In the world of cloud computing, you can rightly say that AWS and Azure are the two superheroes currently in demand. But if you are a developer, and you’re asked to choose one of them, what would it be? Ultimately, you could be looking at private, public or even hybrid cloud solutions, but transitioning from packaged services to cloud products could be tricky. There are several private cloud vendors in the market, yet some prefer AWS, while some definitely gravitate towards Azure. What’s your take on this?

The story begins…

Once upon a time, AWS was indeed the world’s leading provider of cloud solutions, and it continued to reign supreme until the next supergiant, Azure was born, in 2006. The cloud service offers more than 140 services to its customers.

Amazon created AWS as they had to cater to their third-party clients in a better way. Initially, they were grappling with a tangled mess of IT infrastructure where several teams worked on the same tasks, and nobody had a clue, and efficiency had gone to the docks.

Eventually, they realized the mess they were generating and introduced a well-documented API, and later they took the monstrous decision of managing their own scalable and effective data centers.

This is how AWS came into existence. And it evolved to be a complex and customized platform, helpful for companies running non-Windows services. While AWS was ruling the roost, Microsoft decided to do something for their customers – and that’s how Azure cloud services was introduced. It was launched in 2010 and currently offers more than 200 cloud services.

So who gets the crown?

Both AWS and Azure are worthy contenders. Here are parameters proving why both are justified in fighting for the larger piece of the pie.

Features

Comparing AWS to Azure would be like comparing apples with oranges because both the platforms work tirelessly to cover every aspect of cloud interaction, and use both machine learning and AI to tap into newer markets. If you are creating an app that consists of a broad collection of integrated services consisting of several operating systems and languages, Azure would be a good option. And the good news is that you can include competitive pricing and flexible billing features as well.

Azure’s offerings in enterprise computing are superior. AWS does provide a way to deploy various different features, but you might have to partner with a third-party solution to do most of the legwork.

Deploying Apps

One of the main advantages of shifting to the cloud is that you get to deploy your app quickly to multiple servers. After all, that’s what developers are looking for – to deploy apps without having to manage actual servers. They don’t have to deal with PaaS features like caching, queuing, SQL databases, NoSQL, and other technologies as well.

AWS does not have as many options as Azure, but it is a close contender. Azure’s multiple deployment options include Cloud services, App services, Container servThere are plenty of great tools to deploy and scale your app as and when required.ice, WebJobs, Functions, Service Fabric and so on.  AWS has similar solutions like Lambda, Batch, Container Service and Elastic Beanstalk, but not as wide as Azure.

Integration with Better Security Settings

Many developers are quite pleased with the intuitive services of Azure because it offers incredible integration services into Visual Studio. You can integrate Active Directory Services and expand your network to Azure’s cloud IaaS. This way, you don’t have to build a separate portal for controlling individual security settings, and so no more worries about accidentally exposing data.

Microsoft Shops

Microsoft is famous for having large enterprises as customers. People using Windows Server, SQL Server, Exchange, and other Microsoft technologies can migrate easily.

AWS supports .NET developers greatly, with their Windows, SQL Server and other technologies. Additionally, developers can enjoy an incredible SDK for .NET on AWS.

Separate WordPress Site for Content

Normally, companies maintain a different WordPress site for blogging and content because it is easier to publish. Azure gives you the freedom to create an app with pre-installed WordPress, and this helps you keep all your web services in one place. This also gives you better security from the standard hacks, especially those that target .htaccess or Apache weaknesses.

You can also monitor WordPress through the Insights services provided with Azure, so there is no need to rely on third-party services. Enterprises can also maintain detailed statistics on site usage and security through Azure.

Hybrid Cloud

Microsoft Azure foresaw the importance of hybrid cloud way before AWS and offers substantial support for the same. You can use the onsite servers to run the applications on Azure Stack, and compute resources to reach out to the cloud-based resources when needed. So your move to the cloud would be absolutely seamless. Hybrid SQL Server and Azure StorSimple are other Azure offerings for managing the hybrid cloud.

Amazon does have the provision to support hybrid clouds, but it is yet to be strengthened. They do have some intelligent solutions currently for hybrid cloud deployments like Direct Connect, DynamoDB Local and Storage Gateway.

License, Fees and License Mobility

Both Azure and AWS have been careful in delivering hassle-free licensing and mobility standards to their clients.

However, Azure gives only a 30-day free trial, while AWS gives you a year. You have that much time to figure out the settings and decide which one you need. If you have a Microsoft license, then you don’t have to pay extra for license mobility.

Famous Brands using AWS:

• Netflix
• Airbnb
• Yelp
• Spotify

Famous Brands using Azure:

• Rolls-Royce
• HSBC
• Geico
• Heineken

Closing Thoughts

The battle between the Titans will continue to remain heated. In reality, both are likely to remain toe-to-toe with each other because when one realizes that the other has an upper hand, it will definitely strive to overcome it. Initially, it was AWS that scored better on all counts, but Azure has caught up. So, would Azure overtake AWS in its cloud services and offerings? Would some other cloud option come in and disrupt the painstakingly created balance? This is yet to be seen.