Best Cloud Platforms For Small Business in 2024

Cloud solutions can be your opportunity to transform data and open up new business opportunities efficiently. According to McKinsey’s findings, businesses can boost productivity by 30% in development, decrease cost by 20%, and speed up the creation and implementation of innovative technologies, thus increasing revenue by 20%.

The cloud computing market is growing continuously and is expected to reach $2432.87 billion by 2030. In this competitive market, three cloud providers—Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure —comprise 64 percent of the cloud market share. When selecting a cloud service to host their site or application, most users will pick among these three hyperscale cloud providers.

Although they might appear interchangeable, each provider has distinct strengths and challenges that can significantly impact your cloud expenses, ease of use, and overall user experience.

Three prestigious cloud storage providers, Amazon AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Azure, dominate the market. Large technology companies, such as Netflix, Goldman Sachs, and Boeing, use Amazon AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure to control service use efficiently.

If you’re having trouble finding the right cloud storage platform for your business, this article can help you make an informed choice.

AWS vs. Azure vs GCP: Overview

AWS, Azure, and GCP are the top cloud providers available currently. However, each one has distinct characteristics and history. Below is some information on each one before we get into the details of the ways they differ.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has offered cloud storage services since 2006. It established a significant % market share of 32% in the quarter ending January 2023. AWS provides various services, such as storage, computing and networking analytics, databases, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. A range of companies, from small businesses to big corporations, utilize it.

Microsoft Azure was first introduced in 2010 by Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Corporation is the second-largest provider of cloud services on the market for cloud computing and had 23% in the quarter ending January 2023. Azure provides various services similar to AWS but is a specialist in Windows-based computing and is compatible with various Microsoft services.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) was established by Google in 2011 and has since become the third largest cloud supplier globally, with 9 percent in the first quarter of 2023. GCP offers a broad range of cloud services comparable with AWS and Azure but has fewer data storage facilities than AWS and Azure. It also provides solutions that are deemed suitable for DevOps.

Why Move to AWS: Amazon AWS s Microsoft Azure vs Google Cloud

AWS has played a significant role in helping startups grow and fostering innovation. Its cloud services supply them with cost-effective infrastructure, scaling, and various solutions. AWS is an essential player in the public and federal sectors, offering specialized services, compliance, and security certifications.

Let’s learn more about AWS:

• 10 percent of AWS users are large companies with more than 1000 employees.
• 52 percent of AWS customers are in the US, whereas 7 percent reside in the UK.
• The top five business industries are computer software, retail, Information Technology and Services, construction, and health care.
• AWS ECS/EKS trumps Docker to claim the top spot for containers, which accounts for 51% of the users
• 36 percent of AWS customers use reserved instances, while 31% use savings plans

Microsoft Azure vs. AWS vs. Google Cloud

Amazon has seen most companies opting for AWS to migrate their cloud through its long history. Now, you’ll be able to understand why.

Shallow Learning Curve: 

AWS is more accessible than the other cloud platforms. It has a variety of easy-to-understand APIs that will take you to the cloud quicker and assist you in setting up your software. Additionally, AWS lets you experiment with over 100 Free Tier services, such as EC2, S3, and SageMaker.

AWS offers various services that meet diverse needs for applications using the cloud.

• Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) offers reconfigurable computing capacity in the cloud. It allows users to set up and manage virtual servers for various tasks. It provides multiple instance types, operating systems, and networking options.

• Simple Storage Service (S3) lets users save and retrieve information in any amount at any time with safety, data protection, and compliance features. It can be used to restore and backup data, distribute content, archive data, and perform analytics.

• Lambda allows developers to run the code without the need to provision or manage servers. It also executes functions when events are received from diverse sources. It automatically scales and can support multiple programming languages.

All-round stability

No one is left unnoticed when Amazon ensures consistency and reliability. Amazon is dedicated to strengthening every one of its data centers within isolated areas, protecting its cloud infrastructure, and optimizing its performance. With AWS’s high performance, you are never a matter of chance, regardless of the load.

