Explore These Top Google Cloud Alternatives for Your Business Needs

April 26, 2023

Youssef
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The digital landscape is changing course while you’re reading this. Businesses and individuals are always on the lookout for the next big thing in technology. 

Google Cloud Platform is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the tech market. Despite the great solutions, products, and services, Cloud alternatives like AWS, Azure, IBM, and Oracle Cloud manage to provide great services too. 

Hence, we’re going to discuss some of these alternatives in detail and also share the core features of every model so you can make a lucrative decision for your business (or yourself). 

Amazon Web Service (AWS)

Amazon Web Services is a well-known alternative. AWS is a service offered by Amazon. It integrates on-demand cloud computing platforms and many other features that attract businesses for their cloud computing requirements. 

All these features make AWS one of the most popular alternatives to the Google Cloud Platform. It also boasts a threshold of around 32-34% in the cloud market, which is a whopping amount. Let’s start by discussing some core features of the platform.

1. What are the various benefits of using AWS?

AWS has some of the most lucrative benefits for every business. Let’s have a look at them. 

  • Scalability 

    Scalability is one of the most highly-sought features for most business owners and individuals as well. Scalability means you can acquire the services as per your requirements, so you’ll only have to pay for services or products that you actually use. 

  • Physical security 

    You wouldn’t want your private data to leak out there in any case. Amazon is a great platform that ensures complete data security through its well-secure data centers that eliminate unauthorized server access. 

  • Cost-effectiveness 

    Azure allows businesses to save money on hardware, upgrades, and maintenance. When using Azure, businesses won’t have to invest huge amounts in expensive hardware and infrastructure. 

2. Services offered by AWS

  1. 1

    Amazon EC2

    EC2 provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud that allows you to run applications with no investment in hardware at the start.

  2. 2

    Amazon S3

    This service is object storage and allows you to store and retrieve data.

  3. 3

    Amazon RDS

    This is a relational database service so you can easily set it up and even scale the database in the cloud.  

  4. 4

    Amazon SQS

    This service queues messages and allows you to decouple and scale other microservices and serverless applications.

3. Drawbacks of using AWS

  • Data access costs

    You can face additional costs for accessing data stored outside AWS. You’ll have to provide charges for data transfer that can raise your bill greatly. 

  • Technical complexity

    You need to have a good grip on technicalities to handle the products and services in AWS. It can be challenging to choose the right solution for your requirements, which can result in learning additional things and investing time.  

  • Technical expertise

    Some AWS services cannot be run by amateurs. You’ll need to work with experts to fully utilize these services like a complex database or machine learning model.  

Microsoft Azure

Launched in 2010, Microsoft Azure focused on deploying, managing applications, and building cloud computing services through data centers managed by Microsoft. 

It comes with over 200 services and products that aim at providing revolutionized cloud computing solutions. It also leverages its hybrid cloud capabilities that combine with IT infrastructure that allows you to optimize and improve your scalability.

1. What are the various benefits of using Azure?

  • Analytics

    The cloud analytics platform helps the admin to oversee the organization’s outcomes. It helps to monitor administrative changes, email logs, sign-ins, etc.

  • Azure advisor

    This feature is very prudent when it comes to utilizing resources efficiently. It helps you evaluate the environment for performance and cost optimization.

  • Disaster and backup recovery

    The platform helps you in making secure data backup copies of your folders and files. The Azure Recovery Service Vault helps keep backed-up data. It can also be recovered through the backup maintained by Azure in case you lose data.

2. Services offered by Azure

  1. 1

    Azure functions

    This computer service runs serverless where you wouldn’t have to pay for the time and resources to run your code.

  2. 2

    Azure App Service

    This platform is fully managed and you can choose different frameworks, deployment options, and languages with other Azure services.  

  3. 3

    Azure Cosmos DB

    A globally distributed database service that lets you low-latency and high-throughput data access.

  4. 4

    Azure AI

    This service contains many AI services that you build, train, and deploy machine learning models and applications.

3. Drawbacks of using Azure

  • Complex pricing model

    Azure services come with a challenging price model to understand. Even though it offers a range of pricing options like reserved instances and volume discounts, it makes it very hard to keep up with the costs. 

