If you’re looking to migrate your ERP system to the Cloud, you’re in luck – you’ve got a ton of options. But between Google, Salesforce, AWS, Oracle, and Azure, this same amazing opportunity for choice can cause decision paralysis. With so many trusted industry players getting in on the Cloud game with fantastic products, it’s hard to know which option is truly the best for your enterprise.
While we’re not going to break down every Cloud option for you (seriously, the list is way too long!), we are going to walk you through a comparison of two of the biggest, most prominent options: Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services.
We’ve previously broken down the basics and features of AWS on our blog, so before we get into the comparison, let’s take a minute to go through Microsoft’s cloud star: Azure.
Since its release in 2010 as “Windows Azure’, Microsoft’s comprehensive Cloud offering has consistently been a leader in the IaaS space. Azure can easily integrate with almost any existing IT environment and supports several programming languages. Its 50 service offerings ensure a plethora of options and customization for businesses.
Like AWS, Azure runs on a network of data centers that span across 22 regions, each responsible for a specific location. Also like AWS, Azure offers extensive predictive analytics services, such as machine learning, Cortana analytics, and stream analytics. These allow data from the Cloud to be organized and synthesized into actionable intelligence for businesses.
Azure is an extremely popular Cloud choice for large, established businesses, with more than 66 percent of Fortune 500 companies relying on its services. The Azure cloud integrates seamlessly with a huge variety of infrastructure, operating systems, programming languages, frameworks, tools, databases and devices. While Azure is not a completely open-source platform, you do have the ability to: run Linux containers with Docker integration; build apps with JavaScript, Python, .NET, PHP, Java and Node.js; build back-ends for iOS, Android and Windows devices. As the result of a deal with Oracle, you can also deploy Oracle-based software on an Azure platform.
As part of their built-in support, Azure offers enterprise grade SLAs on services and 24*7 health monitoring and tech support. To ensure the highest level of security for their users, Azure built the largest network of secure private connections, data residency and encryption features.
By now, you’re probably thinking, “That sounds great! But also Amazon sounds great! This is extremely unhelpful. What was the point again?”
Trust us, we hear you. Both of these options are best in class products from companies that have defined and dominated the tech world from 20 years. It’s not an easy choice, but ultimately, you really can’t go wrong. When it comes down to it, AWS advantages are:
Azure, on the other hand, offers:
If you’re preparing your company for a Cloud implementation and migration, the most important thing you can do is your homework. Analyze your KPIs and determine what’s most important to you. Understand what your company requires from its cloud infrastructure now and in the future so you get a better ideal of your scalability needs. Know what your current systems look like and figure out how your Cloud needs to work with it.
Most importantly, select a vendor who can help your team throughout the entire process – from selection to implementation to adoption – to ensure minimal disruption to your day-to-day operations and maintain the highest integrity of your data.
In some senses, Amazon has come a long way since its inception as an alternate to the brick-and-mortar bookstore in 1994. Even Jeff Bezos, who declared that he wanted to turn Amazon the biggest store in the world, did not predict the degree to which it would surpass his vision. The company has not only grown exponentially, but completely transformed the way people shop…for anything. So perhaps it makes sense that their biggest, most profitable service ever is another startling disruptor. And no, we’re not talking about 2-Day shipping (although we probably won’t argue with you either). We’re talking about Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides on-demand computing resources and services in the cloud for anyone, with pay-as-you-go pricing. AWS offers a broad set of services that help you move faster, lower your costs and scale your applications. The combination of a wide customer base and agile, abundant features makes AWS one of the most popular cloud providers in the industry. In fact, Gartner placed it at the top of its Cloud Infrastructure Magic Quadrant in 2015, with customers deploying an estimated 10 times more infrastructure on AWS than the next fourteen providers combined.
At its most basic, AWS to make it easier to build and manage your websites and applications, allowing you to:
Security in the cloud is always one of the number one concerns for new users or companies. AWS provides a secure global infrastructure with 12 geographical regions for servers, and multiple service centers per region; it also has a specific “GovCloud” for US Government customers. In addition to the containment benefits provided by these regions and centers, AWS offers a range of security features and options:
Because AWS was intended for use by both individual consumers and companies with a need for more sophisticated infrastructure, its benefits are diverse and include:
On top of all this, AWS committed in 2014 to 100% renewable energy usage, partnering with Iberdrola Renewables, LLC, EDP Renewables and Tesla Motors to achieve this goal. So whether you’re a company looking to become more agile or an individual searching for a place to host your personal blog, take a look at what AWS has to offer. If you’re still not sure about making the leap, Value Global has a full range of cloud services to help guide you towards the right solution. And, after all, you rely on Amazon for everything else; why not the Cloud, too?