Cloud computing has been hot for several years now. The big boys of tech have all hinged their bets on the cloud being the future of the enterprise. Today, almost everything has a connection to the cloud in one way or the other. Tech giants and startups are finding new ways of organizing, processing, and presenting data in the cloud. Consequently, cloud computing is bound to become more integral in our day-to-day lives.
To help enterprises evaluate cloud providers, Gartner came up with the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud for 2019. It evaluates providers based on the completeness of their visions and their ability to execute. Today, we’ll go over the top six IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) providers highlighted in the report.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS has been in the market for 13 years. It was the pioneer of the IaaS market and ranked highest in the Gartner report. AWS is the largest cloud provider and appeals to customers running legacy apps and those looking to deploy cloud-native apps. Deploying apps on AWS is best done in conjunction with a certified system integrator.
Pros
Trusted by millions of customers
Mature and enterprise-ready
Cons
Often launches feature-poor services
There are cases where AWS launches products that compete with its customers.
Conclusion
AWS will most likely continue expanding in multiple directions. One of the key areas to watch out for is the database market. The company is capturing more database workloads and is moving to launch a fully managed document database. If AWS can dominate the enterprise data space, it is bound to be the market leader for years to come.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure is second on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud. The only area where AWS betters it is on its ability to execute. Most Microsoft Azure customers are those who choose to extend their infrastructures by building off their existing Microsoft technology.
Its biggest appeal is its seamless integration with Microsoft’s application development tools and Platform as a Service (PaaS) capabilities around IoT, machine learning, and data storage.
Pros
Great for enterprises that use Microsoft products
A perfect platform for .NET applications
Cons
Reliability issues
Issues with technical support
Conclusion
Microsoft has won the hearts of large retailers who don’t want to partner with AWS since Amazon is its competitor. To consolidate its market, Microsoft can combine Azure with Dynamics 365 and Office 365. The company generally has a well-rounded stack that can support the needs of any enterprise.
Google Cloud
Google is a distant third in the cloud business. However, it’s an excellent choice for enterprises looking to build cloud-native applications. It has also started to sign up enterprises that want to host more traditional workloads, such as SAP.
Pros
Very innovative with an open-source approach
Great for startups and has started appealing to more established enterprises
The perfect platform for data-centric apps
Cons
Not yet a stable platform for established enterprises
The provider needs to work on its channels
Conclusion
Google Cloud has had its fair share of pains amid outages for its G-suit apps and other infrastructure services. However, it’s a solid counterweight to Microsoft Azure and AWS. It’s strengthening its partnership with SAP and could see it sign up more traditional enterprises with this move.
Alibaba Cloud
The Chinese e-commerce giant appears in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud under Niche Players. It’s worth noting that only the international portion of the company’s offering featured in the report. Alibaba Cloud is the market leader in China, where it services businesses and the Chinese government.
Alibaba Cloud has options for building hybrid clouds in China. Other countries mostly use it for cloud-first workloads.
Pros
Has a wide-ranging set of integrated PaaS and IaaS features
A great option for deploying services in China
Cons
Not as feature-rich as the competition
Third-party integration is still in its infancy
It’s a loss-making venture, and the company may not expand into international markets just yet.
Conclusion
Alibaba is strong in China, but it still has global ambitions. Its relationship with SAP and Salesforce is likely to give it a chance in the global market. It’s the perfect choice for enterprises doing business in China.
Oracle
Launched in 2016, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) appeared in the report as a Niche Player. It offers both bare metal and virtualized servers. It comes with a one-click installation on container services and Oracle databases. OCI is a great option for enterprises already running Oracle workloads that only need basic IaaS capabilities.
Pros
An excellent option for enterprises that want to run Oracle software on the cloud
Well-built infrastructure
Cons
Not seen as a general-purpose cloud provider
Not a developer-friendly company
Conclusion
Oracle’s real differentiator in the market is its database. It already has a huge installed base to hinge its bets on.
IBM
IBM Cloud also makes an appearance in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud report. The company’s cloud offering includes container platforms, PaaS, and serverless. This is in addition to the IBM Cloud Private for hybrid architectures. IBM’s core customers are those that already purchase their tech from the company. They tend to have traditional workloads.
Pros
Has a large customer base
Gives customers tooling and capabilities to choose a cloud environment that suits them
Cons
The service hasn’t scaled and may not become as competitive as the competition.
Many features are only available in specific locations.
Few partnerships with software vendors
Conclusion
Big Blue plans to give customers the ability to manage multiple systems, services, and providers. It wants to become a management console. Not only does it want to be your cloud environment, but it also wants to help you run it.