cloud-providers: AWS vs MS Azure

AWS vs. MS Azure: Is there the one business cloud provider?

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The cloud has long since ceased to be a trend – rather, it forms the basis for highly scalable business growth. With the crisis year 2020, companies have learned to appreciate the advantages of the location-independent availability of cloud applications. The positive experience with the new territory of remote work has reduced the fear of contact with the cloud. According to a Gartner study from Q2 2021, global revenue from public cloud services has increased by 23%. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) remains the largest segment; however, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) are also seeing strong growth.

So it’s a good time to take a closer look at the two top dogs in the business cloud business. Because we can already reveal, not all clouds are the same; each provider has its own technologies and use cases, which is why not every cloud provider and every cloud model is equally suitable for every business model.

Highly scalable for best performance

The cloud: Highly scalable models for best business performance

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) was developed in 2006, among other things, as a solution for virtualization and is therefore still particularly strong today in the provision of (cloud) infrastructure. With around three dozen web services, AWS offers a broad portfolio for the needs of both small and large companies. However, the focus of the online giant Amazon is on the provision of a fast and powerful infrastructure. Therefore, especially online commerce or streaming services rely on the AWS cloud.

The focus of the AWS Cloud is on Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. Amazon wants to enable customers to make a simple, fast and future-proof transition to the cloud: Therefore, in addition to infrastructure solutions (compute resources, storage solutions, databases), the cloud provider also offers solutions for current and future trends such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Internet of Things (IoT).

The advantages of the AWS offer at a glance

Pay only for what you consume thanks to pay-per-use cloud servers.

AWS provides customers with virtual servers in the cloud. These are suitable for both Linux and Microsoft Windows distributions. Amazon even offers its own storage service for pure data storage: Amazon Simple Storage Service (AWS S3). The pricing model of the AWS cloud solution is based on the amount of usage – e.g. time usage used working storage or used compute units – so you only pay for what you actually use. However, it is important to calculate the resources used precisely so that you don’t get a nasty surprise at the end.

Global server network reduces access times; regional server choice supports GDPR compliance

Amazon delivers the content of the various AWS cloud services via CloudFront, the content delivery network (CDN) belonging to the cloud. Currently, servers are distributed across 18 geographic regions in 54 Availability Zones. The data is distributed globally across servers, which significantly reduces access time. To comply with DSGVO regulations, companies can choose where their data is stored. The access times reduced in this way make AWS particularly interesting for web hosting.

Developer tools for agile software development

AWS offers strong approaches for software development: Developers can develop, analyze, debug and test products in the cloud; with access from anywhere in the world. The pay-per-use principle also allows costs for virtual servers and access times to be well calculated.

AWS Marketplace for the IT world of tomorrow

In addition to providing servers and storage capacities, AWS also offers a selection of software from independent providers. These address the modern IT trends of IoT, AI and Big Data in particular. This offers companies a good entry into the IT world of tomorrow.

Who is the AWS Cloud offering aimed at?

Despite the high level of functionality, AWS is hardly worthwhile for companies that want to use the cloud almost exclusively in an office environment. The situation is different if the cloud is used for application development. Or a web store is to be connected. Especially for development environments, the pay-per-use system of AWS is also quite attractive, since budgets can be planned very precisely with it.

The Cloud as a Growth Accelerator for Your Business

The cloud as a growth accelerator for your business

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft followed suit with a cloud offering only four years after Amazon: Like AWS, Windows Azure, now Microsoft Azure, is based on Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. In addition, Microsoft also offers a hybrid cloud approach with the Azure cloud. A plus point here is certainly the development-side link with the SaaS tool Microsoft 365, which ensures stable use of the office and collaboration suite in the Azure cloud. A comprehensive service offering of around 200 individual products and cloud services make the Azure cloud interesting for many use cases.

The advantages of the Microsoft offering at a glance

Support for hybrid environments

In addition to pure public cloud use, Microsoft Azure was also developed for use in hybrid environments; this makes Azure cloud use interesting even for those companies that would rather not rely on cloud solutions due to the sensitivity of certain data. These include the financial sector as well as the healthcare sector, or public utilities such as municipal utilities. A hybrid landscape also opens up the advantages of flexible working with less sensitive data in the cloud for these institutions. At the same time, the separation of business-critical areas with high data protection and security requirements into the private cloud or onto their own servers ensures that the compliance requirements of the respective industries are met.

Savings in licensing through the inclusion of existing licenses

Hybrid thinking makes the Azure cloud extremely competitive. Microsoft offers customers the option of including existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses when investing in the cloud. This means that not every license has to be purchased from scratch: This results in significant savings when implementing the Azure cloud compared to re-implementing the AWS cloud. This often makes Azure the first choice for hosting Office applications as well as databases in the cloud. Azure also unfolds a high savings potential for the use of virtual machines due to the licensing model.

