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- Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services
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Amazon Web Services can run various services and support a range of operating systems. Its universal appeal is further strengthened by its intuitive setup process, management, and monitoring features Amazon Web Services (AWS) takes the Choice for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) for its sheer dominance in a number of areas. AWS (whose cost can be determined by contacting the company) will be the best option for most applications and businesses. It is the largest IaaS offering and one with the most comprehensive set of tools as well as a burgeoning list of third-party integrations. Competing platforms may handle some tasks better, but AWS continues to maintain market leadership. A mature product and service offering, AWS ensure most things work well and setup and management are intuitive and familiar. It also has an impressive level of service which smaller players will find hard to match.
AWS has not rested on its laurels, it's improved in almost every area and its basic service levels rival the best the competition has to offer, including Google Cloud Platform and IBM Cloud.
The vast array of services in AWS, which includes an even more vast collection of partners, lets you build exactly the cloud service you need. With its wide variety of other AWS cloud services—everything from cloud databases to e-commerce storefronts—you can build an end-to-end workload complete with management tools and custom-coded apps.
AWS is also a prime example of exactly how key IaaS is becoming, in not only enterprise networks but in small to midsize business (SMB) installations as well. The AWS Cloud operates 54 Availability Zones within 18 geographic Regions, and one Local Region. The company has plans to add 12 more Availability Zones and four more Regions around the world. Keep in mind that an Availability Zone is a cluster of up to six data centers, with more being brought online constantly. In short, if you want to commit to a cloud service that's going to be here not just next year but for the next decade, then AWS is your choice.
AWS has not rested on its laurels, it's improved in almost every area and its basic service levels rival the best the competition has to offer, including Google Cloud Platform and IBM Cloud.
The vast array of services in AWS, which includes an even more vast collection of partners, lets you build exactly the cloud service you need. With its wide variety of other AWS cloud services—everything from cloud databases to e-commerce storefronts—you can build an end-to-end workload complete with management tools and custom-coded apps.
AWS is also a prime example of exactly how key IaaS is becoming, in not only enterprise networks but in small to midsize business (SMB) installations as well. The AWS Cloud operates 54 Availability Zones within 18 geographic Regions, and one Local Region. The company has plans to add 12 more Availability Zones and four more Regions around the world. Keep in mind that an Availability Zone is a cluster of up to six data centers, with more being brought online constantly. In short, if you want to commit to a cloud service that's going to be here not just next year but for the next decade, then AWS is your choice.
User reviews
2 reviews
Overall rating
2.8
Price
2.5(2)
Features
3.0(2)
Uptime
3.0(2)
Customer Support
2.5(2)
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As of 2023, I think AWS is still the best option
Overall rating
4.5
Price
4.0
Features
5.0
Uptime
5.0
Customer Support
4.0
Full disclosure, I am an AWS cloud architect and consultant.
In essence, if I were to recommend just one cloud platform, it would unquestionably be AWS.
With 15 years of experience in software engineering, including 12 years dedicated to the realm of cloud computing, my journey through cloud platforms began with Windows Azure in 2011. I relied on it for five years to construct an e-commerce platform from the ground up. However, after this period, I became increasingly frustrated, particularly with Microsoft's product culture. It lacked openness, followed non-standard practices, imposed sudden and excessive price changes, exhibited poor performance, boasted terrible customer service, and was inundated with unhelpful sales representatives.
Driven by this frustration, I transitioned to Google Cloud, which boasted a gentler learning curve and elegant abstractions. It proved faster and more cost-effective. Nevertheless, my stint with Google Cloud lasted only a year, as I encountered various limitations, particularly in the areas of networking and security.
Around 2017, I made the full transition to AWS, and I haven't looked back since for those reasons:
- Logical Networking: AWS offers networking that aligns seamlessly with standard engineering practices. What you see is what you get.
