Survey Compares User Types for AWS and Google Clouds A brand new survey by Clutch examines the different user types for the top three cloud providers. It found that larger enterprises prefer Microsoft Azure, while smaller businesses prefer Google Cloud Platform. Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS), which dwarfs Azure and GCP in overall usage, is more attractive to users who value IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) offerings. These conclusions were drawn from a survey of 247 organisations, where nearly equal numbers identified themselves as cloud providers. Clutch acknowledged that these similar sample representations do not reflect overall market share numbers, where AWS is clearly the leader, but allow for a more balanced examination of user opinions. Clutch identified the following key findings in the report:
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  • Enterprises accounted for the largest share of Azure users, while small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) accounted for the largest portion of GCP users.
  • Organizations cited “better selections of tools/features as their top reason to choose their primary provider.” Second place was shared by “Familiarity and Brand Security”
  • CloudWatch for AWS and Cloud Services for Azure were the most popular services in the sample population. Cloud Datalab/Cloud Storage For GCP was also a top choice.
  • 41% of respondents who stated that AWS was their primary provider also used GCP, the highest combination of both providers.

AWS-specific findings, meanwhile, include:

  • AWS ranks lowest in brand familiarity despite being the oldest provider. Azure ranks at 24 per cent and GCP at 20%. AWS was launched in 2006. Azure and GCP were not launched for four and five years, respectively.
  • Most respondents stated that AWS was cheaper, but many people agree that it isn’t the most affordable overall. It may offer the most bang for your buck due to its many features.

Clutch stated that there will always be strong opinions about AWS, GCP, and Azure. “Just like a sports fan will feel a passionate passion for a team, cloud aficionados can often feel a pull towards one provider based on brand loyalty or experience. Clutch also provided comments from corporate cloud users. Brian Dearman, a solutions architect at Mindsight, was quoted as summing up the findings thusly: “Infrastructure-as-a-service will reside mainly on AWS, cloud services will be on Microsoft’s side, while Google will dominate analytics. People will choose the best, regardless of whether each platform offers every type of service. Dave Hickman, vice-president of Global Delivery at Menlo Technologies said that providers’ strengths are more fluid. “If you take this survey in six months, you’ll probably get different results because there’s some leapfrogging taking place. “The answers will likely be more on-par in three years, for the same survey… Google is trying [to catch up to AWS] from a infrastructure point of view, while Azure is definitely catching up.” Clutch acknowledged that it would be prudent for potential cloud users to compare the different options of the providers but offered the following advice.

  • If you are an enterprise, require Windows integration, or seek a strong PaaS (platform-as-a-service) provider, consider Microsoft Azure.
  • Google Cloud Platform is a great option for SMBs with limited budgets who want to focus on analytics.
  • If a service’s longevity, IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) offerings, and wide selection of tools are important to you, Amazon Web Services may be your best option.