Choosing a Cloud Service Provider: Pros and Cons of Some Popular Options
There are many options available to organizations that want to take advantage of cloud computing to enhance their IT capabilities. Your company may want to expand their storage capacity without expending any capital resources. They might be looking at cloud providers to add advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) to current projects or research initiatives. Perhaps your company is struggling with how to turn the information that can be garnered from the Internet of Things (IoT) into increased profits or to gain a competitive edge.
Whatever the reasons your business has for looking to the cloud for answers, many entities promise the ability to provide your company with the resources and solutions they need. In some cases, certain cloud providers may be able to address your concerns better than others due to the specific portfolios of services they offer. Other requirements may be able to be met by numerous companies and your decision might be based on financial considerations rather than technical expertise.
Selecting the cloud provider with which you will trust your business and computing environment is not to be taken lightly. It is a major decision that can seriously impact your enterprise in both positive and negative ways. Choosing the wrong provider can result in lost revenue, missed opportunities, and additional technical complications to your IT infrastructure. Finding the right cloud solution and provider will lead to gains in productivity, increased customer satisfaction, and the ability to use your company’s data more effectively.
We will present a brief overview of the offerings available from several popular and reputable cloud providers. We will look at the highlights of their portfolio offerings as well as point out any pros or cons that may influence you when selecting the right provider for your business. Three of the cloud service providers are among the largest in the world and offer a wide range of products and services. We also look at two smaller providers who specialize in specific solutions for the IoT.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure is currently the leading cloud provider in the market, surpassing its nearest competitor Amazon Web Services. The company’s two main offerings are Office 365 and Azure. Office 365 is a software as a service (SaaS) product that allows users to take advantage of the suite of Microsoft Office tools from any web browser without installing the software on their own machine. Microsoft’s cloud platform provides the storage behind Office 365.
Azure encompasses many different services and solutions that are built on Microsoft’s cloud platform. Some of the offerings are examples of the platform as a service (PaaS) computing model which provides a computing environment for developing and deploying applications. Other offerings follow the infrastructure as a service (IaaS) model which supplies infrastructure to an organization that can be used as they wish.
The diverse selection of solutions offered by Azure is one of the benefits of collaborating with them for your cloud initiatives. Azure lets you use the cloud for everything from expanding your storage capabilities to hosting an IoT implementation. Here are some of the other benefits and potential issues you can expect when using Azure.
Pros:
- Azure offers high availability with SLAs that promise 99.95% uptime.
- The platform includes a strong emphasis on data protection and is a leader in IaaS security.
- The Microsoft cloud service makes it a simple matter to scale your computing resources up or down to deal with fluctuating requirements.
- A pay-as-you-go model makes it easier for businesses to manage their budgets and purchase exactly what they need.
Cons:
- Platform expertise is required to effectively manage your cloud instances.
- Microsoft prefers that you use them as your exclusive cloud provider. This can be problematic if other services can better address specific business needs.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon Web Services is another cloud provider giant which offers products and services that address a wide range of business and industrial usage scenarios. They provide platforms that can be used to implement IoT systems to model industrial processes through the AWS IoT Core offering. Amazon Simple Storage Services (S3) and AWS Backup enable companies to enhance their storage capabilities and create secure backups without expanding their on-premises infrastructure.
Pros:
- Extensive training and educational materials are offered to help users take full advantage of AWS.
- Cutting-edge technology is employed to develop Amazon’s AI, blockchain, and machine-learning capabilities.
- AWS furnishes fully-scalable systems that enable customers to finetune their computing requirements.
- Reliability is ensured by the company’s geographically dispersed data protection mechanisms.
Cons:
- AWS concentrates on providing IaaS solutions and does not offer as wide of a variety of SaaS and PaaS products as other large providers.
- Some transactions such as those required in addition to purchasing storage in S3 may not be cost-effective.
Google IoT
Google also offers a variety of cloud-based products and services. For this article, we are concentrating on their IoT offering known as Google Cloud IoT. All of Google’s IoT solutions are built on the foundation of their Cloud IoT Core which enables the collection and management of data collected from IoT devices. The data can then be processed and utilized by other Google cloud services such as their machine learning engine and Google Maps.
Pros:
- Google’s IoT can be implemented using robust cloud components to easily extend the system’s capabilities.
- A free trial is offered during which you can test and assess the platform ability to design the system you need.
- Google brings high-quality deep learning and data analytics to your IoT projects.
Cons:
- A smaller global data center footprint than their larger rivals may cause reliability concerns.
- Google’s portfolio of services is less extensive than that of Azure or AWS.
MindSphere
MindSphere is a portfolio of IoT solutions developed and provided by international industrial giant Siemens. It is an open IoT operating system powered by Siemens’ PaaS experience combined with public cloud services from Amazon, Microsoft, and Alibaba. Pre-packaged and customizable IoT solutions are offered to address specific business scenarios and assist in digitalization and business transformation.
Pros:
- Dedicated IoT solutions are offered that have been tested and optimized to resolve issues faced by business and industry.
- The deep industrial experience possessed by Siemens can assist businesses to achieve their goals.
- MindSphere provides extensive device and edge to cloud connectivity.
- Industrial processes can easily be modeled with digital twins to take advantage of the platform’s advanced analytic capabilities.
Cons:
- As a dedicated IoT platform, MindSphere is not a suitable platform for every cloud customer.
- Reliance on other providers may lead to confusion if problems arise with your implementation.
Proficloud
Proficloud is another dedicated IoT platform that is a relative newcomer to the market, being introduced by Phoenix Contact in 2016. Proficloud employs a unique platform which enables users to use existing services or develop their own. It addresses all aspects of implementing cloud-based automation including the hardware components required for a given solution.
Pros:
- Proficloud employs a universal self-service model through which users can register and immediately access the platform’s menu of applications.
- Software development kits are offered that allow organizations to create flexible and secure IoT services.
- Digital networking capabilities enable customers to predict failures and plan targeted maintenance.
Cons:
- Tailored specifically for industrial automation and IoT applications, Proficloud does not offer the full range of services to compete with major cloud providers.
- Proficloud is a recent entrant to the IoT cloud solution field which may impact decision-makers who want a more experienced provider.
There is likely to be more than one cloud provider that your business can engage to supply the services it needs. In the case of general cloud services such as adding scalable storage capacity or computing power to your environment, AWS and Azure should be strongly considered. They offer the widest selection of solutions to address a wide range of a company’s IT requirements.
If you are searching for the best way to host an IoT implementation, you should also take a close look at the solutions offered by more specialized providers. An IoT system can be realized using the frameworks and applications of Azure and AWS. However, you may find that the providers who focus on the IoT can better address your specific needs and streamline the implementation of your system. Take the time to choose your provider carefully to maximize the benefits to your organization.