Differentiation between AWS Vs. Azure Vs. Google Cloud Platform

AWS, Azure, and GCP offer comparable computing resources, including serverless and virtual machine options. Remember that each cloud provider has unique services and features tailored to businesses’ various needs, so select the one most compatible with their particular computing needs. Companies may also opt for multi-cloud solutions combining more than three cloud providers or use AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud with an alternative, more affordable cloud service such as AddWeb Solution.

Azure (Microsoft Azure)

Azure provides similar computing resources through its virtual machines (VMs) service, which allows users to scale and adapt cloud computing. Furthermore, Azure Virtual Machines offer a range of sizes for instances to meet the demands of different workloads, such as memory computing, storage, and optimized cases.

Azure has developed Azure Functions for serverless computing, allowing developers to run event-driven applications without worrying about the infrastructure.

GCP (Google Cloud Platform)

Google Compute Engine’s computing resources are accessible via Google Compute Engine, which offers custom VM instances. Google Compute Engine provides predefined machine and custom machine types, allowing users to personalize resources to meet their requirements.

For serverless computing, Google Cloud Platform offers Google Cloud Functions, which enable developers to perform event-driven functions without the need to manage servers.

Data centers

The other major distinction between AWS, Azure, and GCP is their infrastructure for data centres. Understanding the geographical areas and capabilities the centres work with is crucial for developers and companies seeking the best cloud solution. This is because the requirements of data centres are based on the location of the web application or website’s users:-

Here are more details on what AWS, GCP, and Azure compare concerning their number of servers and the physical location in their centres for data:

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

• AWS runs a massive global network with over 200 data centres across various geographic regions, including North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.
• They boast the highest number of centres out of the three hyper-scale cloud providers and an impressive presence in Northern Virginia, Oregon, and Frankfurt.
• The vast AWS data centre infrastructure lets businesses deploy resources closer to their customers, reducing latency and improving performance.

Azure (Microsoft Azure)

• Azure Cloud boasts an extensive global network of data centres and offers services in more areas than AWS or GCP.
• Microsoft is expanding its network of data centres and has a strong position in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
• Azure’s data centres are connected to Microsoft’s vast network backbone, ensuring the highest data transfer speed and low-latency connectivity.

GCP (Google Cloud Platform)

• The GCP data centre is strategically placed in multiple locations worldwide, covering North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.
• Although GCP has fewer facilities than AWS and Azure, it has more data centres. AWS and Azure, however, are well-known for their world-class performance infrastructure.
• Google’s experience optimizing networks guarantees fast data transfer and low-latency connections, making GCP the preferred choice for applications sensitive to latency.

AWS vs. Google vs Azure: Security

GCP

Despite being a relative newcomer to cloud computing, GCP has amassed a lot of technical know-how in the last 20 years. They’re not new to security. GCP’s security is excellent and includes various tools and protocols for security, including the Cloud Security Command Center. GCP has top-of-the-line security across multiple services.

Azure

Azure Active Directory makes authorizations simple to manage. Azure’s single-point control of approvals and permissions also facilitates management. However, Azure will default with “allow” instead of “deny,” in contrast to GCP or AWS, which default to “deny” when creating a new network to accommodate new CPUs. Security teams are required to develop new networks to maintain the development environment.

AWS

The years of experience AWS has gained in security enables it to provide the most secure and safe technology solutions. AWS offers easy access to support and help. AWS provides exceptional security as a standard.

AWS vs. Azure vs GCP: Use Cases

Although each of the three hyperscalers (AWS vs Azure and GCP) provides robust cloud services, each is known for its specific needs. AWS has an international reach and renders a broad spectrum of services perfect for various applications. Azure excels at effortless integration into the Microsoft ecosystem and has robust security options, making it a preferred option for businesses. GCP’s experience in data analytics, Kubernetes, and high-performance networking makes it an ideal choice for data-driven and containerized applications. Below are some additional details on the types of use cases each cloud provider can meet:

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

• Scalability and a global reach: AWS is an excellent choice for companies that require an extensive worldwide presence and scaling due to its large international network of data centres. AWS offers many cloud services, including AI analysis, data analytics, IoT, and more.
• Established ecosystem: AWS’s affluent customer base and extensive community support make it ideal for various users, particularly businesses.

