Google Cloud vs AWS – Which is Better?
Cloud computing is a 21st-century marvel that holds importance in almost every industry you can think of. From individual cloud services to organizations migrating their entire infrastructure, cloud computing is continuously revolutionizing business and their operations.
There are multiple reasons to make the move into the cloud. It not only improves business scalability, security and flexibility but also reduces costs, saves time, and provides a strategic edge. Forbes magazine estimated up to 83% of companies to use cloud-based software, by the end of 2020, to make their work easier and faster.1 Simply put, shifting to the cloud is the best way to ensure your business stays both current and competitive.
But transitioning to the cloud isn’t as easy as it seems. The more challenging task is to choose the right cloud ecosystem as there are a handful of choices. If your company is planning on using cloud service, the three names that top the list are – Google Cloud Platform, Amazon web services, and Microsoft Azure. Though each has dominated in their respective industry, Gartner has named Google and AWS as leaders in its Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) Magic quadrant, in September 2020.2
2020 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, Worldwide (Image source: Gartner)3
To help you find out the best of these two that best suit your needs, iLink has compared and identified the strengths and weaknesses of both cloud platforms.
Google Cloud Vs. AWS: Revenue Growth
According to Google cloud’s parent company, Alphabet’s Q4 and Fiscal year 2019, the company has continuously delivered strong growth, with overall revenue up 18% YoY.4 Though the revenue contributed by Google Cloud lacks transparency, the company reports impressive growth of over 100%, putting the company on an annual run rate of $10 billion as of year-end.
While Amazon reported 29% of revenue growth in the quarter as compared to the last year. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue for Q3 2020 was $11.6, and for Q3 2019 was $8.9. Across the business, Amazon’s quarterly sales increased to $96.1 billion, up 37%.5
The 2020 period of coronavirus pandemic has favored both Google Cloud and Amazon. In Q1, Google Cloud has made significant gains with its video conferring tool ‘Google Meet’ becoming a hit for remote workers and educational institutes. With the end of 2020, Google cloud revenue is projected to grow to an annual run rate of over $13 billion – a predicted 30% growth from 2019.
On the other hand, Amazon has made a net income of $6.3 billion in a single quarter driven by online shopping. AWS has made up 12.1% of Amazon’s revenue for the quarter and 57% of its operating income.
Google Cloud Vs. AWS: Billing and Pricing
Companies are continuously looking for cost-cutting opportunities, and cloud computing is one area where significant savings can be made. Creating a meaningful comparison between Google Cloud and AWS based on pricing alone can be difficult as there are 100s of different products available from Google Cloud and AWS.
Though both AWS and Google Cloud have their unique billing and pricing methodology, a few variables that influence pricing are – Virtual machines, Storage disks, Subscription model, Support, Payment model, Location. To simplify, here are the comprehensive pricing calculators provided by both providers, having specifications and associated costs of every product and service.
Both cloud providers offer a long term pricing model with upfront commitment options of 1 or 3 years. AWS and Google cloud even offer an on-demand pay-as-you-go pricing model. Such a pricing model is best suited to individuals having infrequent cloud usage, as it allows flexibility of adding and removing services as per your need. Hence it makes the pay-as-you-go model the most expensive one, per hour.
The price war between these two prominent names is an ongoing process. With new services launched regularly, there are frequent price cuts by Google Cloud and AWS. A price comparison today could be outdated tomorrow, hence staying updated is crucial.
Continued Reading – Blog: Benefits of Working with an AWS Partner
Google Cloud Vs. AWS: Features & Services
Choosing a cloud platform just based on cost makes no sense. The platform should be flexible, reliable, and should provide a level of performance that meets the needs of the business.
Google offers around 95 different products and services that are essential for large enterprises with special requirements for their cloud environments services, while AWS offers more than 200. Although Google cloud offers a range of core services which meets the need of most businesses it lacks many of the additional services that are important for large enterprises with specific requirements.
When it comes to flexibility, Google cloud has an edge as it offers far greater opportunities for customization of compute instances, and AWS offers limited opportunities for customization. However, both platforms provide predefined instances to meet the needs of most companies. If the computing needs fails to match, companies can create custom VMS with Google Cloud to avoid paying for capacity that’s not required.
Comparing these two clouds requires a certain level of knowledge and understanding. To simplify the task, both the Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services platform thankfully group their products under the same category headings.
Google Cloud Vs. AWS: Free Trials
Both AWS and Google Cloud offer the option of a free tier across a wide range of their products to encourage businesses to try different services. Both providers also offer ‘always free’ cloud services for organizations that don’t mind their operations being interrupted and have a very-low usage requirement.
AWS has divided its free access to a range of 85 cloud products and services between a period of – 30 days, 12 months, and always free as per the consumption limits. On the other hand, Google Cloud keeps it a little more restrictive by offering the always free tiers on 24 products and services also as per the consumption limits.
Besides, Google Cloud offers its new customers a free credit of $300 to use on any of the google cloud products and services in its portfolio. Though $300 is not a substantial amount for large enterprises, it does give potential customers more flexibility in the services they wish to try.
Which is better? – Google Cloud or AWS
Even though both are market leaders, there’s no clear winner. Both platforms offer an extensive range of cloud products and services at the cutting edge of technological advancement, and each has its pros and cons. Whosoever you choose, you’ll get a premium service at a competitive price.
AWS is a better choice for large enterprises having specific requirements for multinational companies, having a presence in many countries. iLink Digital, an Amazon Partner Company, uses AWS to provide cloud services. Our services include AWS cloud consulting, migration, deployment, database, Big Data, security, and managed AWS server services. iLink has helped companies navigate their entire cloud migration journey, delivering meaningful ROI.
Read our quick case study: Chemical Company Reduces Cost and Boosts Productivity with AWS Data Lake
If you are having a hard time picking just one cloud provider, you can always adopt a multi-cloud strategy. This allows you to take advantage of the benefits of AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure and create a cloud environment that matches your exact needs.
Ready to take the next step in your cloud journey? Our expert team has the experience to help.
4. https://abc.xyz/investor/static/pdf/2019Q4_alphabet_earnings_release.pdf
