IBM Cloud vs Microsoft Azure: A Full Comparison of the Best Cloud Migration Tools


Using the cloud recently has become a must, as it helps developers to save and monitor the large amount of data collected in a single secured place. The cloud has so many other utilities, but that’s not the subject of my article today.

In this article, I will tell you about two pretty powerful tools, that have been in use for many years, and have shown impressive results, and it’s IBM Cloud and Microsoft Azure

What is IBM Public Cloud and how does it differ from Microsoft Azure?

As the goal of this article is quite clear, I will focus on the different features and benefits of IBM Public Cloud and Microsoft Azure, but first, we have to know what these tools are.

IBM Public Cloud and Microsoft Azure are two tools used as cloud computing platforms, which means that they are the ones allowing developers to use the different services of the cloud with their applications, like deployments and migration. 

IBM Public Cloud is known for being powerful but with minimal assistance, which is the opposite of Microsoft Azure, which offers so many helpful step-by-step guides made by professionals.

What are the benefits of using IBM Public Cloud over Microsoft Azure?

Based on what the majority of the users have proclaimed, they found IBM Public Cloud is better than Microsoft Azure for the following reasons:

  • Ease of use

    Many users have expressed their gratitude towards IBM Public Cloud for making their installation steps simple. But with Microsoft Azure, many have found it complex.

  • Affordability

    IBM Public Cloud is much more affordable than Microsoft Azure, even though they offer quite similar options, so they are quite upset about the price difference.

Just these two aspects have made so many users lean towards IBM Public Cloud to get the most of the features they need with minimal cost, and how simple the whole process is.

What are the main features offered by IBM Public Cloud vs Microsoft Azure?

Being the leading tools n their field, IBM Public Cloud and Microsoft offer many features that satisfy their users and sometimes impress. And to make it simple for you, I will divide the parts by tool.

So, for IBM Public Cloud:

  1. 1

    It’s known for introducing and focusing on hybrid cloud and multi-cloud solutions. This enabled them to offer some interesting services for integrating on-premises and cloud infrastructure.

  2. 2

    It has included a large set of services for AI and machine learning algorithms. This is a great advantage that IBM has over Microsoft, as we see now the emergence of so many AI technologies.

  3. 3

    IBM has also included very important security features, like encryption and data protection. This will help developers keep their applications and data safe.

  4. 4

    One of the new things that IBM has included is the IBM Blockchain Platform, which is very important as that also has known a big emergence in the IT world.

And now time for Microsoft Azure:

  1. 1

    Microsoft Azure on the other hand focuses more on developer tools and services, which include all the features and tools for application development, DevOps, and some cloud-native application UI design.

  2. 2

    They also have the advantage of allowing the inclusion of Windows and Office on their platform, which helps a lot with management and organization.

  3. 3

    They provided some interesting offerings in the data analytics field, which of course includes Big Data and IoT (Internet of Things) services.

  4. 4

    And obviously, if we say data analytics, offering strong visualization tools is necessary, as they include some virtual machines and containers.

IBM Public Cloud vs Microsoft Azure ease of deployment: Which one is more convenient?

As deployment is a big part of the cloud services, IBM Public Cloud and Microsoft Azure have put an extensive range of tools to help developers deploy their applications easily in the cloud.

So for example, for IBM Public Cloud:

  • Their interface is web-based, so they have added some interesting APIs and command-line tools. This will greatly help developers to manage, monitor and of course, deploy their infrastructures.

  • Also, to make the work easier, they have put together pre-built images and templates, which will help developers gain time on these repetitive steps.

  • And with adding the data analytics tools, they also added some managed services to make the deployment and management of that services easier.

But, for Microsoft Azure:

  • They are quite similar to the first feature, as their platform is also web-based and offers APIs and command-line tools.

  • They have also added some templates for the same reasons as IBM, but their focus is on providing databases and virtual machines, which will greatly help the users.

  • They have the advantage of offering a large set of tools and services for automation, which is pretty much DevOps tools. This is quite necessary as now companies rely more on these tools to manage the process of their application, and of course their streamline deployment.

How do IBM Public Cloud and Microsoft Azure compare in terms of services & support?

When we face problems and challenges, sometimes the only way out of it is to ask the client support team, and knowing that you are heard and important gives the tool a big plus.

So for this section, I will compare the services and support given by IBM Public Cloud and Microsoft Azure, based on what their clients left as feedback after using the services and getting returns.

1. First, when it comes to services, the majority said that:

  • Starting with IBM Public Cloud, they are known for including a large set of services like storage, network, security, and more. There are of course the ones we talked about before like AI and machine learning services.

  • And for Microsoft Azure, They do offer quite the same services, except instead of AI and ML services, there are services for data and analytics, such as Azure Machine Learning and Azure Stream Analytics.

2. And now for the support:

Surprisingly, the users didn’t find any particular difference between the support given by IBM Public Cloud and Microsoft Azure, as both provide online documentation and forums, and of course, some additional support options for businesses that are paid for.

These paid features, also known as premium support for IBM Public Cloud, provide access to technical experts, real-time response times, and other great benefits that make these two stand out from their pairs.

IBM Public Cloud vs Microsoft Azure: Which platform offers cheaper services?

As it’s quite famous, Microsoft product is always known for being quite expensive compared to their pairs, which is also what many says about Microsoft Azure compared to IBM Public Cloud, which is quite affordable and reasonable.

A specific price doesn’t exist for these platforms, as I said it all depends on how you use it. But rest assured, the two companies know that it’s quite a struggle, so they made a calculator tool to give an estimation of the price you will have to pay:

 As you might have already seen by now, there are not that many differences between the two platforms, but the pricing is different, so try to do a deep research on your needs and budget, so you can have a clear idea of which one is the most beneficial for you.

Comparison Results: Which one is the winner?

If we follow these results, we can’t from the start say who is the winner as both the platforms are powerful, and provide so many interesting features with reasonable pricing to be considered one of the best.

By asking more people about different aspects not cited in this article, like ROI which stands for Return on investment, there are so many that expressed their liking to Microsoft Azure because their users reported some important ROI, in comparison to IBM Public Cloud, which we can’t find any record of.

So, if this aspect is added, we can say that Microsoft Azure might win this round against IBM Public Cloud.

Conclusion

I would like to end this article by reminding you that both these platforms are considered OG leaders in their field, and it’s quite difficult to be put on their level.

But if we compare them, we can see how impressive their services are, and how they make developer’s lives easier.

So, your judgment should be made based on your needs and budget, because that’s the only thing that can define the best tool for you.

About the author

Youssef

Youssef is a Senior Cloud Consultant & Founder of ITCertificate.org

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