Regional server network for high availability and DSGVO compliance

Microsoft Azure is available worldwide in over 60 regions and more than 140 countries. The regional network setup avoids a single point of failure. This is achieved by networking at least three physically separate data centres in each region. In addition to the high availability of the servers and thus data, Microsoft also responds to the requirements of the DSGVO through regional storage.

Developer tools

Similar to AWS, Azure also offers options for application development. For example, in addition to “App Service” for the development of cloud apps for mobile and web devices, there is also “PlayFab,” a LiveOps back-end complete platform for the development and execution of live games.

Azure Marketplace for future technologies

Azure also offers future-ready solutions on its own Azure Quantum platform. Especially in the areas of quantum computing as well as in the optimization of existing solutions. This enables companies to benefit from future trends today.

Who is the Azure offering aimed at?

Especially in an office environment, Azure is mostly the better choice. This is because Azure was explicitly developed for Windows environments in combination with the MS 365 office suite and therefore supports them optimally. With the option of continuing to use already licensed products, the financial entry hurdle for the cloud introduction is also lowered.

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Choosing the Right Cloud

You have the future of your business in your hands

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AWS or Azure? The right cloud provider for your needs

It exists – but we cannot give a final answer here for which of the two you should choose. Because which cloud provider is right for you and your business depends heavily on your individual requirements. We usually recommend the Microsoft Azure cloud to our customers for office environments, as this optimally implements the requirements. Depending on compliance and data protection requirements for specific business areas, we couple this with a private cloud or on-premise areas. However, for application development as well as web-hosting, Amazon Web Services is often better suited. With the pay-per-use principle and an exact cost calculation, there is a high savings potential here for temporary development projects. But here, too, it is often advisable to install a hybrid cloud infrastructure that includes several providers and connects them through interfaces.

Due to the complexity of the design, architecture and implementation of cloud projects, careful planning of the project is the be-all and end-all for success. This is why we accompany our customers from the creation of their requirements catalogue, through consulting and the creation of the cloud architecture, to implementation and ultimately support and maintenance of the finished cloud infrastructure. This holistic approach to planning and implementation is the central element in successfully transferring your business to the cloud.

Request your personal consultation here.

Cloud or on Premises

On-premises, in the cloud or hybrid?

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The first question that companies ask us when it comes to a new and restructuring of their IT landscape is which deployment model is best suited for them. Classically in their own data center on-premises, outsourced in the cloud, or rather as a hybrid model? Well – it depends: What requirements you need to meet, how much capital you want to invest, and how flexible you want to remain in scaling your licensing and business models.

We present to you the different deployment models with their advantages and disadvantages.

On-Premises

If a company relies on an installation in its own IT environment for the licensing and usage model for server-based software or computer programs, this is referred to as on-premises usage. This means that the responsibility for operating and maintaining the software lies solely with the licensee. This has the advantage that the licensee has maximum control over all data and access. On-premises is the classic deployment model, but it is becoming less important in times of cloud computing and increasing flexibility of markets and business models. Nevertheless, it can have its advantages, especially for companies that have to meet high data protection requirements.

Advantages

  • Maximum control over your data and access
  • Compliance with European data protection requirements
  • One-time costs for licensing software products
  • Independence from external service providers and licensing vendors
  • Access to applications guaranteed even without Internet
  • Deep integration into your own infrastructure

Disadvantages

  • High expenses for hardware, maintenance, and security
  • High time and technical effort for updates and backups tie up resources
  • Ongoing costs for software updates, support, and, if necessary, re-licensing
  • Lack of support after update cycles expire
  • Not flexibly scalable

Private Cloud

A private cloud can – but does not have to – be hosted in a company’s own data center. However, it differs from on-premises use in that the software is not permanently installed on the company’s own computers, but is obtained through cloud services in a rental model. Here, however, only your company must have access to the resources (servers, hardware, etc.) of the rented or self-hosted private cloud. Therefore, the private cloud combines the high security of an on-premises solution with the high scalability of a cloud solution.

Advantages

  • Individually adaptable to your company
  • Infrastructure capacities can be flexibly adapted
  • High security
  • Cloud features for high scalability

Disadvantages

  • With own hosting, administration effort comparable to on-premise use of systems
  • With third-party hosting usually more expensive than the public cloud

Public Cloud

With the public cloud, IT services are provided via the Internet. Companies can rent resources from this public cloud and run their applications on them. The cloud operator is responsible for management and maintenance. This has the advantage that companies can scale according to demand and thus operate their IT cost-efficiently. At the same time, they benefit from the security expertise of the cloud providers and do not have to worry about the security of their own systems independently.