  • Training and support investment

    Azure platform requires significant investment in training and support. Your team needs to be well-versed in various services and features the platform offers to make the most benefit. 

  • Difficult Configuration and Setup 

    Setting up Azure and configuring it according to your requirements can be daunting, especially for non-tech individuals. You’ll have to invest a lot of time and resources to avoid making mistakes.

DigitalOcean

With massive popularity around the globe, DigitalOcean serves as one of the most sought-after cloud platforms for businesses and individuals.

It boasts a low-price quote compared to the other Google Cloud Alternatives. To put things into more perspective, DigitalOcean costs 28% less than AWS and 26% cheaper than Azure.

The platform has a relatively simple framework to understand, making it easier for non-technical individuals to get a firm grip on the platform.

1. What are the various benefits of using DigitalOcean?

  • Secure networking

    DigitalOcean has secure protocols that help streamline your cloud’s online traffic. It also filters your traffic and balances the load to your applications.

  • Compute

    There are different scalable compute products you can utilize on the platform to build and release applications. DigitalOcean also comes with flexible server configuration for all applications.

  • Easy to learn

    The catch for DigitalOcean is it’s a simple and easy-to-learn platform that developers can use to manage applications on the cloud.

2. Services offered by DigitalOcean

  1. 1

    Kubernetes

    This container orchestration platform lets you deploy Kubernetes clusters and use the platform’s API to manage your resources.

  2. 2

    Droplets

    These are virtual machines that allow you to run different applications on different services. You can manage Droplets through the DigitalOcean control panel or API.    

  3. 3

    Databases

    A fully managed database service that allows you to scale easily. You can use different database engines including MySQL and PostgreSQL. 

3. Drawbacks of using DigitalOcean

  • Limited Enterprise Features 

    While it may be suitable for small-scale businesses, the platform doesn’t integrate well with large-scale businesses or enterprises that require more robust features.

  • Limited customer support 

    Customer support isn’t great too, which can pose challenges for users who require abrupt assistance. You might have to wait longer times to get your issue resolved. 

IBM Cloud

IBM is a huge name in the tech industry and gives competition to Google Cloud. It comes with robust cloud computing features and sports a full-stack cloud platform that boasts more than 170 products and services that cover AI, IoT, Blockchain, etc.

1. What are the various benefits of using IBM Cloud?

  • Collaboration

    If you have teams scattered all over the world, you can use the IBM cloud services to collaborate easily. It helps your teams manage tasks efficiently and communicate with each other without any problems.

  • Storage

    Another great advantage of IBM cloud is its stellar advanced analytics capabilities that enable you to gain insights and make data-driven decisions.

  • Flexible and scalable

    If your organization or business requires scale and customizations, you can easily use the platform to customize the available cloud applications.

2. Services offered by IBM Cloud

  1. 1

    IBM Watson

    This service uses different AI and machine learning tools to help with natural language processes, speech recognition, image recognition, and more.

  2. 2

    Cloud Object Storage

    If you have unstructured data, this service helps to store and retrieve it safely.

  3. 3

    Kubernetes

    This is an open-source container orchestration platform that helps with scaling your systems and managing containerized applications.

  4. 4

    IBM Cloud Foundry

    This service is based on a PaaS platform responsible for deploying and scaling web applications.

3. Drawbacks of using IBM Cloud

  • Steep learning curve

    IBM Cloud, like many of its competitors, isn't that easy to use. It requires a high level of technical knowledge to use the model efficiently.

  • Complex Pricing Model

    The pricing model can also be difficult to understand and sometimes may incur additional hidden costs through add-on services that make it difficult to accurately give the price.

Conclusion

There are plenty of alternatives to Google Cloud that you can use for your requirements. For instance, you can use Microsoft Azure to handle complex tasks as it offers hybrid cloud capabilities and strong facilities.

On the other hand, if you require a lowkey platform, you can opt for DigitalOcean. It’s a great platform for small business owners who also have budget constraints and would want an effective cloud platform.

Choosing the right platform can make or break your cloud requirements, which is why it’s pivotal to conduct your own research as well and evaluate the different options based on your specific requirements. 

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About the author

Youssef

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

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