Cloud computing has drastically changed the business world. Since 2006, when Amazon launched their innovative product Amazon Web Services, business giants have been switching from classical data storage on on-premises servers to cloud data storage.

In 2010, Microsoft managed to catch up with Amazon and provided businesses with their big data storage and managing solution, Microsoft Azure. Since then, competition between these cloud providers has heated up. Now, AWS and Azure are two major players in the cloud computing game.

According to Market Research Future, about 4 out of 5 enterprises will use the cloud to store at least one application in 2022. The cloud computing market has also grown a lot over the past couple of years. The market share of cloud services is expected to be evaluated at $340 billion in 2024, i.e. to expand at almost 19,5% CAGR.

These business trends dictate new rules all businesses should follow. But, which to choose – AWS or Azure? First, let’s go deeper into details about who these market leaders are.

AWS is a cloud computing environment by Amazon that has been on the market for almost 15 years! Not only does this web service help with storing data, but also with analytics, app integration, computing, customer engagement, migration to the cloud, networking, and many other things.

AWS is a mixture of Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. It means that AWS provides businesses with different services such as AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Amazon EC2, and others.

There are about 175 services and 230 security tools provided by AWS. Amazon cloud computing environment is available in 77 regions, from the US to Indonesia. They are also planning to launch their service in three more regions, while there are already 24 existing ones.

Cloud computing by Amazon is currently taking the lead. 1500+ enterprises, startups, and public sector institutions already use AWS. Among them are Netflix, Airbnb, Coursera, FDA, Formula One, Siemens, Verizon, Nextdoor, and others.

Microsoft Azure is a nightmare of AWS. These two have been competing for ages. This cloud computing service does pretty much the same things that AWS does. However, Azure specializes more in hybrid cloud implementation and is more compatible with Windows OS.

Cloud migration, analytics, infrastructure building, AI, app development, and other business solutions are provided by Azure. Thanks to the variety of support options, Azure wins second place in the cloud computing market but never stops moving forward.

Features of Microsoft Azure cloud include AI, DevOps, hybrid cloud, Internet of Things, governance, computing, blockchain, analytics, mixed reality, media, and many others. No matter what your company does, Azure has a solution for your needs.

Even though it’s not #1 in the cloud computing field, companies like Walmart, CNBC, Toyota, Samsung, Fujitsu, Ford, Xerox, and even the Pentagon have already built their trust with Azure.

Although Azure and AWS are two different cloud providers that have been competing against each other for ages, they both perform similar functions and get used for the same purposes. Moreover, even the services that they provide sometimes resemble one another. Don’t believe it? Check out the AWS vs Azure comparison table below!

First off, you need to take into account that Azure is a product of Microsoft, meaning that this cloud environment is most compatible with Windows OS. AWS, on the other hand, has already developed a pretty extensive partner ecosystem and works smoothly with other operating systems like Linux, as well.

Another thing to discuss when it comes to Microsoft Azure and AWS comparison is that the latter boasts of a more complete product list. It includes application integration, end-user computing, customer engagement, game tech, quantum technologies, robotics, and satellites.

Nevertheless, Azure offers its customers the opportunity to employ a hybrid cloud. This allows businesses to either give away part of their corporate data to the cloud or use the services of other cloud providers. Freedom is what it’s called.

Microsoft provides 10 different hybrid cloud products for businesses of all sizes (small, medium, large-scale). Among them are Arc, Sentinel, Stack, Security Center, ExpressRoute, SQL, DevOps, and others. This privilege is a must-have for government organizations including the Pentagon, with whom Microsoft already has a $10 billion agreement.

To tip the scales in its favor, Amazon is only trying to catch up with Microsoft in hybrid clouds. However, their hybrid solution is still in beta. Instead, they offer a good old private cloud to enjoy until they are ready to break free from this cloud computing solution.

Judging by the Azure vs AWS comparison table above, Microsoft cloud has fewer security solutions than the Amazon cloud. However, that doesn’t mean that Azure customers are less protected from cyber threats than AWS users.

Both cloud services provide security and safety options. Amazon, for instance, has narrowed down their services and made them more niched. They have their answers to key management, resource access, cloud, firewall, and information protection in the form of AWS Resource Access Manager, Aws Key Management Service, and other products.

Microsoft, on the other hand, go hand in hand with their VPN Gateway, Security Center, Sentinel, Key Vault, Application Gateway, and other products that prevent the data of your business from exposure to cyberattacks and leakages.

Taking all of that into account, it’s hard to say which solution is better protected. AWS and Azure have both come up with excellent data encryption options and firewall systems. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be the leaders in the cloud computing industry. Regardless of which service you entrust with your company’s information, you won’t be putting yourself at risk.

To find out how much your company is about to spend on the cloud, make use of either AWS pricing calculator or Azure pricing calculator. These tools will calculate the cost of cloud implementation in no time for free. Moreover, they let you make the most detailed Azure AWS pricing comparison.

Amazon cloud charges per hour of usage, while Microsoft cloud has a payment per second option. The Pay-as-you-go concept works for both providers, meaning that you only pay for what you use. For example, if you don’t need a backup service, you won’t pay for it.

It’s not easy to make an Azure and AWS pricing comparison. Everything depends on the services that you need. Let’s compare Amazon EC2 and Azure Virtual Machine. If we use the same parameters for both providers like Windows Server, 4 vCPUs, and 16GB of RAM for general purpose, we’re looking at around $0.6/hour for Azure and around $0.85/hour for AWS.

Both AWS and Azure are decent cloud providers with pretty similar pricing policies and features. No data leakages, cyberattack exposures, or other disturbing instances regarding the performance of these cloud environments have been detected.

AWS is better in terms of reliability since it’s been on the market for almost 15 years. However, Azure is more compatible with Windows and provides your company with a proven hybrid cloud solution. Your business needs will help you determine which provider to trust!

No matter what you opt for, make sure you make the right choice by trying out proper development and delivery optimization. By dealing with professionals you can ensure that you won’t waste your money and that your downtime will be reduced to 0.