Advantages

  • Subscription service can be adapted as needed so that licenses can be scaled at any time
  • Reduction of own hardware expenses
  • Freeing up internal resources, as maintenance, support, and security of hardware components rests with the cloud provider

Disadvantages

  • No free choice of provider, as not all enable DSGVO-compliant hosting.
  • Connection via the public Internet opens up security risks in principle
  • Accessibility or performance of cloud services can be limited by sharing the same physical machine with others

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid cloud combines the advantages of on-premise or private cloud use and public cloud: companies decide here to run certain applications on their own computers, but outsource others to the public cloud to save costs. In this way, they have full control over sensitive data located in their own data center, while at the same time enjoying the highest scalability of public cloud use.

Advantages

  • Flexibly scalable, adaptable according to demand
  • Saves resources in maintenance and security
  • Often less expensive than a pure public cloud
  • Security for sensitive data and critical applications through the use of on-premise or private cloud structures.

Disadvantages

  • Additional effort
  • Security can only be guaranteed through clear rules

Which form of deployment you ultimately choose depends entirely on your individual needs. Our experts will be happy to advise you. Contact us here.

Modern Workplace

Modern Workplace as a holistic digitization strategy

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The demand for modern workspaces and concepts is rising with increasing digitization. Not only in large companies but also in smaller and medium-sized businesses, employees are increasingly demanding modern and flexible working conditions. This involves much more than just a laptop for decentralized working, but also the question of how companies should structure their processes, working hours, and work locations. And how they can adapt their IT infrastructure to these new circumstances. Because one thing is clear: the crisis has shown that decentralized working works and your employees will continue to demand it in the future.

So what challenges are you facing as a company? And what aspects should you consider when setting up a Modern Workplace?

Mobile Working & Cloudification

Decentralized, mobile working requires a lot of groundwork from the leadership team. It is not enough to allow employees to work from home and hope for the best. Rather, you need a holistic strategy for infrastructure and data provision here. What devices will be used in the future? How can the availability of data and applications be ensured? And in particular: How can you ensure that your employees always have access to the same, up-to-date data?

Especially enterprise-wide systems such as ERP or CRM must be accessible from anywhere—and also always provide an up-to-date and identical set of data. Because only complete information can lead to informed decisions that move your business forward.

The need for a cloud platform–regardless of whether private or public cloud–has already been recognized by large, global companies in particular. At the very least, hybrid environments can be found there, often still with isolated on-premises solutions. However, there are still a few things you need to consider for a final move to the cloud. Because not all clouds are the same. The large, mostly American providers have very different concepts so that a diverse cloud landscape can again bring compatibility problems. A switch between individual providers can thus quickly become a complex new project.

Among the large public cloud providers, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud are the leaders. However, it is worth comparing the services here, because not every cloud is suitable for every use case. Also, you should consider which service model best fits your business plan: IaaS, SaaS, DaaS, FaaS, PaaS, or StaaS. Therefore, it may make sense to look not only at the big three but also at smaller cloud providers, especially in the European region.

Communication & Collaboration

Unified data that can be accessed from anywhere is a critical component to your business growth. However, this alone is of no use if your employees are not connected. Long-term business concepts and strategies require collaborative creativity–and this can only come from communication. That’s why you need to make sure your employees are connected across departments–no matter where they’re working from. And that’s just as quick, easy, and effective as the short exchange on-site in the office. You need virtual spaces that open up not only productive exchange but also the creative space that a chat at the coffee machine, for example, creates.

All this can only succeed if you plan an effective communication strategy with the right tools. You need to ask yourself which functions your communication and collaboration software must fulfill to enable smooth work processes. And in the long term, it strengthens employee satisfaction and employer branding. After all, decentralized teams—especially when departments operate in silos—may tend to lose their sense of belonging. This not only impacts your individual employee’s productivity but also your reputation as an employer and business partner.

For more thoughts on implementing or expanding a Communication & Collaboration Suite, check out our blog post on the Microsoft 365 Suite.

Security of a Modern Workplace

Remote work brings new challenges to your IT landscape, particularly in the area of security. Now that employees are accessing your systems from outside–from often unprotected private or public networks—you need to secure them more. Compliance, GDPR compliance, and data security against phishing and malware attacks are important pillars on which your business stands. Securing your IT systems is particularly about identity protection for your employees. After all, the human factor is the greatest risk to your network. They can be easily manipulated, tricked, or simply taken by surprise. That’s why sensible identity and access management and strong multifactor authentication are no longer optional—they’re mandatory.

As you can see, Modern Workplace is more than just remote work–meaning working for home or on business trips. It’s a comprehensive strategic concept that takes into account both your employees and your IT landscape. For a strong and successful future, you need a comprehensive and holistic digitization strategy to remain competitive as a business partner and employer.