AWS vs Azure for Cloud Migration

When it comes to business cloud migration, there are two main competitors on the market: AWS and Azure. AWS is Amazon’s suite of cloud services, whereas Azure is Microsoft’s products. Although there are other suites, such as Google Cloud, and standalone services to consider, for most SMBs (and even large enterprises), AWS and Azure will be the two different suppliers that are generally evaluated for company fit.

Shouldn’t we go Azure for cloud migration since we used Microsoft?

Without digging into any details, you might think that since you have been using Microsoft products for many years, that Azure will be your natural choice for cloud services. However, this is a very surface-level evaluation.

Sure, Azure services are designed to seamlessly integrate with the existing range of MS products, including Microsoft SQL Server, which many businesses run onsite.

However, integrating your existing Microsoft products and services with Azure is generally a fairly standard task. Azure has built their services knowing many potential customers already have Microsoft products – so they have made the integration and/or rollover process fairly easy to use.

While the look and feel of Azure products is far more Microsoft-ish than Azure, Azure product UIs are generally very slick and straightforward too. 

Range of services

Currently, AWS offers over 175 different services for customers, and Azure has over 100. AWS was first to market with their cloud products, which goes some of the way into explaining why their suite is more extensive. It’s also for this reason that many companies choose AWS – it’s the more mature range. This being said, Azure is quickly catching up.

The types of products you’ll find with each company include:

• Storage
• Compute
• Analytics
• Databases
• IoT
• DevOps
• Mobile
• Networking
• Identity Management
• Blockchain
• Governance 
• Media
• AR & VR

In some cases you’ll find a niche service that only one or the other offers. Plenty of businesses use more than one cloud – it’s okay to mix them if need be, too.

Evaluate your current setup and where you want to be

To help choose whether AWS or Azure is right for your business, you need to carefully examine your current setup, baseline of the industry standard, and then look to the future to see what sort of tech basis you’ll require for 5, or even 10 years down the track.

Evaluation of your current tech stack will be how you do networking, use desktop computers, your server usage, how you manage licensing, what sort of analytics you currently have in place, etc.

For an industry standard, you can browse competitors’ websites and see which cloud service products they mention, consult with a knowledgeable third party (like A1 Technologies), or have a browse around the interest for article mentions.

To predict what you’ll need in the future will take a little more thought. A digital roadmap for the next 5 years is a good place to start. Without the right in-house expertise this can be a tricky prospect. If this is the case, it’s best to bring in a consultant to help design the right plan.

What about the cost of cloud migration?

Both AWS and Azure products are very similar in their price points. However, as most products are priced per use or per data size, you can easily run up thousands of dollars in bills if you don’t have things carefully configured. For instance, some storage objects are far more expensive than others, and if you have a cheaper option available you might not be aware of it.

Thankfully, both Azure and AWS have budgeting and tracking tools available that can help keep a handle on your bills and make recommendations for more cost-effective solutions. Make sure that you are using these tools to avoid any nasty shocks – as it can and does happen!

We can help find the perfect cloud configuration

It’s part of our business to help businesses just like yours evaluate the cloud offerings out there and come up with both a product and migration plan that helps you keep up with the future of technology, with the least disruption to your business, and for the best price.

Partner with us for a cloud consultation and migration experience that will put you at ease. Contact A1 Technologies to learn more about our cloud consultation services. We have both Azure consultants and AWS consultants ready to help you. We also have a range of other IT services, such as helpdesk support, networking solutions, security solutions design, VOIP and video conferencing consulting and setup, and more. We can help you work through all your IT pain points and bring your business the IT that simply works behind the scenes, rather than causes frustration every day.

Julia Sinclair-Jones

Tech writer and ex-software developer with a penchant for travel, techno, and data. Spreading the word of secure, manageable, optimised IT solutions for everyone.