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AWS vs. GCP vs. Azure - A Comparative Guide to Leading Cloud Computing Platforms

Publish
Oct 28 2022
  • Written By
    Souvik Mukhopadhyay, Product Evangelist

    He is a cloud certified product owner who leads client engagements, defines product vision and develops cloud migration strategy to help new businesses with designing great customer experiences.

    Connect with Souvik on LinkedIn

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Comparing the Big 3 Cloud Platforms

Cloud computing is no new term in today’s business world as 94% of organizations already use it in some form. Cloud services are now established standard for competing effectively and accelerating business transformation. Cloud computing allows businesses to take advantage of the reliability and scalability of software applications and services without the need for heavy investment in hardware infrastructure. 

Today’s top 3 tech giants, i.e., Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, have their own cloud platforms: Amazon Web Services (AWS), MS Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The present multi-billion-dollar cloud computing market is being dominated by these three major players. On average, these three collectively hold over 60% dominance in Cloud IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-service) and Cloud PaaS (Platform-as-a-service). So, it becomes imperative to understand the reason behind such dominance before choosing the right one for your business needs.

In this blog, you will see latest cloud trends and market share, a detailed comparison of these three-trending cloud computing software.

Cloud Computing Market Share & Latest Trends

The Cloud computing market is burgeoning day by day leaving businesses no choice but to adopt it as a priority. Let’s look at some of the interesting cloud growth trends, market share and outlook. 

  • The global ‘whole cloud’ spending is anticipated to reach $1.3 Trillion by 2025. - IDC
  • More than 45% of IT spending will shift from traditional solutions to cloud for infrastructure software, business process outsourcing, and system infrastructure by 2024. - Gartner
  • AWS maintains the largest market share at 34%, followed by Azure at 21% and Google Cloud at 10%. - Canalysis
  • SaaS end-user spending worldwide will grow from $152 billion in 2021 to $208 billion by 2023. - Statista
  • By 2030, the cloud gaming market is anticipated to reach $22.53 billion with a CAGR of 58.75%. - GlobeNewsWire
  • By 2028, the cloud storage market will grow over $390 billion from $76 billion (2021), with a CAGR of 26.2 percent. - Cloudwards
  • IaaS end-user spending worldwide is anticipated to reach $156 billion by 2023. – Statista
  • The end user spending on PaaS Worldwide will grow from $494.65 billion in 2022 to $599.84 billion in 2023. - Statista
  • 84% of small business owners think that cloud services is important to their operations and overall performance. - SBEC & TechnoMetrica Report 
  • The three industry segments, i.e., Manufacturing ($19.7 billion), professional services ($18.1 billion), and banking ($16.7 billion), plan to spend most on public cloud services. - Business Wire

AWS vs. GCP vs. MS Azure - Introduction & A Comparative Guide

Let’s just start from the basics and discuss each service in brief.

1. Amazon Web Services or AWS

Amazon Web Servicesor AWS, is one of the largest cloud computing providers of cloud infrastructure, with a global footprint serving more than 26 geographic regions around the world. It was launched in June 2006 by Jeff Bezos, the founder, and chief executive officer of Amazon.

AWS holds a 34% Market share of the current cloud computing marketplace – Statista.

Owned by Amazon.com, Amazon Web Services (AWS) allows you to store, create and deploy virtual machines (VMs), databases, and websites within their infrastructure. With a range of features, including automatic scaling, database support, elastic computing, and security features, it is no longer just for large enterprises. It has now become the mainstream choice for small business web development.

Top Brands using AWS Cloud include Netflix, Airbnb, Unilever, BMW, Samsung, MI, Zynga, etc.

1. Google Cloud Platform or GCP

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of products that brings together cloud services and tools, infrastructure, and software development platforms. GCP has been designed to address the needs of organizations across a wide range of industries. These include enterprises, startups, and mid-sized companies.

Launched in 2008, Google Cloud Computing Solution offers the tools needed to help you build applications, integrate third-party platforms, store data, and make your applications available anywhere with just one click. Top Brands using Google cloud include HSBC, PayPal, 20th Century Fox, Bloomberg, Target, Dominos, etc.

2. Microsoft Azure or MS Azure

MS Azure is a Microsoft cloud computing software that has been available since 2010. It is a platform that provides hosting, database, management, and development tools.

Azure is the most popular cloud service in the world. It provides a combination of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS) that allow you to extend your compute and storage resources on demand while also giving you complete control over your computing environment. The Azure cloud computing service enables you to build, test, deploy, and manage applications across multiple clouds.

Top Brands using MS Azure include Johnson Controls, Polycom, Adobe, HP, Fujifilm, Honeywell, etc.

At Icreon, we've helped clients like ASTM, AGU, CSCS, and more in their cloud journeys, including enterprise architecture strategy creation, content migration, and business model innovation.

To get a comparative overview of these cloud computing solutions, pros, and cons, let’s have a look at the chart provided below:

Comparison Between Cloud Services & Features of AWS, GCP, MS Azure

AWS vs GCP vs Azure: PROS & CONS

Choosing the right Cloud Computing Solution

Opting for cloud services is no longer an option to choose from. It has become a necessity to stay competitive while saving money and resources. There are multiple cloud computing providers in the market. However, AWS, Azure, and GCP dominate the market with a great percentage of numbers.

As you’ve seen from the above comparative analysis of these three, there is no room left for doubting the competence of any. Each one has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. All you need to do is gather and analyze your business requirements and choose the right one.

You can talk to our Cloud consultants if you’re looking for a partner for cloud computing solutions and implementation. Get ready for the next step in your cloud transformation journey and explore Icreon’s Cloud Engineering and Consulting Services.