Top 3 considerations when choosing a cloud provider

If you are planning a cloud migration, here are the top three aspects to evaluate:

1. Ecosystem and fit for your workload

While the major cloud providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform) provide more-or-less the same core set of infrastructure services, they also have their distinct advantages.

When choosing a new home for your product, consider which provider specialises in the technology aspects that are most important for your business. Here are a few examples:

Amazon Web Services has the largest ecosystem - by far. If you need to integrate your product with partner systems, you’ll find that off-the-shelf connectivity solutions (like HSCN, the Health and Social Care Network by NHS Digital) are most common for AWS.

If your product is built with the .NET stack, Microsoft Azure tends to be a natural target for any cloud deployments. They provide a great set of native integrations with their development tooling, which can help your team produce value faster.

Google Cloud Platform, on the other hand, tends to be great for Big Data and AI capabilities - it’s in their DNA.

2. Availability of talent in your market

Just when you thought you had found a great technology fit for your new cloud provider … consider who is going to build and maintain it? How much risk are you exposed to if your top infrastructure guy or gal decides to walk?

I’ve come to find that less is definitely not more in this aspect - the providers with the largest ecosystem tend to come with the largest talent pool, which is not an insignificant consideration when competent DevOps engineers are in very short supply.

3. Other benefits, like money…!

Even though the major cloud providers are pushing each others’ prices down by hard competition, there are still differences between them. It’s worth creating a cost model to compare your short-listed cloud providers to spot any major differences in your specific use case.

Another benefit of competition is cash incentives - for example, AWS offers prospective customers various funding options for migrating or building new products on the platform. These can be used to help offset the cost of DevOps and cloud engineering in your cloud migration or build project - something that Releaseworks as an AWS Partner can help you unlock.