The cloud platform and cloud computing services neighborhood are crowded. The top five vendors hold nearly 80% of the cloud market share. In this blog, we’ll compare two of the most popular platforms according to Gartner’s 2024 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services: Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
Azure vs.Google Cloud Platform
Microsoft Azure is the second-largest cloud provider. It has become a top choice for many businesses looking for a platform as a service (PaaS) since it provides developers with comprehensive end-to-end deliverables and robust solutions. Its extensive support for the Linux and Windows ecosystems makes it a leading choice for the Microsoft technology stack.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP), which comes in third, leads in infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and database as a service (DaaS) for various workloads, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data. This fast-growing service grew over 45% in 2020 and generates an estimated $33 billion annual revenue. Google Cloud offers strong support for containers and Kubernetes and boasts the most advanced hybrid and multi-cloud platform, Google Anthos.
(The number one cloud infrastructure provider is currently Amazon Web Services (AWS). To learn more about the difference between AWS and Azure, check out one of these blog posts: “Azure vs. AWS: The Best Bang for Your Buck” or “Azure vs. AWS.”)
Google vs. Azure: Pricing Benefits
Cloud pricing models are notoriously complex and vary with the types of instances, computing resources, and storage services. Potential customers should refer to their on-demand and scalable pricing calculators for an accurate cost picture of Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.
Click here for Azure’s price calculator and Google’s price calculator. There are, however, some different cost benefits offered by the two cloud platforms.
Some cost advantages that are unique to Google Cloud are:
- Use Preemptible Virtual Machines (VMs) Instances for jobs that don’t require high availability. Take advantage of discounts of up to 80%
- Try other services and get a $300 credit if you’re on the free tier
- Long-term commitments are eligible for discounts of up to 57%
- Get a sustained-use discount of up to 30% if you use the same instance for most of any given month
Azure service pricing benefits include:
- A 40% Azure Hybrid Benefit discount for hybrid cloud environments if you run Microsoft software in on-premises data centers
- Testing and development discounts for Visual Studio users
- Discounts on other services for those with a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA)
- Discounts for a one-to-three-year commitment
Google Cloud vs. Azure: Object Storage and Block Storage
Storage directly impacts your operations, so it's important to understand a cloud provider’s disk types. Two primary cloud storage options are object storage and block storage.
Azure offers block storage options in page blobs stored on Azure VHDs and run on Azure virtual machines (VMs), which support various configurations for different workloads. Google Cloud Platform provides persistent disks with SSD and HDD storage options optimized for different computing needs. You can attach either of these to instances that run on Google Kubernetes Engine or Compute Engine.
Aside from their approaches to data storage, Azure’s VHDs and Google’s Compute Engine persistent disks are similar: each can attach local disks if necessary and has network-attached disk volumes.
As part of their cloud solutions, object storage is also similar between Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Google Cloud offers Cloud Storage, while Azure provides Azure Blob Storage.
Both Microsoft and Google support information that includes the date of last modification, media type, and object size, and both allow users to edit and add custom metadata fields for data analytics and processing. A couple of differences between these object storage implements include:
- Azure provides REST API, PowerShell, and CLI access for enhanced DevOps practices
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Google uses Object Lifecycle Management supporting a cloud-native approach
Of course, these are just two of the many ways the cloud service providers Azure and Google stack up against each other. Contact us today at Trusted Tech Team for more information or clarification on specific details via phone, live chat, or email.
Trusted Tech Team is an accredited Microsoft CSP Direct Bill Partner, carrying multiple Solutions Partner certifications and the now-legacy Microsoft Gold Partner competency. Based in Irvine, California, we report trends affecting IT pros everywhere.
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