Cloud Showdown: 
Azure vs AWS vs GCP vs OCI
Choosing Your Digital Haven 

Table of Contents:

The Top Hyperscale Cloud Platforms

Comparative Analysis: A Deep Dive

Making the Choice: Factors to Consider

Cloud4C: Your Compass on Your Cloud Journey

 

Today, the cloud is a strategic imperative to embrace new-age technologies and digitize operations. Managed cloud services play a pivotal role by aligning business goals with transformation objectives, addressing technical needs, and averting possible operational disruptions. Organizations are now choosing from an array of options while formulating their cloud strategies - a singular platform or a combination of on-premises datacenters and a public cloud/private cloud, or a combination of a public and private cloud - whatever serves their long-term business objectives. A Managed Services Provider (MSP) can be a critical guidepost of sorts, helping organizations tailor a unique 'cloud mix' based on their unique pain points for maximum efficiency.

So, if an organization opts for cloud migration, it can choose from the top four hyperscale cloud players in the market: Microsoft Azure, AWS (Amazon Web Services), GCP (Google Cloud Platform), and OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure). These four cloud giants are omnipresent and extensively utilized by businesses across diverse sectors on a global scale. They don't just help provide technology; they partner with organizations in their digital transformation journey themselves or via MSPs like Cloud4C while considering business goals, existing systems, current challenges and technical considerations. From startups to Fortune 500 organizations and everything in between, every organization looking to elevate their operations knows of these cloud platforms.

Microsoft Azure

Azure is a cloud platform offered by Microsoft and offers a broad range of services. This includes computing power, storage solutions, and networking capabilities. The biggest reason why it's a favorite with organizations is because it integrates seamlessly with Microsoft's widely popular workspace products. Another significant boost is it's heavy investments into advanced AI technologies, allowing organizations to plan their digital evolution journeys from an AI-first perspective. 95% of Fortune 500 companies utilize Azure in some way or the other, to leverage the benefits of more than 400 products and cloud services. According to Statista, Microsoft Azure accounted for 31% of market share in the last quarter of 2022.

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) started offering cloud services to businesses as early as 2006. Their cloud-based products are available instantly, on-demand, with a pay-as-you-go pricing model. They offer over 200 services on the cloud spread across databases, storage, computing power, analytics, mobile, management tools and developer tools, along with IoT, security, and enterprise applications. Today, AWS stands for availability and scalability, which is the reason why it is the go-to choice for businesses when they're planning their cloud migration journey. As for market share, AWS controlled 32% of the entire cloud services market in the last quarter of 2022.

Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a public cloud platform that offers many computing services for businesses including AI and Machine Learning tools to data management and everything in between. Google hosts computer resources on its data centers across the world which businesses can then access on a pay-per-use basis. Google Cloud Platform first came into focus when it launched App Engine in 2008, a developer tool using which customers could run their web applications using Google Infrastructure. Today, it offers many cloud services including computing power and hosting, storage and databases, networking and Big Data to name a few. In 2022's last quarter, GCP commanded 10% of the market share of the cloud services market.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), unveiled in October 2016, is Oracle's cloud platform. Today, OCI has evolved into a robust platform with over 70 services spanning at least 38 global cloud regions by the end of 2021. It offers businesses a comprehensive suite of cloud services including databases (relational, OLAP, JSON, and NoSQL), containers, Kubernetes, serverless functions, Spark, and more. The Oracle cloud platform prioritizes high-performance computing and database services, ensuring a secure and scalable environment for enterprise-level applications, capable of supporting diverse workloads. As for its market share, it captured 8% of the total cloud services market share in the last quarter of 2022.

Computing Power

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) prioritizes high performance through advanced technologies like RDMA, ensuring low-latency communication for enhanced application functionality. AWS stands out with the most extensive compute functionality, offering granular control through EC2, robust container services, and serverless capabilities with Lambda. Azure facilitates flexible infrastructure for applications, supporting containerization, VM deployment, and seamless migration. Google Cloud's Compute Engine provides diverse virtual machine configurations, from general purpose to memory and compute-optimized instances, meeting various workload requirements effectively.

Cloud Provider	Key Features
OCI	High performance with RDMA, low-latency communication
AWS	Broadest range of compute options, EC2, container services, Lambda
Azure	Flexible compute capacity, container support, VM deployment options
GCP	Diverse VM configurations, from general purpose to memory and compute-optimized instances

 

Storage Solutions

All four cloud players offer a range of robust storage solutions catering to the diverse needs of businesses today. OCI distinguishes itself through its enterprise-grade storage options, including OCI Block Volumes, OCI File Storage, and OCI Object Storage, all known for their security and reliability. Azure excels because it integrates its storage solutions into a unified platform. You can use Azure Blobs for unstructured data, Azure Files for structured data such as databases, and Azure Queues for messages between different components of an application. AWS impresses with its scalability and durability, with solutions like Amazon S3, EFS, FSx, EBS, and File Cache. It prioritizes performance for diverse workloads. GCP stands out because of their data performance and availability, thanks to their multi-regional storage classes and seamless data transfer.