- Minimal Abstraction: AWS maintains less abstraction compared to Microsoft or Google. Microsoft and Google tend to introduce new layers of abstraction to "simplify" usage for lambda users. However, this approach can be limiting. As scenarios grow in complexity, access to the underlying concepts becomes essential. Without this capability, users often find themselves trying to fit square pegs into round holes with Microsoft and Google.
- Open-Source Friendliness: AWS is notably open-source friendly, allowing for flexibility and collaboration.
- Versatility: There are no use cases that AWS cannot address. While Microsoft may claim to offer similar capabilities, it often falls short.
Rating AWS has become increasingly challenging in recent times due to intensified competition with its primary rivals, Microsoft and Google, particularly in the wake of the AI disruption. Microsoft, in particular, has gained significant momentum through its partnership with OpenAI. While OpenAI is currently the foremost AI company in the world as of September 2023, this doesn't guarantee that Microsoft will capitalize on this opportunity to deliver exceptional products.
Out of all the reviews I've posted on TrustPilot, this one may appear the most biased, as I've had a deeply unsatisfactory experience with Microsoft in general. Presently, I earn my livelihood by crafting solutions on AWS. My final argument against Microsoft (I don't hold the same reservations about Google Cloud, as I believe they offer excellent services, some even superior to AWS) centers around the DNA of companies:
- Microsoft's DNA: Primarily driven by sales. Their emphasis on sales often takes precedence over product quality. This has been ingrained in their culture, despite Satya Nadella's commendable efforts to embrace open-source, promote cloud and AI. Ultimately, Microsoft products tend to feel as if they were built by salespeople rather than engineers dedicated to solving legitimate problems.
- Google's DNA: Designed primarily to serve Google's own needs. Google Cloud's initial client is Google itself. When I use Google Cloud, I often find that a service addresses a specific Google issue, but seldom does it offer a solution to broader enterprise problems. Admittedly, enterprise problems may lack the excitement of other challenges, but they still need resolution.
- AWS: Forged by engineers, catering to engineers. AWS stands as the original cloud company, established to tackle enterprise automation at scale. While their products and services may not be as straightforward to use as those of their counterparts, I firmly believe that AWS is the sole platform capable of elegantly resolving intricate engineering and networking challenges.
In closing:
- Microsoft: Promises effortless and cost-effective cloud solutions, but in reality, they often become overly complex and prohibitively expensive.
- Google: Offers a cloud solution that appears relatively straightforward and budget-friendly, but in reality, it proves to be more challenging and costly than initially advertised.
- AWS: Presents cloud solutions for professionals at a reasonable cost, though in practice, costs may exceed initial expectations. While each of these providers may occasionally stretch the truth, AWS, in my estimation, does so the least.
In essence, if I were to recommend just one cloud platform, it would unquestionably be AWS.
With 15 years of experience in software engineering, including 12 years dedicated to the realm of cloud computing, my journey through cloud platforms began with Windows Azure in 2011. I relied on it for five years to construct an e-commerce platform from the ground up. However, after this period, I became increasingly frustrated, particularly with Microsoft's product culture. It lacked openness, followed non-standard practices, imposed sudden and excessive price changes, exhibited poor performance, boasted terrible customer service, and was inundated with unhelpful sales representatives.
Driven by this frustration, I transitioned to Google Cloud, which boasted a gentler learning curve and elegant abstractions. It proved faster and more cost-effective. Nevertheless, my stint with Google Cloud lasted only a year, as I encountered various limitations, particularly in the areas of networking and security.
Around 2017, I made the full transition to AWS, and I haven't looked back since for those reasons:
- Logical Networking: AWS offers networking that aligns seamlessly with standard engineering practices. What you see is what you get.
- Minimal Abstraction: AWS maintains less abstraction compared to Microsoft or Google. Microsoft and Google tend to introduce new layers of abstraction to "simplify" usage for lambda users. However, this approach can be limiting. As scenarios grow in complexity, access to the underlying concepts becomes essential. Without this capability, users often find themselves trying to fit square pegs into round holes with Microsoft and Google.
