Cloud Provider Showdown: Which Platform Is Right For You?

Dear LinkedIn Community,

We’re happy to welcome you back here on Velvetech’s IT Talks!

Today, we’re focusing on a specific technology that is often used in software development projects — and that is cloud computing. Thanks to its ability to offer greater flexibility and scalability, the cloud has become a go-to for many organizations looking to boost efficiencies. However, with various providers on the market like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and the Google Cloud Platform, it can be difficult to determine which solution is right for your business.

So, for this week’s newsletter, we spoke with one of Velvetech’s cloud computing specialists to get answers to some of the popular questions that arise when comparing cloud providers. Without further ado, let’s take a look.

Q1: Which cloud providers offer the most cost-effective pricing?

Of course, the cost-effectiveness of any cloud provider will largely depend on the unique needs and usage patterns of your organization. However, in the interest of giving a specific answer, even if it’s a generalization, I’d have to say Amazon Web Services (AWS) might be the most “cost-effective”. Primarily, because it simply has the lowest costs when compared to other providers.

Moreover, AWS was launched several years before Azure and Google Cloud, which allowed the platform to develop over a longer period of time, resulting in higher productivity. Since many companies are interested in speed and efficiency, it’s easy to see why they opt for AWS.

It is important to remember though, that while cloud cost optimization is important, costs aren’t always a top priority. So, developers may advise going for a “more expensive” cloud provider but one that supports various APIs better or may have a wider range of necessary services and tools.

Q2: Is any cloud provider considered more secure than others?

It’s hard to say because everything depends on how the administrators set up each individual client account. For example, one company may choose to opt-in for identity and access management, network controls, encryption features, and so on, while another may not. Hence, the settings have the biggest impact on security rather than a cloud provider.

Generally speaking, Azure might be the most secure. In particular, because it has the largest amount of third-party security certifications testifying to the platform's safety. Other cloud providers have various smart firewalls that also ensure security. For instance, AWS has WAF that helps protect apps and APIs from bots that consume resources and cause downtime.?

So, it’s difficult to give a straight answer to this question. I’m sure if you partner with experienced specialists, they’ll be able to advise you on your company’s unique situation.

Q3: My team needs a very speedy, high-performing cloud service. Is any one platform known to outperform others?

Once again, it depends because high performance is not only about the cloud but also administrative settings and the kind of tasks that the system needs to be able to complete. For example, if you need to perform big data processing, it might be best to do so on Google because that provider is “compute-optimized” and was built with the goal of facilitating such activities.

On the other hand, AWS has the closest distance between servers and their file storage when compared with other providers. Thus, leading to the lowest latency which naturally also impacts performance positively. In short, when looking at performance and productivity in cloud providers, you’ve got to take the tasks you need to be completed under consideration.

Ask a Question to Our IT Experts

Thank you for tuning in once again, we hope that you’ve learned something new about the various cloud providers that are out there. However, don’t hesitate to ask any other questions you may have — Velvetech specialists will be sure to respond in one of the upcoming editions.