Technology’s choices | LinkedIn
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure are both examples of cloud computing platforms that provide a broad variety of services to its customers. These services include computation, storage, and networking. Deciding between the two might be challenging because each option has both advantages and disadvantages. When comparing Azure with AWS, here are some key considerations to keep in mind:
Pricing: A pay-as-you-go pricing plan is offered by both Azure and AWS; however, the actual charges may differ based on the services you make use of as well as the area in which you are located. Windows-based workloads are more likely to be completed at a lower cost on Azure, whereas Linux-based workloads are more likely to be completed at a lower cost on AWS. Because both Azure and AWS provide a number of price reductions and cost optimization tactics, it is vital to thoroughly assess your alternatives in order to identify the most cost-effective solution. It is crucial to note that both Azure and AWS offer these discounts and strategies. Both Azure and AWS provide a comprehensive selection of services; nevertheless, there are important distinctions between the two that should be taken into consideration. For instance, Azure places a significant emphasis on Microsoft-specific technologies such as .NET and Windows, whereas AWS offers a wider choice of services that are compatible with a number of other operating systems and programming languages. Integration: If your company currently utilises a significant number of Microsoft products, then Azure may be a better option for you because it connects nicely with other Microsoft tools and services. On the other hand, if you are utilising a number of various platforms and technologies, then Amazon Web Services (AWS) can be a better alternative for you because it enables a greater variety of configurations and customizations. Ecosystem Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) both have sizable and active communities of software developers, and both provide a comprehensive set of tools and resources for developing, deploying, and maintaining applications. However, AWS’s ecosystem is broader and more well-established, and it provides access to a greater number of third-party tools and services.
In the end, whether you go with Azure or AWS will come down to the requirements and specifications that are unique to your business. Having Windows, Office, Office 365 (SharePoint, Teams, and so on), and Azure DevOps that are all integrated with one another and working well (though not perfectly) gives me the opportunity to concentrate on my company rather than on making all the disparate tools cooperate with one another, which is a significant advantage. In the end, it provides the most effective vertical integration, and that is where I will derive the greatest return on investment for each dollar that I spend.
The data centres that make up Microsoft Azure’s worldwide network are organised geographically into regions. Each region has its own distinct geographic location, and it may contain anywhere from one to several data centres. Azure regions are intended to be located in close proximity to the consumers of the service in order to provide minimal latency. In addition, these regions enable a number of choices for compliance, data residency, and disaster recovery. Microsoft Azure has more than one hundred regions spread over the globe as of January 2023. These regions can be found in places such as the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. The following are some of the most important regions: Located on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Also known as the East Coast. Location on the western coast of the United States is referred to as the “West.” Dublin, Ireland is the location that represents North Europe. Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, is in Western Europe. Singapore is the location of this region in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong is considered to be in East Asia. The region known as Australia East may be found in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Each area of Azure is meant to operate independently of the others. This ensures that problems or catastrophes that occur in one zone will not spread to other regions. This enables you to develop applications that have high availability and resilience, as well as the ability to recover fast from disturbances. You can select the Azure region in which you wish to host your resources depending on a wide range of criteria, including as the location of your users, the residency requirements for your data, and the compliance requirements you must meet. As of January 2023, Amazon Web Services (AWS) operates more than 70 data centres throughout the globe. These data centres are located in a variety of countries and continents, including the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. The following are some of the most important regions: Located on the East Coast of the United States, the US East region includes the state of North Virginia. Oregon, which is part of the US West region, is situated on the western coast of the United States. EU (Ireland): The headquarters of the EU are in Dublin, Ireland. The Asia Pacific headquarters are in Tokyo, which is in Japan. Singapore is the location of the Asia Pacific division of the company. South America (São Paulo): Located in São Paulo, Brazil.
The fact that there is not a significant difference in the offerings between regions means that this is not a deciding factor. In most circumstances, the answer will rely on how you personally consider the procedures of your internal network and security. As well as the global footprint of your organisation.
Microsoft Office 365 is an online suite of productivity tools that is available via subscription and contains a variety of programmes and services. The suite was developed by Microsoft. It is intended to assist individuals and organisations in working more successfully together and collaborating more efficiently with one another. The following is a list of some of the most important features offered by Office 365: Exchange Online is a cloud-based email and calendar service that can be accessed from anywhere and on any device. This service is included in Office 365 and provides email and calendar functionality. It supports a variety of functions, such as online meetings, task management, and shared calendars, among other things. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint: The most recent versions of the widely used productivity apps developed by Microsoft are included in the Office 365 package. These applications include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You may either download and instal these programmes on your desktop or use them online using a web browser. OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service that is included with Office 365. It enables users to store files, share those files with others, and view those files from any location. OneDrive interacts with the Office programmes, making it easy to save and work on files on the cloud. Teams: Office 365 comes with Microsoft Teams, a platform for team collaboration that enables teams to communicate with one another, exchange files, and collaborate on projects together. Teams is compatible with other applications and services offered by Office 365, like as OneDrive and Exchange Online, and it also supports integration with applications and services offered by third-party companies.
Additional tools and services Office 365 provides a variety of additional products and services, including as SharePoint, Planner, and Stream, that may assist teams in managing projects, sharing information, and communicating more efficiently. Office 365 is an all-encompassing collection of tools that may assist both individuals and companies increase their productivity and improve their ability to work together.
Azure DevOps is a collection of software development tools, services, and capabilities that enables teams to plan more effectively, build, distribute, and manage software. Version control, job tracking, continuous integration and delivery are some of the features included, along with many others. The following is a list of some of the primary functionalities offered by Azure DevOps: Control of versions: Azure DevOps has support for Git as a control mechanism for versions, which enables teams to monitor changes made to their code and roll back when necessary. Integration with other version control systems, such as Subversion, is supported as well by this tool. Work tracking: Azure DevOps offers a collection of tools for work tracking, including as Kanban boards, backlogs, and dashboards. These tools are included with the service. Teams can prioritise and keep track of work items, problems, and other tasks with the assistance of these technologies. Continuous integration and delivery are capabilities offered by Azure DevOps, which come with a collection of tools designed to automate the process of building, testing, and deploying software. This includes support for continuous delivery, which automates the process of releasing software updates, as well as continuous integration, which builds and tests modified code without human intervention. Testing: Azure DevOps offers a wide variety of testing tools, including support for both manually performed tests and automatically run tests, as well as load testing. In addition to that, it is compatible with testing tools such as Selenium and Appium. Collaboration: Azure DevOps supports a wide variety of tools for collaborating, such as support for team chat, support for code reviews, and support for agile planning. Integration with a variety of third-party applications and services, such as Slack and Trello, is included as well in this offering. Azure DevOps is an all-encompassing collection of technologies that may assist teams in improving their software development process and delivering higher-quality results more quickly.
Because I have decided to go with Azure, I will also have access to Office 365 and Azure DevOps. This will allow my company to be more collaborative, run more efficiently, and create superior software. By coming to this conclusion, I will be able to free up resources for my organisation so that it may handle matters of a higher priority.
16 March 2023
Zug, Switzerland
