The Top 10 Cloud Service Providers in 2022

When companies decide to migrate to the cloud, the first question they ask is: “Which cloud platform should we go with?” AWS, Microsoft’s Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are the most popular. But depending on the size and scale of your business, there are other options to consider.  

As Merit’s Cloud Infrastructure Expert says, “There are several factors that come into play when choosing the cloud provider. The most important aspects that drive this decision are talent availability, costs/budget, purpose and scale of the business application, and preference of the IT team. In most cases, a company comes into the meeting and says – Let’s go with AWS, I have other workloads running on that ecosystem and I don’t want to shift. It’s up to the cloud implementation and digital engineering partner to provide the right advice, do a thorough Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), cost-benefit analysis and help the client make the right decision.”  

The second quarter of 2022 saw the spending on cloud infrastructure services reach nearly $55 billion, with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) cornering 65% of the share.  

The demand for cloud services has been surging due to a reduction in operating costs, better collaboration, greater flexibility, and a shorter time-to-market when launching new applications. 

Moreover, the pandemic accelerated the need for digital transformation and cloud adoption by several folds. This was catalysed by the need for remote work, hybrid global teams, a greater need for data-driven decision-making which made the automation of routine tasks a key requirement.  

Cloud service providers can be of two types: those that provide the entire range of services from full application development platforms to specialising in aspects such as servers, storage, and virtual desktops.  

In this blog, we list the top 10 cloud service providers and their service capabilities that differentiate them from the competition. 

1. Amazon Web Services (AWS)  

AWS is the world’s leading cloud vendor at 30% of the market share. It has 84 availability zones and 26 geographic regions, providing nearly 200 integrated features and services for data management, storage, and computing. It is also a leading provider of emerging technologies such as data lakes, analytics, the Internet of Things integration, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.  

AWS offers database infrastructure that is purpose-built for various applications, enabling customers to choose the best fit in terms of cost and performance. A free tier is bundled to let customers test various services at no cost and without major cost commitments upfront.  

2. Microsoft Azure 

In second place is Microsoft Azure, with its capability to offer abundant on-demand computing services and enable developers to build in the cloud efficiently. Its cloud computing offering can be categorized into 

• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) 
• Platform as a service (PaaS) 

• Software as a service (SaaS) 
• Serverless computing  

Part of Microsoft Corporation’s Intelligent Cloud segment, it is popular for offering a consistent hybrid cloud experience, improving developer productivity, providing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and ensuring security & compliance. Currently, it is operational in 116 availability zones and 60 regions, with 200+ physical Microsoft Azure data centers across the globe.  

3. Google Cloud Platform 

The huge lineup of services that constitutes the third largest cloud platform, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), is powered by the same infrastructure as Google Search, Youtube, and its other offerings. Its enterprise-ready cloud services facilitate the building, testing, and deploying of applications on its distributed and scalable infrastructure. This is supported by other service capabilities such as data management, security, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI). 

Google Cloud operates in 34 regions and 103 availability zones and assures 99% uptime, live migration of virtual machines, and free monitoring of uptime, among others. 

While the above three provide all-encompassing features and capabilities, there are also specialist cloud platforms that focus on specific aspects to differentiate themselves from the rest. 

4. Alibaba Cloud 

Almost half of China’s 4.97 million websites run on Alibaba Cloud. Its entire platform focuses on security, artificial intelligence, and analytics, in addition to top-notch data management features. It facilitates fast scalability at lower cost with higher VM processors, competitive pricing, and better storage facilities.  

It is also not uncommon for global companies to adopt Alibaba Cloud’s ‘China Gateway’ which offers to digitally transform their Chinese operations on this platform.  

5. Salesforce 

Salesforce is the world’s most popular CRM, but the company has also opened up its platform for other companies to build world-class applications.  

The Salesforce Platform is ideal for companies who are already using its CRM and want to build or adopt other applications that seamlessly integrate with it.  

For instance, several companies like Rootstock (ERP solution) and ComplianceQuest (Quality and Safety Management Solution) have built their entire product suite on the Salesforce platform. Its key features and capabilities include Einstein Analytics, Salesforce Lightning UX, App Exchange, etc.  

Salesforce also runs Heroku, which offers a platform as a service (PaaS) that enables developers to build and manage cloud-first applications.  

6. IBM 

IBM provides a holistic cloud experience by blending PaaS with IaaS and offers a variety of services to simplify software development through standardisation, virtualisation, and automation.  

IBM, of course, is one of the market leaders in the on-premise space, and companies that want to adopt a hybrid strategy decide to go with IBM’s cloud offering.  

IBM also brings to the table its services arm that not only provides the platform but also offers cloud strategy and cloud transformation solutions to its customers.  

7. Oracle Cloud 

Oracle Corporation offers two cloud platforms: Oracle Cloud Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).  

OCI is a cloud platform that delivers infrastructure technologies such as computing, storage, and networking services as a service. Oracle SaaS is a cloud-based software delivery model on which Oracle develops and maintains cloud application software.  

Companies that have traditionally used Oracle for ERP, prefer to stick to the Oracle environment and migrate to Oracle’s cloud-based Fusion offering.  

8. Digital Ocean 

Digital Ocean helps developers deploy and scale applications running on multiple computers at the same time. It has a simple and easy-to-use interface and its strengths are its computing and storage. Some of the advantages include fast loading, helpful user tips, easy storage, and user-friendly, autonomous guiding. 

Digital Ocean is used by several startups in mobile app development, game development, blockchain, and SaaS companies. Startups and mid-sized companies go with Digital Ocean when they want to build simple applications on the cloud that are not too complex.  

9. Dell Cloud 

Dell provides an integrated, hybrid, multi-cloud approach by combining the capacity of VMware software and Dell Technologies infrastructure. Its greatest advantages are storage and data protection. 

Dell has become one of the preferred vendors for multi-cloud environments where there is a need to balance on-premise, public, and private cloud setups.  

10. Linode by Akamai 

Linode was acquired by Akamai to make it easy for developers to accelerate innovation around Linux-based cloud computing services. Akamai, which is a pioneer in edge computing, has identified a need to build a specialised cloud platform for Linux developers who are building applications for edge computing workloads.   

This list is in no way exhaustive or complete. There are other providers such as Dropbox, a cloud storage solution provider; LiquidWeb, a managed hosting platform; Vultr, a development platform; and CloudWays, a managed cloud computing platform for SMBs. There are also platforms like Webflow (which uses AWS under the hood) for hosting websites on the cloud with automated maintenance capabilities.  

Merit’s Expertise in helping choose the right Cloud Platform 

Merit works with a broad range of clients and industry sectors, designing and building bespoke applications and data platforms combining software engineering, AI/ML, and data analytics.  

We migrate legacy systems with re-architecture and by refactoring them to contemporary technologies on modern cloud ecosystems. Our software engineers build resilient and scalable solutions with cloud services ranging from simple internal software systems to large-scale enterprise applications. We’ll also help you with a detailed TCO analysis to help you choose the right cloud platform and even advice you on your hybrid and multi-cloud strategy.  

Our agile approach drives every stage of the customer journey; from planning to design development and implementation, delivering impactful and cost-effective digital transformations.  

To know more, visit: https://www.meritdata-tech.com/service/code/digital-engineering-solutions/