Microsoft Azure vs AWS

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Understand why Microsoft’s Azure has the advantage in the cloud

Azure and AWS are among the most popular cloud platforms in the market today. Traditionally, organizations use their infrastructure, having their web server or other hardware that they would have to buy and maintain themselves. When their business grew, they would have to purchase more hardware and spend precious time setting everything up themselves or hiring someone to do it for them.

Cloud computing works differently. Instead of paying for and monitoring your own hardware, you just need to buy into a massive pool of existing computing resources provided by Microsoft or Amazon. This allows users to host web servers, email servers, databases, file storage servers, virtual machines, user directories, or anything else needed. When your business grows, and you need more computing resources, you don’t need to purchase and configure more hardware because cloud computing platforms allow you to scale to your exact needs. Therefore, you only have to pay for as much computing resources you need, not a penny over.

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service created by Microsoft for “building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters. It offers Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Azure supports various programming tools, languages, and frameworks, including both Microsoft-specific and third-party software and systems.” In other words, Microsoft Azure is a jack of all trades leveraging Microsoft’s unparalleled technological prowess to bring together software, platform, and infrastructure into one product.

Amazon’s AWS, on the other hand, was the pioneer in cloud computing, launching their cloud storage division 12 years ago with its aim to “help free developers from worrying about where they were going to store data and whether it would be safe and secure if it would be available when they needed it, the costs associated with server maintenance, or whether they would have enough storage space available. It enables developers to focus on innovating with data rather than figuring out how to store it. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a secure cloud services platform from Amazon that offers compute database storage, power, content delivery, and other functionalities that help businesses scale and grow.

According to a 2021 Statista report, 44% of organizations are running a significant portion of their infrastructure on Azure. The Microsoft Azure cloud website also provides an entire directory of hundreds of other services you can use, including full virtual machines, databases, file storage, backups, and services for mobile and web apps. Microsoft’s Azure cloud and supporting services are the future of computing, and they’re available right now. Whether you are completely new to the cloud or have already taken your first steps, there’s much more than Azure can do for your business, helping you build it better, faster, and more cost-effective than traditional infrastructure.

Security

Microsoft guarantees the best safety for all operations and data on the Azure Cloud. Microsoft is approved by the European Union’s data protection authorities, Article 29 Working Party, and also adheres to the new international standard for cloud privacy, ISO 27018. Azure was also designed based on the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), an industry-leading assurance process, comprising security at its core, meaning that your private data and services stay secured and protected while they are on the Azure Cloud. Along with this best-in-class security, Azure’s security prowess is backed by Microsoft’s Trusted Computing Initiative along with unparalleled disaster recovery capabilities that work straight out of the box. The Azure compliance program aligns to 91 compliance standards, while the AWS compliance program aligns to only 75 standards.

Real Hybrid Consistency

Azure also allows you to optimize your existing assets by using a hybrid approach to the cloud, offering consistency across the data platform while reducing risk and cost in the form of their hybrid clouds. Hybrid clouds have become a popular choice for companies who don’t want to convert fully to the cloud, letting them keep some of their data and operations on-premises while letting users access them on the Azure Stack. While Amazon is still testing how to implement hybrid clouds, Azure already offers hybrid capabilities seamlessly connecting your datacenters to their cloud. Azure provides an easy-to-use platform that helps you move between on-premises and the public cloud. You can develop hybrid apps easily on Azure, taking advantage of the multitude of resources available within data centers, at the service provider’s end, or within Azure itself. The platform also provides a broader range of hybrid connections, including virtual private networks (VPNs), content delivery networks (CDNs), caches, and ExpressRoute connections to improve usability and performance. Some of the offerings from Azure includes

  • Azure Stack Hub isfor data centers via rack-scale systems of 4 to 16 nodes. Azure Stack Hub customers can own and operate the equipment, lease and manage through a third-party service provider.
  • Azure Stack HCIis suitable for SMB data centers and large enterprise branch offices that use clusters of hyper-converged systems with 2-16 nodes.
  • Azure Stack Edgeis apt for smaller edge locations and IoT applications that use single-node 1U rackmount or ruggedized hardware.

Infrastructure, software, platform as a service

Both Azure and AWS offer similar infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) capabilities for virtual machines, networking, and storage. However, Azure provides stronger Platform as a Service (PaaS) capabilities, becoming an invaluable piece of Cloud infrastructure today. Azure has bundled collections of tools and services to provide an end-to-end PaaS option, while AWS allows customers to integrate various AWS products to create custom PaaS. Azure’s PaaS gives developers the environment, tools, and building blocks they need to rapidly build and deploy new cloud services. It also provides vital DevOps connections for monitoring, managing, and continually fine-tuning those apps. Azure’s PaaS offerings are combined into a category of services, namely Azure App Service, that provides hosting and tools to streamline application development and deployment using a variety of languages and frameworks. With Azure PaaS, Microsoft takes much of the infrastructure management behind the scenes, allowing customers to focus 100% on innovation.

Compatibility and Consistency with other Microsoft Products

As a company, there is a good chance that you are running other Microsoft applications as Microsoft has been synonymous with facilitating larger enterprise customers. Microsoft Azure makes it extremely easy for customers already using other Microsoft Products like Windows Server, SQL Server, Exchange, and others to move to the cloud. Further, if you have Microsoft licenses that you’ve already paid for, you could be eligible for license mobility. Therefore, you don’t have to pay unnecessarily for using the same Microsoft server applications you’re already using. If you already use Microsoft software, you likely have an ‘Enterprise Agreement’ with Microsoft, which makes you entitled to further discounts on other Microsoft software being used. With this agreement, enterprises can typically obtain significant incentives for also using Azure.

When you move to the Azure cloud, an MSP like Korcomptenz Inc can help you reduce hardware costs, hardware maintenance, and technician costs by configuring your virtual Azure servers and providing regular consultations, thus relieving users from maintaining and constantly monitoring servers (virtual and/or on-premises). We will help you configure the right Azure services at the right cost that fits your application needs and implement the right security principles around Microsoft’s Azure services. Get in touch with us today so you can start leveraging the power of Microsoft Azure today!

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