Embracing Cloud Providers for Business Success
Business is changing rapidly as we move from brick and mortar
establishments to doing business primarily in a digital world. Digital cloud
service providers are the wave of the future. These services are growing by
leaps and bounds and are every changing to meet the needs of the
consumer. The top three providers in this cloud world are Amazon Web
Service (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Each has many
options to offer businesses so they can create the cloud best suited to their
company.
Amazon Web Service
AWS was an early leader in public cloud computing and currently number 1
in the field. Since 2008 it has been a major player in Artificial Intelligence
(AI), databases, machine learning, and server-less deployments. It has
been launching new services at breakneck pace working to be more
efficient and pass savings on to the customer. It has launched a second
generation processor, Graviton2, which if successful, will differentiate AWS
in the cloud wars. AWS has hybrid cloud partnerships with developers and
large enterprises that influence its success.
There are many options for the business entrepreneur. Some of the
services include analytics, app integration, customer engagement,
database storage and networking, robotics, and security. It is a leader in
IaaS, or Infrastructure as a Service. You pay for the services that you
choose which lets you avoid having to buy and manage a pre-determined
menu of services.
Watch AWS in 2020 for the following game changers.
• Increasing AI and machine learning services
- Learning stack capabilities with SageMaker and use cases all the way to
the call center
• Developing 5G in partnership with Verizon, cloud, and edge computing
use cases
• Monitoring how customers use Graviton2
• The use of AWS server less instances and how it’s best utilized
• Navigation of multi-cloud deployments
• Expansion into software as a service
• The proliferation of AWS’ databases, access points, and data lake play
with RedShift
Microsoft Azure
A strong second in the digital cloud world is Microsoft Azure. It is a
competitive hybrid player and enterprise favorite. Although in the top two
cloud providers with AWS, Microsoft Azure is very different. There is no
publicly available sales data on Azure. Their focus is more on Software as
a Service (SaaS) rather than IaaS. Microsoft Azure has a computing edge
and with the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed people to work effectively
from home with Microsoft Teams. It uses a variety of computing services
and is a good option for businesses for transitioning from an on-premise
servers to cloud servers, especially for those who use existing Windows
deployment.
Pricing is dependent on a blend of multiple monetization models and
bundles. There may be hidden costs if the bundles are not negotiated
properly. One issue Microsoft Azure has had are the Office 365 outages
they have experience ad the customers who have maxed out their virtual
machines.
Watch Microsoft Azure for these pluses.
- Hybrid deployment of services with server vendors to create integrated
stacks
• Deep partnerships with server vendors
• Multiple services for existing Microsoft users
• Multi-layered security with cyber security experts monitoring your assets
and data
Google Cloud
A strong number 3 in the cloud world is Google Cloud. Even though it is
expected to grow and gain share, it is predicted to remain in third position.
Google Cloud is working to build out sales industry approaches, while
breaking into digital transformation budgets, and expanding into retail and
financial services. Google Cloud has found success in retail with Google
Ads, in shopping, medicine, the educational arena, and entertainment.
During COVID-19, Google Cloud found success with Google Meet which
was used by remote workers.
Google Cloud has had some performance hiccups along the way.
Significant router failures in one of the data centers led to network
congestion. A service disruption affected its infrastructure components
leading to some elevated error rates.
Watch Google Cloud in 2020 for the following changes.
• Partnership building with key enterprise players
• The combination of G Suite and Google Cloud sales efforts forging more
ties with hybrid cloud players to leverage AI know-how
• Growth in AI, machine learning, and analytics
In the end, the Microsoft Azure battle with top leader AWS will boil down to
a sales war and thousands of foot soldiers pitching enterprises. You may
become a Microsoft cloud customer via Teams, Office 365, Dynamics,
Azure, or some combination of them all. If you are not an existing Microsoft
user you may lean towards AWS. The reality is that you'll have both top
cloud service providers in your company, along with some options from
Google Cloud, and none will own the whole stack. Multi-cloud efforts will
begin with having Microsoft and AWS in your company.
