security

Security

Amazon assures its customers that it has increased confidentiality and implemented several controls for lower costs.
Choosing AWS gives you several advantages:

  • Keep all your data safe
  • Quick application with upgrade options
  • Meeting compliance requirements
  • Reducing costs

In Azure, security is divided into five levels: data, applications, hosting, network and physical.
The Azure infrastructure protects the Azure ecosystem from any vulnerability.
To ensure the security of its customers’ data, Microsoft offers :

  • Customer and identity access control and management
  • Network security
  • Encrypted operations and communications
  • Threat management

Price

A natural consequence of the growing competitiveness in this field has been the lowering of prices for tools and services at Amazon. Microsoft too have decided to follow the AWS trend and cut prices, so that now you’ll have a choice between the two services with fairly similar prices.
Get cloud cost estimates by visiting these links: For Amazon AWS http://calculator.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html For Microsoft Azure https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/

Price
Customer base

Customer base

As a well-consolidated cloud platform, AWS has a database of VIP customers, including Financial Times, Nike, Nasdaq, AirBnB, Dow Johns, Channel 4, Royal Opera House and many more.
Compared with AWS, Azure has fewer VIP customers, but we can still mention Pearson, Heineken, NBC News, 3M, Ford and GE healthcare.

So which platform should you choose?

By offering exclusive features, AWS is considered the most mature cloud platform.
The tools and services provided by AWS are optimized for the enterprise, making it an excellent option for large organizations.
As for Microsoft, it proves to be a better option if we consider the hybrid side.
Which cloud service do you prefer?