The cloud computing industry is highly competitive and has various cloud service providers. When selecting a cloud provider, it’s essential to consider specific business needs. Think about scalability, security, data analytics capabilities, and technology integration. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, there is a cloud service provider that can meet your needs and help you achieve your goals. This blog introduces the most prominent cloud service providers and discusses cloud, DevOps, and platform engineering.
62% of cloud users choose Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform as their public cloud provider. However, Oracle, IBM, Red Hat, and Alibaba are used too. To give you a better understanding of what each cloud service provider offers, we’ll elaborate on the three that are most common:
AWS is the current market leader in cloud computing with various services. It’s widely used by businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprise-level organisations. Some of the renowned users include Netflix, Twitch, and McDonald’s. Amazon Web Services is known for its scalability and versatility, making it the ideal choice if your company is experiencing rapid growth.
Microsoft Azure provides a variety of services, just like Amazon Web Services. It’s a popular choice among businesses using Microsoft products because it’s designed to integrate with their existing suite of products — for example, Excel, Word, and Microsoft Teams. Azure is known for its strong security features and regulatory compliance. If your company handles sensitive data, this is your most suitable provider.
GCP is the Cloud Computing Platform of Google known for its powerful data analytics- and machine learning capabilities. It’s a popular choice for businesses that rely on data-driven insights. Google Cloud Platform is also known for its strong security features and global network of data centers, ensuring low latency and fast access to data. It’s a popular choice among businesses that rely on data-driven insights and require strong security features and a global network of data centers.
You can compare the cloud service providers mentioned above in various ways. Tools and technologies are developed to ensure that the cloud platforms and infrastructures work in the best possible way. For example, Amazon Web Services uses Amazon Elastic Container Service, Microsoft Azure uses Container Service, and Google Cloud Platform uses Google Container Engine.
Each has its own configuration and automation tools, archive storage, and search services. These tools enable all cloud service providers to support technologies such as Kubernetes, Terraform, and Ansible. The seven criteria used by companies to decide which public cloud is their best match are:
Choosing the right platform is only the beginning. You need to find the right approach to optimise your company’s cloud and workflow. Many job titles overlap, especially within DevOps, where the focus can vary widely. Although ‘DevOps Engineer’ is the most common title, it’s not exactly a position. It’s a type of approach used as an umbrella term for various titles within this specialism. The same applies to Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Infrastructure Engineering, and Platform Engineering.
Thus, when seeking a “Cloud Engineer” or “DevOps Engineer” or any position within these cross-functional teams, you must understand the function instead of blindly relying on its job title. DevOps focuses on ‘What needs to be done,’ and Site Reliability Engineering focuses on ‘How it needs to be done.’ However, this may not always be the case. Confused? That’s why it’s essential to stay aware of the various specialisms within this field. Understand the requirements, focus points, and goals to determine what you’re looking for.
After you’ve found the right cloud and DevOps engineer, it’s time to learn and follow the latest developments. Although no one truly knows what the future holds, these are the expected Cloud & DevOps trends in the coming years:
Aside from the expected cloud and DevOps engineering trends, platform engineering is currently one of the hottest topics. In 2022, Gartner forecasted that by 2026, 80% of software engineering companies would have platform engineering teams in place. Companies implementing Platform Teams have several advantages over traditional software development. They generally retain faster development, better security, and simpler operations. This approach offers a consistent way to develop software across a company, aligning technology with business goals.
Platform engineering provides a single source of truth for development practices and tools. This way, it’s easier for teams to collaborate and share knowledge. Integration and cohesion help businesses achieve better results and drive growth. For this to happen and find the right fit for your company, it’s important to understand a professional’s experience, interests, and expectations.
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