Storage Solution	Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)	Microsoft Azure	Amazon Web Services (AWS)	Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Object Storage	Local NVMe disks, Object Storage (with Standard and Archive data tiers)	Azure Blobs	Amazon S3	Cloud Storage
Block Storage	Block Volumes	Managed Disks	Elastic Block Store (EBS)	Persistent Disk
File Storage	File Storage	Azure Files	Elastic File System (EFS), FSx (for commercial and open-source systems)	Filestore

 

Native Service Offerings

Embarking on the cloud journey involves choosing the right services to power your digital ambitions. Whether you engage with a managed cloud services provider or not, your organization's transition to the cloud should align seamlessly with your business objectives. All the major cloud players— compete to offer a wide range of cloud-native services. Each platform has its own unique strengths.

AWS is known for its comprehensive suite of services, especially in compute functionalities through EC2 and robust storage solutions via S3. OCI stands out with its strong focus on database solutions, particularly the Autonomous Database and MySQL HeatWave. Azure positions itself as an integrated cloud solution with a wide range of services spanning analytics, machine learning, and AI. GCP distinguishes itself through cutting-edge analytics solutions like BigQuery and robust machine learning offerings. Whether you're looking at robust computing capabilities, storage solutions, powerful databases, or cutting-edge AI services, this table breaks down services across nine essential categories.

Category	AWS	OCI	Azure	GCP
Compute	EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)	Virtual Machines, HPC Compute, Bare Metal Servers, GPU-Accelerated Compute	Azure CycleCloud, Quantum, VMware Solution, Spot Virtual Machines	Compute Engine, App Engine, Spot VMs, Cloud GPU
Storage	S3 (Simple Storage Service)	Block Volumes, Object Storage, File Storage	Azure Data Lake Storage, Data Share, Backup, Files, HPC Cache	Cloud Storage, Backup and DR Service, Local SSD, Filestore, Parallelstore
Database	RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, ElastiCache, RedShift	Autonomous Database, Autonomous Data Warehouse, MySQL HeatWave	Cache for Redis, Cosmos DB, Data Factory, Confidential Ledger	AlloyDB for PostgreSQL, Cloud SQL, Firestore, Cloud Spanner, Cloud Bigtable
Networking	VPC, API Gateway, CloudFront	Virtual Cloud Networks, Networking Gateways, FastConnect	Application Gateway, ExpressRoute, Firewall Manager, Bastion, DNS	Cloud Armor, Cloud CDN and Media CDN, Cloud DNS, Cloud Load Balancing, Virtual Private Cloud
Analytics	Athena, CloudSearch, DataZone, EMR, Kinesis	Fusion CX, ERP, SCM, and HCM Analytics	Analysis Services, Data Explorer, Data Factory, Data Lake Storage, Stream Analytics	BigQuery, Looker, Dataflow, Dataproc, Cloud Data Fusion
Machine Learning and AI	SageMaker, Bedrock, CodeWhisperer, Augmented AI	Digital Assistant, Anomaly Detection, In-Database ML	Anomaly Detector, Cognitive Search, LUIS, Open Datasets	Vertex AI Platform, Dialogflow, Natural Language AI, Speech-to-Text, Text-to-Speech, Translation AI
Security	IAM (Identity and Access Management), Cognito, Detective, Macie	Vault, Security Zones, Bastion, IAM, Threat Intelligence	Microsoft Defender EASM, Azure Bastion, MS Sentinel, Azure Firewall	Cloud IAM, Cloud Identity, Assured Workloads, Sensitive Data Protection
Developer Tools	CodeGuru, CodeCatalyst, CloudShell, CodeBuild	API Management, Resource Manager, Queue	App Configuration, DevOps, DevTestLabs, Pipelines	Artifact Registry, Cloud Code, Cloud Build, Cloud Deploy, Cloud Workstations
Hybrid and Multicloud	AWS Outposts	Oracle Database@Azure, Interconnect for Azure	Azure Arc, Sentinel, ExpressRoute	Google Kubernetes Engine, CloudBuild, Distributed Cloud

 

Pricing Models

The pricing model of each cloud provider can vary significantly, and it's important to understand the pricing structure of each provider before making a decision. It's no surprise that all the four major cloud providers offer competitive pricing for their cloud services. Right off the bat, one common pricing feature amongst cloud players is a pay-as-you-go model. But what's more? AWS offers three pricing models: On-Demand Instances, Reserved Instances, and Spot Instances. Organizations are charged by the hour with no upfront cost, offered a sizeable discount if they commit to using a specific instance configuration over 1-3 years, or they can bid on unused EC2 instances and run their applications at significantly lower rates, respectively.

Azure too, offers reserved instances, which makes it a very flexible option. Organizations can scale up or down to reflect their changing workloads at no additional cost. Those wishing to check out GCP managed services can choose from three different pricing tiers, like AWS - Free Tier, Sustained-use discounts, Committed-use discounts. But did you know that OCI cloud services are priced the same for all global regions (including government regions)? Apart from the Free-Tier similar to GCP, OCI also offers Oracle Universal Credits, which lets organizations use any OCI platform service in any region, including future cloud services.

