AWS vs Google Cloud vs Microsoft Azure
Compute, Containers, and Serverless
Virtual machines: AWS EC2, Google Compute Engine, Azure Virtual Machines. All three autoscale and support Linux and Windows. Kubernetes: AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS. GKE is known for smooth upgrades and fleet tooling, EKS and AKS integrate tightly with each vendor’s ecosystem. Serverless apps: AWS Lambda and App Runner, Google Cloud Run and Cloud Functions, Azure Functions and Container Apps. Choose for event driven work or fast container hosting without server management. CI or CD and registries: AWS CodePipeline and ECR, Google Cloud Deploy and Artifact Registry, Azure DevOps and ACR. Full Link:
Virtual machines: AWS EC2, Google Compute Engine, Azure Virtual Machines. All three autoscale and support Linux and Windows. Kubernetes: AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS. GKE is known for smooth upgrades and fleet tooling, EKS and AKS integrate tightly with each vendor’s ecosystem. Serverless apps: AWS Lambda and App Runner, Google Cloud Run and Cloud Functions, Azure Functions and Container Apps. Choose for event driven work or fast container hosting without server management. CI or CD and registries: AWS CodePipeline and ECR, Google Cloud Deploy and Artifact Registry, Azure DevOps and ACR. Full Link:
Data, Databases, and Storage
Object storage: AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage. Durable, cheap, used for backups and data lakes. Block and file: AWS EBS or EFS, Google Hyperdisk or Filestore, Azure Managed Disks or Azure Files. Pick based on performance and shared access needs. Data warehouse: AWS Redshift, Google BigQuery, Azure Synapse. BigQuery is serverless and strong for ad hoc analytics, Redshift and Synapse pair well with existing AWS or Microsoft stacks. Relational databases: AWS RDS or Aurora, Google Cloud SQL or AlloyDB or Spanner, Azure SQL Database or Azure Database for PostgreSQL or MySQL. Spanner adds global scale with strong consistency. NoSQL options: AWS DynamoDB and DocumentDB, Google Bigtable and Firestore, Azure Cosmos DB.
Object storage: AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage. Durable, cheap, used for backups and data lakes. Block and file: AWS EBS or EFS, Google Hyperdisk or Filestore, Azure Managed Disks or Azure Files. Pick based on performance and shared access needs. Data warehouse: AWS Redshift, Google BigQuery, Azure Synapse. BigQuery is serverless and strong for ad hoc analytics, Redshift and Synapse pair well with existing AWS or Microsoft stacks. Relational databases: AWS RDS or Aurora, Google Cloud SQL or AlloyDB or Spanner, Azure SQL Database or Azure Database for PostgreSQL or MySQL. Spanner adds global scale with strong consistency. NoSQL options: AWS DynamoDB and DocumentDB, Google Bigtable and Firestore, Azure Cosmos DB.
AI, ML, and Analytics
ML platforms: AWS SageMaker, Google Vertex AI, Azure AI Platform. All handle training, tuning, and deployment. Vertex AI stands out for integrated gen AI tooling and model garden. Prebuilt AI services: Vision and images, Amazon Rekognition, Google Vision AI, Azure Computer Vision. Text and language, Amazon Comprehend, Google Natural Language AI, Azure Text Analytics. Speech, Amazon Transcribe and Polly, Google Speech to Text and Text to Speech, Azure Speech services. Streaming and processing: AWS Kinesis and Managed Flink, Google Pub/Sub and Dataflow, Azure Event Hubs and Stream Analytics. Business intelligence: Amazon QuickSight, Looker, Microsoft Power BI.
ML platforms: AWS SageMaker, Google Vertex AI, Azure AI Platform. All handle training, tuning, and deployment. Vertex AI stands out for integrated gen AI tooling and model garden. Prebuilt AI services: Vision and images, Amazon Rekognition, Google Vision AI, Azure Computer Vision. Text and language, Amazon Comprehend, Google Natural Language AI, Azure Text Analytics. Speech, Amazon Transcribe and Polly, Google Speech to Text and Text to Speech, Azure Speech services. Streaming and processing: AWS Kinesis and Managed Flink, Google Pub/Sub and Dataflow, Azure Event Hubs and Stream Analytics. Business intelligence: Amazon QuickSight, Looker, Microsoft Power BI.
Networking, Security, and Identity
Networking basics: AWS VPC, Google VPC, Azure VNet. Private networking, VPN or Direct Connect or ExpressRoute for hybrid links. Traffic and protection: AWS CloudFront and WAF and Shield, Google Cloud CDN and Cloud Armor, Azure Front Door and WAF and DDoS Protection. Identity and keys: AWS IAM and KMS, Google IAM and Cloud KMS, Microsoft Entra ID and Key Vault. Private access to services: AWS PrivateLink, Google Private Service Connect, Azure Private Link. Monitoring and logs: Amazon CloudWatch and CloudTrail, Google Cloud Monitoring and Logging and Audit Logs, Azure Monitor and Activity Logs.
Networking basics: AWS VPC, Google VPC, Azure VNet. Private networking, VPN or Direct Connect or ExpressRoute for hybrid links. Traffic and protection: AWS CloudFront and WAF and Shield, Google Cloud CDN and Cloud Armor, Azure Front Door and WAF and DDoS Protection. Identity and keys: AWS IAM and KMS, Google IAM and Cloud KMS, Microsoft Entra ID and Key Vault. Private access to services: AWS PrivateLink, Google Private Service Connect, Azure Private Link. Monitoring and logs: Amazon CloudWatch and CloudTrail, Google Cloud Monitoring and Logging and Audit Logs, Azure Monitor and Activity Logs.