Enterprises Like Microsoft Azure, SMBs Prefer Google's Cloud

A new survey on the top cloud providers shows enterprises prefer Microsoft Azure, while SMBs gravitate toward Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

The Clutch survey included 85 Amazon Web Services (AWS) users, 86 GCP users and 76 Azure users. Nearly 40 percent of Azure users identified as enterprises, while one-quarter (25 percent) said they were SMBs and 22 percent called themselves startups/sole proprietorships.

For enterprises, AWS follows closely behind Azure at 36 percent. Conversely, 41 percent of GCP users identified as SMBs.

The trends among enterprises and SMBs reflect the strengths of each platform, according to Clutch.

“It goes back to the trust and familiarity issues,” said Nicholas Martin, principal applications development consultant at Cardinal Solutions, an IT services provider. “Windows Server and other Microsoft technologies are prevalent in the enterprise world. Azure provides the consistency required by developers and IT staff to tightly integrate with the tools that Microsoft-leaning organizations are familiar with.”

Dave Hickman, vice president of global delivery at Menlo Technologies, an IT services company, said “small businesses tend to lean more on pricing than security or toolsets.” As a result, GCP’s lower pricing can be more preferable for an SMB.

The largest percentage of users (21 percent) named “better selection of tools/features” as their top reason for selecting a provider, while “familiarity with brand” and “stronger security” nearly tied for second place.{ad}

“Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) will reside mainly on AWS, cloud services will be on Microsoft’s side, while Google will dominate analytics,” said Brian Dearman, solutions architect at Mindsight, an IT infrastructure consulting firm. “Even though every platform offers each type of service, people will want the best.”

Based on the survey findings, Clutch recommends that companies consider the following:

If your business is an enterprise, requires Windows integration, or seeks a strong platform-as- a-service (PaaS) provider, consider Microsoft Azure.

For heavy emphasis on analytics or if you are an SMB with a limited budget, look into GCP.

If service longevity, IaaS offerings and a wide selection of tools are important to you, AWS may be your best option.