Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon Web Services: Cloud Comparison

AWS overview

As an IaaS provider, Amazon groups its AWS capabilities into the following categories:

• Analytics: AWS’s analytics tools help companies process and analyze data from multiple sources to better understand business performance.
• Application integration: Businesses can connect and coordinate various applications and services to manage and automate workflows, handle application programming interfaces (APIs) and build event-driven systems.
• Artificial intelligence (AI): AWS’s AI and machine learning (ML) systems can streamline business processes by incorporating text analysis, image recognition and predictive modeling tools into your apps and workflows.
• Blockchain: Programmers can set up and run distributed ledgers to manage blockchain environments and databases on decentralized apps. [Related article: How Will Blockchain Affect Digital Marketing?]
• Business applications: Companies can access a suite of tools to improve productivity, streamline business operations and centralize communications. These apps can help you manage customer engagement better, optimize supply chain distribution, run omnichannel communications platforms and much more.
• Cloud financial management: AWS’s financial management tools can help you monitor and control cloud expenditures, which can help with budgeting and improve forecasting.
• Compute: Companies can plug into AWS’s vast compute capacity to run their software and applications remotely.
• Containers: Containers are stand-alone software environments where you can load and run your own apps. AWS allows you to run multiple containers and manage apps that require access to multiple containers.
• Database: Choose from various options to store, retrieve and manage your company data. Options include relational, NoSQL and in-memory databases.
• Developer tools: Programmers can use AWS to manage the entire software development process, from version control to eventual deployment. The platform offers an environment where programmers can code, build, test and launch applications efficiently. [Related article: Best Freelancer Websites for Finding Developers]
• End-user computing: Companies can ensure remote employees have the same desktop and app experiences as their in-office colleagues.
• Front-end web and mobile: Create and deploy web and mobile applications using AWS services. The platform supports front-end development, backend integration and testing across multiple platforms.
• Games: Game programmers can develop, test and run various gaming applications in the AWS environment. The platform can handle common backend functions and other essential operations.
• Internet of Things (IoT): Companies can connect, manage and analyze data from their IoT devices, improve connectivity and achieve more consistent distributed computing.
• Management and governance: Monitor and control cloud resources and applications to optimize your company’s cloud infrastructure while ensuring compliance.
• Media services: Convert, process, encode and stream audio and video content to your audiences with AWS Media Services.
• Migration and modernization: Moving to the cloud presents several challenges. AWS will assist with the process by optimizing your workloads for the cloud.
• Networking and content delivery: Organizations can set up and manage their network architecture on AWS, including creating and monitoring private networks and content delivery systems.
• Quantum technologies: AWS allows you to experiment with quantum algorithms and hardware to take advantage of this emerging technology.
• Robotics: Companies can create and test robotic applications using AWS cloud resources. They can build software and simulate robotic systems before deploying them in the real world. 
• Satellite: This service allows companies to control satellites and process satellite data without a physical ground station infrastructure.
• Security, identity and compliance: Establish user authentication protocols, threat monitoring procedures and a data protection architecture to securely manage your data and applications.
• Serverless: Programmers can use applications on AWS without directly managing their server infrastructure. Thus, they can spend more time coding and less on resource management.
• Storage: AWS offers scalable cloud storage services for various data types, including backup and long-term archival storage. 
• Supply chain: Firms can manage their supply chains with a selection of tools powered by advanced data analysis and machine learning.

Microsoft Azure overview

Microsoft Azure provides the following IaaS service categories. You’ll notice many similarities to AWS, along with some key differences:

• AI and ML: Access and add AI and ML tools and processes in your apps, including language processing and computer vision. You can also develop custom AI models.
• Analytics: Azure’s data analytics products help companies gather, store, process and analyze data to gain insights and support decision-making. The service also includes several visualization tools.
• Compute: Companies can use Azure’s massive compute power to automate their internal workflows and workloads. You can also run custom applications on virtual machines, container servers and serverless computers.
• Containers: Use and manage multiple containers on Azure and run apps that must access several containers to operate.
• Databases: Azure can store and manage various databases, including relational and NoSQL databases. It can also handle structured and unstructured data files.
• Developer tools: Programmers can code, test, deploy and monitor application performance with Azure as part of their overall software development process.
• DevOps: DevOps environments allow multiple developers to collaborate on software and applications. Functionality includes combining code from different team members and rolling out updates to users.
• Hybrid and multicloud environments: Companies can manage their data and apps in on-premises, cloud and edge environments. Employees can work the same way everywhere, following the same rules, no matter what system they’re using.
• Identity: On Azure, you can manage user identities and set individuals’ access levels to applications and resources. The platform also provides authentication and authorization tools.
• Integration: Integration services allow you to connect different applications and apps with on-premises and cloud-based systems, facilitate data synchronization and integrate different processes and databases.
• IoT: Companies can connect, monitor and analyze IoT devices better.
• Management and governance: These tools allow you to monitor and control optimization, compliance and management across various cloud resources.
• Media: On Azure, you can process and stream audio and video content and encode and protect your media assets.
• Migration: Azure’s migration tools help companies move existing applications and data to the cloud. Azure assesses your current apps and databases, helps you move them to Azure and optimizes your data and apps to work well in the cloud.
• Mixed reality: Companies can create, develop and manage 3D content (including augmented and virtual reality experiences) and spatial computing applications.
• Mobile: Programmers can use Azure to develop, test and manage mobile applications, including connecting to backend environments and setting up push notifications.
• Networking: Set up and manage your company’s network infrastructure on Azure. Solutions are available to create virtual networks, balance loads and improve connectivity.
• Security: Azure’s security services protect company data, applications and IT infrastructures with encryption, threat detection and identity management tools.
• Storage: Azure provides scalable cloud storage services for various data types, including object and archival storage.
• Virtual desktop infrastructure: Companies can provide remote workers with desktop and application front ends so they work in the same environment as premises-based staff.
• Web: Programmers can develop and host web applications on Azure, including managing APIs and online content delivery services.

