Right off the start, we’d like to emphasize that the answer to the “should you” question is highly subjective. AWS is still the market leader in cloud services, with a 33% market share recorded in 2021. Meanwhile, Azure is the 2nd most significant player in the market, with a 21% market share recorded in the same year.
Currently, Azure is slowly catching up to AWS. But at this point, customers are still divided. It’s also essential to note historically, customers usually opt out of one service for the other based on promotional offers offered by a competitor.
Given all of this, we’ve listed all of the technical factors that can influence someone to shift from AWS to Azure. Let’s see these factors in more detail.
The Cloud Wars: Where AWS and Azure Stand Today
Over the past decade, the battle for the title of ‘the best cloud computing service’ has heated up. AWS, a behemoth in this space, has historically been the most significant contributor in terms of revenue Amazon. Even today, AWS is the market leader in the cloud service industry.
However, Microsoft is slowly catching up. By launching its Azure product, Microsoft now runs the world’s second most significant cloud computing service. In addition, Azure’s exponential growth over the past decade reflects a strong fighting chance to overtake AWS. But, what will decide the course of this war? The answer is quality.
The cloud computing service that boasts better user satisfaction by providing better quality will emerge the victor. So, can Azure catch up to AWS?
To understand this question, we must look at all the factors that can influence an existing AWS user to switch from AWS to Azure. Let’s break down all of the factors Azure has worked for in its favor.
Key Advantages of Migrating from AWS to Azure
Both companies are competitive in their service offering. But if there ever were a ‘case’ to be made to switch from AWS to Azure, then it would include the following factors:
1- Hybrid Cloud is Better With Azure
Moving all resources to the cloud is easier said than done for most businesses. Realistically, many prefer a hybrid cloud solution that mixes on-premises and cloud environments.
Getting into why this is the case is beyond the scope of this article. But, it’s safe to assume this is a reality. For this reason, comparing the hybrid cloud offering for both AWS and Azure significantly impacts the final decision.
In this case, Azure seems like the better option compared to AWS. For one, many businesses are Windows users, and Microsoft takes advantage of this fact to make switching between on-premises and the cloud easier.
In comparison, creating a hybrid solution with AWS is more complicated. And even if you move past the complications, the process is significantly more expensive.
2- License Costs are Lower
As the heading highlights, license costs are lower for Azure than AWS. Azure’s key advantage over AWS in this area is the Microsoft ecosystem. For many businesses, the chances are that they’ve already invested in Microsoft infrastructure.
Many businesses might already have Windows server instances running on-premises. A result of workloads already deployed on the cloud means lower licensing costs when you decide to migrate.
In comparison, migrating to AWS means shifting to an entirely new ecosystem. As a result, the licensing costs are higher. Especially in the case of businesses opting for hybrid solutions, Azure has lower costs involved.
3- No ML Coding Involved
AWS provides a product called Sagemaker to create machine learning models, and Azure offers a product called Machine Learning Studio to create machine learning models. While both products have the same end goal, there’s a stark difference in the approach taken.
With Sagemaker, a considerable amount of coding is involved in creating ML models. But with Machine Learning Studio, there’s almost no coding involved. Instead, Azure’s Machine Learning Studio provides a GUI that does all the coding for you, and the result is a drag and drop process that achieves the same result.
The difference in approach makes a huge difference. Many users might like the flexibility and control of coding the ML model. But, the truth is that most will go with the more straightforward solution.
It’s up to your business to decide which path to take. But, Azure’s Machine Learning studio simplifies the ML model development process and improves the service offering. And it explains why many users are shifting from AWS to Azure.
4- Geographic Availability
A critical competitive advantage that Azure boasts over AWS is Azure provides a great number of available regions. Azure offers 140+ Availability Zones in 50+ regions, and no cloud provider comes close to this number. In comparison, AWS is available in 26 areas with 80+ availability zones.
On top of Azure’s extensive coverage, there’s no restriction on transferring data from one zone to another. Meanwhile, AWS restricts users from moving data between different availability zones.
5- More Features
choosing a service based on better features is linked to internal requirements. In comparison, Azure does have more standout features.
Products such as Visual Studio and Azure Site Recovery are some of Azure’s best features. Azure also provides better app deployment capability. And most importantly, Azure offers a better Hybrid Cloud Integration service.
Final Considerations
It’s natural to be still confused after reading everything. Making the final decision is never easy. You’re not just deploying your entire infrastructure to the cloud. And instead, you’re deploying valuable capital as well.
On top of that, a business deciding to shift from AWS to Azure has much to consider. For one, there’s just the complexity of moving infrastructure. Instead, the entire team must adapt to a significant change in their work environment.
The final decision involves looking at internal requirements to determine the best fit. An MSP might opt for AWS, while an independent software vendor might see Azure as the better solution.
Still Confused? We Can Help
What if we told you there was a better option in the market? Not just that, but it’s possible to deploy your IT infrastructure to the cloud within 20 minutes. Here’s where V2 Cloud comes in.
V2 Cloud PC provides a wide array of solutions alternative to Amazon Workspaces and Azure.
But on top of that, we offer better customer service. Think about it. It’s fair to say both Amazon and Microsoft are pretty large corporations. Cloud Computing solutions are just part of what these companies offer. They can’t have the same dedicated and timely customer support as us. We can provide better support when you need it because we specialize in this space.
Book a Free Consultation
You can book a meeting with our team to seek personalized support before deploying anything. Chances are, you’ll make a more informed decision after interacting with a representative specializing in offering this service.
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