Beyond the Clouds: Why GCP is a Better Choice than AWS
Cloud computing has become a ubiquitous technology for businesses of all sizes. With its ability to provide scalable, cost-effective solutions for infrastructure, storage, and computing needs, it’s no surprise that the market for cloud services has grown rapidly in recent years. Two of the biggest players in this market are Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
One of the ways that GCP is becoming a promising competitor in the cloud computing market is through its impressive revenue growth. According to a report by Canalys, GCP’s revenue grew by 58% in Q2 2021, reaching $4.6 billion. This represents a significant increase from the same period in 2020, where GCP’s revenue was $2.9 billion. This growth can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, GCP has been investing heavily in expanding its infrastructure and services, which has helped to attract new customers and retain existing ones. For example, GCP recently announced that it plans to invest $7 billion in data centers and office space in 2021, which will help to support its growth in the coming years.
While both AWS and GCP offer a range of services and features, there are some areas where GCP has an advantage over AWS. In this blog, we will explore 10 areas where GCP is better than AWS.
1. Pricing
GCP offers more competitive pricing than AWS, especially for compute resources. This can be seen in the pricing for virtual machines, where GCP is consistently cheaper than AWS. For example, an n1-standard-1 VM with 1 vCPU and 3.75 GB of RAM costs $0.0475/hour on GCP, compared to $0.0496/hour on AWS.
2. Networking
GCP’s global network provides better performance and reliability than AWS. GCP has a larger network presence with 135 network edge locations in 200+ countries, which helps to reduce latency and improve reliability. AWS, on the other hand, has only 216 Points of Presence (PoPs) in 84 cities, which is significantly smaller than GCP’s network.
3.Load balancing
GCP’s load balancing is more advanced than AWS, with features such as HTTP/2 support and automatic scaling. GCP’s load balancers are also integrated with Google Cloud CDN, which can help to improve performance and reduce latency for static content. AWS’s load balancing solution, Elastic Load Balancing (ELB), lacks some of the advanced features of GCP’s load balancing.
4. Storage
GCP’s storage options are more flexible than AWS, with features such as regional and multi-regional storage. GCP offers a variety of storage options, including Cloud Storage, Cloud Filestore, and Cloud Storage for Firebase, which can be used for a range of use cases. AWS, on the other hand, has fewer options for storage, with Amazon S3 being the most popular.
5. Big Data
GCP’s Big Data tools, such as BigQuery and Dataflow, are more powerful and user-friendly than AWS equivalents. BigQuery is a serverless, highly scalable data warehousing solution that can be used to analyze large datasets quickly. Dataflow is a fully managed service for building and executing data processing pipelines. While AWS has similar tools, such as Amazon Redshift and Amazon EMR, they are generally considered to be less user-friendly than GCP’s tools.
6.Machine Learning
GCP’s machine learning offerings, such as Cloud ML Engine and AutoML, are more advanced than AWS equivalents. Cloud ML Engine is a managed service that allows users to train and deploy machine learning models at scale, while AutoML is a suite of tools that allows users to build custom machine learning models without requiring extensive knowledge of machine learning algorithms. While AWS has similar tools, such as Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Rekognition, GCP’s offerings are generally considered to be more advanced.
7. Kubernetes
GCP is the original creator of Kubernetes, and its Kubernetes Engine is more integrated and user-friendly than AWS’s EKS. Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration system that allows users to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. While both GCP and AWS offer Kubernetes services, GCP’s Kubernetes Engine is generally considered to be more user-friendly and better integrated with other GCP services.
8. Developer Tools
GCP’s developer tools, such as Cloud Build and Cloud Functions, are more modern and user-friendly than AWS equivalents. Cloud Build allows developers to build, test, and deploy their applications quickly and easily, while Cloud Functions provides a serverless environment for running small pieces of code in response to events. GCP’s developer tools are known for their simplicity, ease of use, and seamless integration with other GCP services, making them an attractive option for developers.
9. Security
GCP has a more advanced and user-friendly security model than AWS, with features such as Security Command Center. This allows users to easily monitor and manage their security posture across their GCP environment. GCP also offers advanced security features such as encryption, identity and access management, and data loss prevention. Additionally, GCP provides built-in compliance and regulatory certifications, making it easier for organizations to meet their compliance requirements.
10. Hybrid Cloud
GCP has a more integrated hybrid cloud offering than AWS, with features such as Anthos. Anthos is a hybrid cloud platform that allows users to run their applications seamlessly across multiple environments, including on-premises, public clouds, and other hybrid environments. With Anthos, organizations can manage their applications consistently across all environments, making it easier to migrate to the cloud, improve security, and reduce operational costs.