AWS and Microsoft Azure compared

AWS and Microsoft Azure are highly regarded platforms with many similar features. However, they differ in several areas. Here’s how they compare head-to-head.

Feature for feature

Below is a selection of services offered by AWS and Microsoft Azure listed by category and service type, according to Google, which offers its own cloud service.

Costs

Both AWS and Azure offer a pay-as-you-go model billed by the second or the hour. They also offer discounts if you commit for one to three years. AWS service plan options are called Saving Plans (or Reserved Instances on some types of VMs), while the Azure plans are called Reserve VMs. Both companies offer up to 72 percent off their prices, depending on the length of your commitment.

You can also bid on spare compute capacity at a significant discount. Spot Instances (AWS) and Spot VMs (Azure) offer up to 90 percent off the price, but the downside is that the capacity can be taken from you if the provider needs it.

Both vendors offer price calculators on their websites. However, these tools may not be particularly helpful because some cost factors have as much to do with user behavior (like shutting down virtual machines when not in use) as the actual workloads you want to run. 

License mobility

If you want to run application servers like SQL Server or BizTalk Server on cloud platforms like AWS or Azure, Microsoft offers License Mobility through its Software Assurance program on eligible products. It’s crucial to ensure your application servers are eligible for license mobility. 

Windows Server licenses are not eligible for License Mobility. Your SQL Server license, if it’s covered by an active Software Assurance program, will be eligible for License Mobility. This means you can use the license you already paid for to run your SQL Server instance in the cloud without having to pay more.

Hybrid and multicloud options

Many businesses want some operations to run via the cloud and others conducted through servers in data centers they own and control. Fortunately, AWS and Azure provide robust support for companies that want to operate a hybrid cloud. Still, the vendors have slightly different approaches: 

• AWS: If you want to run a hybrid or multicloud solution on AWS, you need its hardware and one node. AWS allows you to run compute, storage, databases, analytics, ML and IoT services seamlessly across hybrid environments.
• Azure: With Azure, you can purchase hardware from different vendors, but you’ll be required to have a minimum of four nodes. Azure supports all services similar to AWS, including machine learning through Azure Machine Learning and also offers edge computing solutions like Azure IoT Edge.

Both providers offer support for hybrid and multicloud users, including integrations with existing cloud environments. If you want to run contained-based applications, Azure Arc is probably the best current option because of its greater flexibility in multi-cloud scenarios.

Government in the cloud

Both Amazon and Microsoft have dedicated government areas of their clouds to meet strict compliance requirements, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Defense Information Systems Agency, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Criminal Justice Information Service and Federal Information Processing Standard. These areas are cordoned off from all other workloads and are accessible by screened United States persons only.

AWS has had the lead over Azure in this department, but the gap is closing between the two providers. Azure has the same necessary certifications as AWS and some agencies have favored it. For those who have used Microsoft software historically, Azure may be easier to integrate as long as its platform offerings meet your requirements.

Open-source capabilities

You wouldn’t immediately think of Azure for open-source needs as Microsoft’s relationship with the open-source community has never been great. In contrast, Amazon has been Linux-friendly from the start and the company has never expressed suspicion about open-source software. Developers were more likely to be comfortable with AWS and its open-source tool integrations because of the vendor’s hospitality.

Today, Microsoft is catching up. Azure has gradually opened its doors to open-source developers by forming partnerships with various open-source communities to enhance its support for the sector.

While AWS might still be the better option for some open-source use cases, don’t dismiss Azure without evaluating how well the platform now supports open-source needs. The gap between the two vendors is closing fast.

Alternatives to AWS and Azure

Azure and AWS aren’t the only cloud infrastructure providers available. Google Cloud is probably the best-known alternative. Depending on your needs, you may also wish to check out IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and the SAP Business Technology Platform. 

If you already use other Oracle products, this vendor may be more appealing as a cloud provider. For example, our review of Oracle NetSuite accounting software notes how easily it integrates with Oracle’s suite of business solutions. For some companies, it’s simply more straightforward to have all services with one vendor.

Testing the clouds

Sometimes, you don’t know whether a product will work for you until you try it. Thankfully, Amazon and Microsoft both allow you to set up free accounts. These are great opportunities to determine which platform is better for your business.

Try these two clouds and see which suits your needs better. If AWS isn’t for you, the features of Amazon Business may still be worth exploring. We’re pretty sure Microsoft won’t mind.