Category	AWS	OCI	Azure	GCP
Pricing Model	Pay-as-you-go Model - On-Demand Instances, Reserved Instances, Spot Instances	Pay-as-you-go Model, Universal Credits - Monthly Flex, and Free Tier	Pay-as-you-go Model and Reserved Instances	Pay-as-you-go Model - Free Tier, Sustained-Use Discount, Committed-Use Discount

 

AI Capabilities

AWS provides AI services to enhance applications for personalized recommendations, modernizing contact centers, improving safety, and increasing customer engagement. These services cover computer vision, automated data analysis, language AI for chatbots, and business metrics for forecasting and fraud detection.

Microsoft's Azure AI offers a cloud-based platform empowering developers and businesses with advanced AI tools. Key services include Azure OpenAI, leading in managed AI services. Azure focuses on responsible AI strategies, fostering AI transformation for customers.

Google Cloud is investing in three pillars for generative AI in 2024: economics and energy, ubiquity and access, and trust and security. They double investments, providing training, certifications, and incentives for partners driving generative AI customer adoption.

Oracle's OCI introduces the Generative AI service with multilingual capabilities, improved GPU management, and flexible fine-tuning options. Available on Oracle Cloud and on-premises via OCI Dedicated Region.

Read more on the cloud-native foundations behind the Gen AI revolution.

Choosing the right cloud service provider is a strategic decision, and several factors need to be carefully considered. From cost implications to scalability, security features to service versatility, below is a decision-making checklist to help you ensure that you weigh all the crucial aspects. Analyzing your specific business needs, understanding data compliance requirements, and anticipating future growth (among other factors) should all be part of the equation. This comprehensive checklist will help you make an informed choice and choose a cloud provider that best suits your unique objectives:

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Managed Cloud Services: The X-Factor You Need

Organizations should consider consulting or appointing a cloud managed services provider for several key reasons:

• Expertise and Experience: Managed services providers bring a wealth of expertise and experience in managing cloud environments. They understand the complexities, best practices, and potential challenges associated with various cloud platforms.
• Resource Optimization and Value Maximization: Cloud managed services providers help optimize resources, ensuring that organizations get the most value from their cloud investments. This includes cost optimization, performance tuning, and efficient resource allocation
• 24/7 Monitoring and Support: These providers offer continuous monitoring of cloud infrastructure, ensuring early detection and resolution of issues. This proactive approach minimizes downtime and keeps operations running smoothly
• Security and Compliance: Cloud managed services providers are well-versed in the latest security measures and compliance standards. They implement robust security protocols to protect data and ensure that organizations adhere to regulatory requirements.
• Scalability and Flexibility: As businesses grow, cloud needs evolve. Managed services providers help organizations architect their workloads on cloud resources that are auto scalable. This flexibility ensures that infrastructure aligns with changing business requirements.
• Focus on Core Competencies: By offloading the management of cloud infrastructure to experts, organizations can redirect their internal resources toward core business functions and strategic initiatives. This allows for increased innovation and agility.
• Reliability and Performance: Managed services providers are committed to delivering high levels of reliability and performance. They employ best-in-class technologies and practices to ensure that cloud environments meet or exceed service level expectations.
• Cost Predictability: With a managed services provider, organizations can often achieve cost predictability. This includes transparent pricing models and the ability to forecast and control cloud-related expenses.
• Adoption of New Technologies: Cloud managed services providers stay abreast of the latest cloud technologies. They can guide organizations in adopting new features and services that enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: Managed services providers design and implement robust disaster recovery and business continuity plans. This ensures that organizations can recover quickly from unexpected events and maintain operations.
• Seamless Integration Across Landscapes and Cloud Platforms: Managed Services Providers (MSPs) excel in harmonizing on-premises, private, and legacy core landscapes with various cloud platforms. They skillfully implement the optimal cloud mix, ensuring smooth operations for both core and peripheral business applications without friction.

As the world's largest application-focused cloud managed services provider, we make sure you have an 'intelligent cloud future' starting right from deciding who your 'intelligent' cloud provider will be. As an Advanced Consulting Partner for AWS, a Gold Microsoft Partner, an Azure Expert MSP, a Google Cloud Partner and a Cloud Registered Partner for Oracle, it is not a question of what we can do for you. It is a question of what you want. Depending on what your business goals are, and the key outcomes you want, we identify parameters and develop a blueprint for the entire cloud migration journey.

As a trusted managed cloud services partner for 4,000+ companies including Fortune 500 companies from the last 12+ years, we assess and begin from where you are. How ready is the organization? What's your current IT landscape like? These answers will inform our decision as to the cloud model/cloud service we deploy for you. Thanks to our Universal Cloud Platform (UCP), we strictly comply with regulatory and in-country data residency standards while ensuring high availability (99.95%). Through our hybrid cloud and multi-cloud solutions, we borrow the best application, infrastructure, storage, and workflow solutions for your business from multiple cloud vendors and deploy these cloud resources from a single pane of glass.

Excited to begin your cloud journey? Talk to our experts today!