How can you compare public cloud services pricing from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform? Perhaps Rightscale can help. The company, which specializes in universal cloud management, has released a comprehensive look at compute cloud prices across Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
No doubt, there are hundreds of potential pricing scenarios for customers and channel partners to consider. It pays to look at the entire Rightscale report. But the company also boils down its findings in four bullets. They stated:
- If you are not using AWS Reserved Instances and don’t have a Microsoft EA discount for Azure, Google Cloud is going to be cheaper in most scenarios.
- If you commonly need the performance requirements of local SSD (vs attached storage like Persistent Disk), you’re going to pay a premium for it on Google Cloud.
- Azure consistently matches or beats AWS on price for on-demand.
- AWS is likely not going to be the cheapest in most of these scenarios but it is often in the middle.
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud Pricing Comparison: Gutsy Move
Rightscale made a gutsy move releasing the findings this week. Thousands of customers and partners are in Las Vegas attending Amazon's AWS re:Invent conference.
Amazon slashed some cloud prices last week ahead of the conference. And each of the three major public cloud IaaS providers seems committed to ongoing price cuts.
While AWS and Azure are considered the market share leaders, Google apparently is using price to win customer and partner attention. The search giant also has invested heavily in artificial intelligence and big data cloud systems -- though Microsoft and Amazon are making their own moves in those markets as well.
The Bigger Issue: Cloud Cost Management
In addition to comparing prices, partners and customers would be wise to investigate cloud cost management and billing management systems.
Indeed, many customers are discovering runaway cloud costs -- especially after investigating cloud consumption and spending trends within company departments like HR, finance, marketing and sales.
To get a handle on costs and billing management, MSP-centric offerings like ConnectWise CloudConsole and Autotask CSP Boss have growing footprints. Also, watch for Cloudyn’s MSP and referral programs to make a splash at this week's AWS conference. Tools like CloudMGR, CloudCheckr, CloudAbility, Kaseya Command 365, SpiceWorks and Unigma also have turned some heads in the channel.
The key takeaway: Even after you investigate public cloud costs from Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, partners and customers need to stay on top of the recurring costs every month...
