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Introduction

Hey Tech Buddies!

Welcome to the ultimate showdown between the three cloud titans, AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The world has the three big giants as cloud service providers, and more and more businesses are moving to the cloud (no, not the fluffy ones in the sky), which resulted in heating the competition among cloud providers! Whether spinning up virtual machines, diving into machine learning, or orchestrating containers with EKS on the cloud, these providers have something amazing for you. Moreover, all these platforms offer robust solutions. But which one deserves to rule your business’s cloud kingdom in terms of cost, services, and other relevant characteristics? Let’s dive into this cloud comparison to help you understand it in detail.

Cloud Market Overview

The ever-evolving cloud computing market continues to grow, and it’s expected to hit a massive $2.4 trillion by 2030—wow, right? The cloudscape is dominated by AWS, GCP, and Azure, with a combined 64% market share. Though they may seem switchable at first, these service providers have distinctive strengths and challenges that can have a substantial impact on the cloud costs, ease of use, and overall experience However, zeroing in on a provider isn’t just about cost (although that’s a biggie); it’s also about the performance and the user experience as well.

In this article, we’ll dive into the breakdown, the pros, cons, and quirks of these cloud giants.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

Overview of AWS, Azure, and GCP

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, let’s go through some basic information about each provider before we dive into the specifics of how they vary:

01.
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
AWS, the OG cloud service provider, was launched way back in 2006 (yes, that long ago). With a whopping 32% market share, AWS is the biggest player out there in 2024. It is the go-to cloud if you’re looking for a wide range of services, from compute to storage, databases, networking, analytics AI, and machine learning. A wide range of businesses use the services of AWS ranging from small to large enterprises.

02.
Azure (Microsoft Azure):
Azure is Microsoft’s contribution to the cloud world. It could be termed Microsoft’s baby and comes in second with a 25% market share in 2024. If you’re already fascinated by the Microsoft ecosystem, this one could be your bestie. Imagine it as the natural friend to everything Windows, plus it offers a varied variety of services like AWS.

03.
GCP (Google Cloud Platform):
Though a little younger, GCP came into inception in 2011 and commands about 11% of the cloud market. Having a smaller pie in the cloud market ecosystem but don’t let the smaller slice fool you though! GCP packs a punch, especially for DevOps aficionados and businesses looking for scalability and customization.

Key Features

Okay, things look better here since each of these cloud providers offers its distinctive flavors to the table.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

A vast array of computing resources including Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) for scalable, on-demand compute power (think cloud-based virtual machines) is provided by AWS.

Various instance types that suit specific workloads—whether you want something for general computing, memory-intensive or something with extra juice for GPUs are provided by EC2.

Serverless computing power with AWS Lambda is provided by AWS. Imagine a developer is running code without even thinking about managing servers. Magic, right?

Azure (Microsoft Azure)

Azure also offers computing resources, however being a Microsoft company, a strong focus is on Windows-based computing, so its Virtual Machines (VMs) are designed in that way only providing scalable and flexible virtualized computing environments.

To accommodate different workload requirements Azure Virtual Machines, offer a variety of instance sizes including compute, memory, and storage-optimized instances.

Additionally, for serverless computing, Azure provides Azure Functions, allowing developers to run event-driven functions without having to babysit infrastructure.

GCP (Google Cloud Platform)

Google Compute Engine allows you to create customizable virtual machines, so you get the accurate resource combination you need (think build-your-own-VM).

Predefined machine types and custom machine types that allow the user to customize resources exactly to their needs are provided by Google Compute Engine.

For serverless computing, GCP also offers Google Cloud Functions that enable developers to accomplish event-driven functions without managing servers.

Pricing: The Million-Dollar Question

The most important element to consider while choosing a cloud provider is pricing because once you choose a provider, you will likely be locked in for several years. So, we always look for a good deal by comparing the pricing models of major cloud service providers, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), It is imperative for businesses looking for the best fit for their specific needs and budget.

Here's a quick breakdown of how AWS, Azure, and GCP compare: -

AWS (Amazon Web Services) Pricing

AWS offers a pay-as-you-go model with super flexible pricing models and cost control.

Payment is calculated based on storage, which depends on the space requirement and how frequently it is accessed.

Ingress (incoming data) is non-chargeable, while egress (outgoing data) comes at a price based on volume and region -and is normally priced around $0.05 to $0.09 per GB.

Discounts? Yep! If you commit upfront, Reserved Instances and AWS Savings Plans can help you save cash.

Azure (Microsoft Azure) Pricing

The same deal with pay-as-you-go, plus discounts can also be enjoyed by reserving instances (because Microsoft loves commitment).

Storage costs are decided based on the capacity and how much data you’re storing.

Through the Azure Hybrid Benefit, Azure provides volume discounts, if you’ve got existing licenses, you might save a bit.

Usually, offers free ingress, while egress costs are applied based on data volume and territory.

GCP (Google Cloud Platform) Pricing

With predefined and custom machine types, GCP is also a Pay-as-you-go model.

For Google Cloud and Google Persistent Disk, storage costs are based on capacity and access frequency.

Data transfer fees are there too, that is based on the volume of data sent and received.

GCP shines with discounts for long-term use through Committed Use Contracts. So, with upfront commitments to a year or three, your wallet will thank you.

Basic, Development, and Production, these three support tiers are available -, with varying response times and support coverage.

Pros and Cons (AKA Who Wears the Crown?)

AWS Pros

AWS is the king with biggest ecosystem with loads of third-party integrations.

Considered as robust, well-established, and offers services across the board.

Great if you want to go big and global.

AWS Cons

Can be expensive and get complex as you scale up (especially that data transfer!).

Azure Pros

Plays like a champion because of its well-established products Windows & Microsoft Office 365.

Tons of regional data centres (great for compliance).

Azure Cons

Especially for non-Windows users, Azure’s learning curve can be steep.

GCP Pros

Recognized for high-performance data analytics (I mean, it’s Google!).

Pricing is flexible with custom VM configurations.

GCP Cons

In comparison to AWS and Azure, GCP data centers are fewer in numbers.

Having a smaller market share means fewer third-party tools, though that’s changing a bit and grabbing the market share slowly n steadily.

Conclusion

So, which cloud should you go for?

Though it’s your prerogative and depends on your needs, but if you’re looking for tons of services and scalability, AWS might be your top priority. If you’re fascinated by Microsoft products, Azure will fit like a glove. And if you are gunning for super flexible pricing and customized VMs, GCP is where it’s at, preferably for data-heavy tasks.

All three giants are brilliant choices at the end of the day, and it’s a matter of what’s the best fit for you. Plus, it’s not that you need to pick just one. Many enterprises opt for multi-cloud for the best of all worlds.

That’s the world on cloud today—good luck, and happy cloud hunting!