It is confusing enough to understand cloud computing and the impact it could have on your business, let alone gauge the differences between different cloud service providers! So in this week's episode of Lancom TV we sit down with Imran again to discuss how you can desipher which cloud provider is the right fit for your business.
Video Transcription:
Hello everyone, welcome back to the Lancom TV.
Hello.
We are sitting here today, both Imran and I, and the topic of the day is "Cloud Computing." Now, cloud computing has taken on businesses, entities, organizations out there and people are quoting it to be the new norm when it comes down to technology. And the intention for today is for us to sort of review a couple of the major players that there are in the market. So, when we talk about cloud computing, we often come across three major names. They are Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google. For today, I thought I would pick Imran's brain on a couple of those. It's specifically Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Shall we get started?
Yep, let's dig into it.
Okay, so when we look at Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services or AWS Cloud, what are sort of the key differences between those two providers, Imran?
So, Amazon Web Services, obviously, I think the biggest difference I would say is that Amazon Web Services has a big lead on Azure in terms of when they started. So, they started long before Microsoft Azure itself.
Right.
Both are public cloud providers, so in terms of services they offer, it's quite similar
So, just to clarify, public cloud providers, meaning anyone can consume their services anytime, correct?
Yeah, exactly.
Right.
I mean, there were public cloud providers before, as well, but what Amazon Web Services did was provide that pay-for-hour service.
Right, so you can consume IT services and pay per hour just like you pay your power bill.
Exactly, so you pay for what you use rather than you pay monthly or you pay based on the number of servers you're using. It's just more about you pay for what you use.
Topic #2: How do I know which one would fit my business best?
Fantastic, so they're both very similar when it comes down to the model which is pay-as-you-go pay per hour, but what are the key differences between the two of them? When would I go with Microsoft Azure? And when would I go with Amazon Web Services? Is there some sort of key differences we look at here?
Well, I mean, as I said before, Amazon Web Services started before Microsoft Azure so they are a lot more mature from my personal review, anyway. Microsoft Azure had a big way to go to get to where they are and they have been catching up really, really fast. So, in the last couple of years, they have caught up to Amazon Web Services quite a bit in terms of the services they provide, as well as the usability and the number of users that are using Microsoft Azure. Now, in terms of key differences or when you would use either Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, I think that's based on the workloads or the type of workloads that you're deploying. I don't think that we should just be looking at one and saying you will just be using that for every single thing. I think, it's more about the workloads or the type of applications or servers that you are deploying in those public cloud providers. That should make you choose which one you want to go with.
Right.
For example, Microsoft Azure is very Microsoft focused, as you would imagine. So, their program languages .NET, and C-sharp, VB and all those ones are much more compatible. I mean, they have much more support for those things compared to Amazon Web Services. Don't take me wrong, Amazon Web Services have built-in tools to help you deploy to their public cloud as well, but Microsoft Azure is much more compatible. And the same with Amazon Web Services, they have a lot more services on offering compared to Microsoft Azure. They are a lot more mature. And they provide a very easy way of deploying your first application compared to, I would say, Azure because that still is developing and is not at the same stage as Amazon Web Services is. But if you have workloads which are Microsoft focused and...
Office 365, emails...
Right, for example, Office 365, your emails, that are already in the Microsoft Cloud, then Microsoft Azure works really, really well.
Sure.
And there are some services which Amazon Web Services doesn't have and could benefit your workload. So, on conclusion, it just depends on the workload that you are using and you need to choose between two.
Damn it! That's not an easy answer, right? So, it's really case-by-case basis.
Exactly.
Topic #3: Are there any differences in terms of security between the two?
One last and quick question, Imran, before we close off, everyone wonders about security. I can't really see where my servers are. If I go to either Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Servers, are they both really secure? How do we know?
Oh, yeah, both are. I mean, both are very well-certified in terms of different certifications, industry certifications. So, they do get regular checkups done on their data centers, on their users, on their staff. Everything, so they are certified in terms of as secure as they can be. I mean, you can probably take it on the basis that different banks are now using those services as well, so...
If the banks are using it...
Exactly. Then, you can use it, as well.
Because my money is there. All right, well, thank you so much for your time today once again. As always, if you do have any feedback and you want us to address any specific topics next time, please leave us any comments and we will happily take them onboard. Thank you so much and see you next time.
Awesome, see you guys.
Bye-bye.