Azure (Microsoft Azure)

• Integrity with the Microsoft ecosystem. Azure offers seamless integration for businesses that have invested in Microsoft software, allowing hybrid cloud deployments and smooth migration. Azure also provides Windows-based virtual machines, which are unavailable from all cloud providers.
• Hybrid Clouds Azure is preferred for businesses with an existing on-premises infrastructure. It provides powerful hybrid cloud computing capabilities.
• Strong emphasis on security: With a particular focus on security and compliance, Azure suits sectors with strict data regulations.

GCP (Google Cloud platform)

• Analytics and data expertise: Google Cloud Platform excels in data management and analytics and is an excellent choice for companies that rely on massive machine learning and data processing.
• Kubernetes capabilities: Google’s experience with Kubernetes and containerization entices companies looking to implement container-based applications.
• Networking and performance: The Google Cloud platform’s high performance ensures speedy data transfer, making it ideal for applications that require quick response times.

AWS vs. Azure vs. GCP: Storage

Data can be stored on discs, paper magnetic tapes, optical discs, or even in bacteria’s DNA. However, keeping all required data takes up plenty of space and is costly, and certain storage media aren’t designed to last long. The cloud can be a great option, however.

Cloud-based service providers have figured out how to scale the development of various storage strategies, providing high reliability and reasonable cost. You pay only for the features and capabilities that meet your requirements—only for what you actually use.

The most widely used kinds of data storage are block, file, object, and archive. Each one is suited to specific purposes.

Think of an object as an object in the context of storage of objects. You can utilize cloud-based storage for objects in the cloud to store your collection of dad jokes.

Amazon Simple Storage Service S3, or simply S3, is the abbreviation for AWS’s object storage offering.

Google Cloud Storage is a function of GCP that provides services such as cloud storage, disk, and filestore.

Name of the Azure service, Azure Blob Storage (BLOB refers to “binary large object,” increases the geeky factor more). Azure describes the items you use to store your information by calling them “containers,” whereas AWS and GCP refer to them as “buckets.”

A lot of these storage services are the same. They all offer:

• Versioning
• Secure encryption at the moment of
• Fine-grained security

Storage class tiers can be found in S3, Cloud Storage, and Blob Storage; the more efficient and reliable the class of storage, the higher the price. Most companies must keep records for a specified time to comply with regulatory or legal requirements, which can be costly. Cloud service providers have affordable options for archiving.

Storage Cloud Services Classified To-

• Amazon S3 Infrequent Access (also S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval)
• Azure Blob Storage Cool Tier
• GCP Nearline Storage and Coldline Storage

AWS vs Google vs Azure: Who Is the Winner?

It’s dependent on how you view it. If you’re a unicorn company considering Azure and AWS performance and bandwidth options, Amazon’s Platform might make you smile. Are you engrossed in .NET? If so, building your application on Azure can provide the most seamless experience. However, using Google Cloud is an optimal solution if you’re interested in AI/ML.

It is difficult to say that this cloud platform is perfect for storing data in every condition. It would help if you considered the tech stack of your product and business goals, areas of interest, and availability to select the most suitable option for your company.

Conclusion

AWS, Azure, and GCP are all well-known hyperscale cloud providers with distinct strengths. AWS has global reach and scalability. Azure excels at security and integration, and GCP excels in data management and machine learning.

The choice of the best provider is based on understanding the specific requirements, including performance and cost. For startups and small-sized businesses, AddWeb Solution is a compelling alternative that offers cost-effectiveness and user-friendly features. It also provides various products suited to the requirements of growing companies.