- Open-Source Friendliness: AWS is notably open-source friendly, allowing for flexibility and collaboration.
- Versatility: There are no use cases that AWS cannot address. While Microsoft may claim to offer similar capabilities, it often falls short.
Rating AWS has become increasingly challenging in recent times due to intensified competition with its primary rivals, Microsoft and Google, particularly in the wake of the AI disruption. Microsoft, in particular, has gained significant momentum through its partnership with OpenAI. While OpenAI is currently the foremost AI company in the world as of September 2023, this doesn't guarantee that Microsoft will capitalize on this opportunity to deliver exceptional products.
Out of all the reviews I've posted on TrustPilot, this one may appear the most biased, as I've had a deeply unsatisfactory experience with Microsoft in general. Presently, I earn my livelihood by crafting solutions on AWS. My final argument against Microsoft (I don't hold the same reservations about Google Cloud, as I believe they offer excellent services, some even superior to AWS) centers around the DNA of companies:
- Microsoft's DNA: Primarily driven by sales. Their emphasis on sales often takes precedence over product quality. This has been ingrained in their culture, despite Satya Nadella's commendable efforts to embrace open-source, promote cloud and AI. Ultimately, Microsoft products tend to feel as if they were built by salespeople rather than engineers dedicated to solving legitimate problems.
- Google's DNA: Designed primarily to serve Google's own needs. Google Cloud's initial client is Google itself. When I use Google Cloud, I often find that a service addresses a specific Google issue, but seldom does it offer a solution to broader enterprise problems. Admittedly, enterprise problems may lack the excitement of other challenges, but they still need resolution.
- AWS: Forged by engineers, catering to engineers. AWS stands as the original cloud company, established to tackle enterprise automation at scale. While their products and services may not be as straightforward to use as those of their counterparts, I firmly believe that AWS is the sole platform capable of elegantly resolving intricate engineering and networking challenges.
In closing:
- Microsoft: Promises effortless and cost-effective cloud solutions, but in reality, they often become overly complex and prohibitively expensive.
- Google: Offers a cloud solution that appears relatively straightforward and budget-friendly, but in reality, it proves to be more challenging and costly than initially advertised.
- AWS: Presents cloud solutions for professionals at a reasonable cost, though in practice, costs may exceed initial expectations. While each of these providers may occasionally stretch the truth, AWS, in my estimation, does so the least.
ND
Nicolas Dao
Misleading AWS "Free Tier" – $74 Charge for Almost No Use
Overall rating
1.0
Price
1.0
Features
1.0
Uptime
1.0
Customer Support
1.0
I signed up for AWS's Free Tier to trial hosting a simple single-page website (HTML + CSS + JS). I spent a couple of days experimenting, then gave up.
I also briefly created a SQL database instance that I never used. No data, no queries, no interaction.
Weeks later, I received a $74 bill — the majority of it for background CPU credit usage I was never warned about.
There were no upfront, clear pricing details or real-time alerts. The usage was minimal and inactive.
This experience feels predatory and deceptive, especially for individuals trialling the platform.
AWS should not be advertising a Free Tier when inactive or trivial services silently accrue unexpected charges.
I've contacted support for a full reversal. No one trialling a product should walk away with a $74 punishment.
I also briefly created a SQL database instance that I never used. No data, no queries, no interaction.
Weeks later, I received a $74 bill — the majority of it for background CPU credit usage I was never warned about.
There were no upfront, clear pricing details or real-time alerts. The usage was minimal and inactive.
This experience feels predatory and deceptive, especially for individuals trialling the platform.
AWS should not be advertising a Free Tier when inactive or trivial services silently accrue unexpected charges.
I've contacted support for a full reversal. No one trialling a product should walk away with a $74 punishment.
PC
Pete Celliers