Cloud Services Cheat Sheet for AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud
Cloud Services Cheat Sheet for AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud
Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud offer hundreds of cloud services. It’s easy to feel lost when trying to learn what each provider offers. Amazon AWS alone offers over 200 services and if you put it together with the hundreds of services offered by Azure and GCP, good luck trying to keep up.
There may be numerous comparison tables available that compare the big three vendors. However, these three major vendors are always bringing more to the table.
Fortunately, you do not have to feel so lost. Simply use the cloud services cheat sheet for AWS, Azure, and GCP to get a strong grasp of what each vendor offers. Think of it as a starting point and from here, you can further do your homework to get an in-depth understanding of what distinguishes the services from one another.
With that said and done. Let’s dive right into the best cloud services cheat sheet you will find.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Cloud vendors such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP have matured over the years and now offer the most comprehensive set of storage and compute resources as a service.
What is Machine Learning?
Machine learning involves computer models analyzing and storing patterns, trends in data, and correlations to become more efficient in their work. This enables them to offer deeper data insights.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
On the other hand, artificial intelligence leverages machine learning to execute actions and tasks that would otherwise be done manually and are repetitive.
Moreover, artificial intelligence and machine learning are one of the best technologies to look out for in 2023.
Application Integration
For anyone wondering what is cloud application integration, the answer is simple. It is a comprehensive system of technologies and tools capable of connecting many systems, IT environments, repositories, and applications for real-time data exchange and processing.
What is Application Integration?
Application integration can be defined as the process of collecting independently designed applications and enabling them to work together.
Analytics
Finally, in our first set of the best cloud services cheat sheets, we have cloud analytics. The basic function of cloud analytics is to describe applications of analytic algorithms.
However, this takes place directly in the cloud against datasets present in the public or private cloud to output the required results.
What are Analytics?
As aforementioned, cloud-based analytics are computational analysis of statistics or data. This information is a result of systematic analysis. Simply put, the definition of analytics and cloud-based analytics is the same.
For instance, Google analytics to keep track of traffic on your website.
Here are some absolutely beast courses on cloud data analytics to get you started.
Here’s the complete cloud services cheat sheet for Artificial intelligence, machine learning, application integration, and analytics.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Text-to-Speech | Amazon Polly | Text to Speech | Cloud Text-to-Speech API |
Speech Recognition | Amazon Transcribe | Speaker Recognition, Speech to Text | Cloud Speech-to-Text API |
Vision/Speech Modeling Packaged Devices | AWS DeepLens | Azure Kinect DK | N/A |
Language recognition, sentiment analysis | Amazon Comprehend | Azure Immersive Reader, Language Understanding, Text Analytics. | Cloud Natural Language AI, Healthcare Natural Language AI. |
Image and video recognition, indexing | Amazon Rekognition | Azure Face, Video Indexer | Video AI |
Language Translation | Amazon Translate | Speech Translation, Translator | Cloud Translation, Media Translation (beta) |
Language recognition, sentiment analysis | Amazon Comprehend | Azure Immersive Reader, Language Understanding, Text Analytics | Cloud Natural Language AI, Healthcare Natural Language AI |
Document extraction, image content analysis | Amazon Textract | Azure Form Recognizer, Ink Recognizer, Computer Vision, Custom Vision | Vision API |
Time-series forecasting | Amazon Forecast | N/A | N/A |
Prediction review and moderation | Amazon Augmented AI, Amazon SageMaker Clarify | Azure Content Moderator | N/A |
Notebooks | Amazon EMR Notebooks | Integrations through Visual Studio, Azure, and GitHub | Notebooks |
Online fraud detection | Amazon Fraud Detector | N/A | reCAPTCHA Enterprise |
Recommendation integration | Amazon Personalise | Personalizer | Recommendations AI |
Managed machine learning platform | Amazon SageMaker | Azure Machine Learning | TensorFlow Enterprise, Vertex AI |
Machine learning hardware | AWS Inferentia, AWS Trainium | FPGA | Cloud TPU |
Inference accelerator | Amazon Elastic Inference | GPUs on AKS | Cloud TPU, Edge TPU |
Data labeling | Amazon SageMaker Ground Truth | Azure Machine Learning data labeling | Vertex Data Labelling |
Chatbot builder | Amazon Lex | Azure Bot Service, Health Bot, QnA Maker | Dialog Flow |
AI machine images | AWS Deep Learning AMIs | Data Science Virtual Machines | Deep Learning VM Image |
AI prediction human review and moderation | Amazon Augmented AI (Amazon A2I) | Azure Content Moderator | N/A |
AI containers | AWS Deep Learning Containers | GPU support on AKS | Deep Learning Containers |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
API development and management | Amazon API Gateway, AWS AppSync | Azure API Apps | API Gateway, Apigee, Cloud Endpoints |
Distributed app coordination | Amazon Simple Workflow Service, AWS Step Functions | Logic Apps | Cloud Tasks |
Event routing, third-party integration | Amazon AppFlow, Amazon EventBridge, Amazon Simple Notification Service | Event Grid | Pub/Sub |
Messaging | Amazon MQ, Amazon Simple Queue Service | Azure Web PubSub, Queue Storage, Service Bus | Pub/Sub |
Service discovery | AWS Cloud Map | N/A | N/A |
Service mesh | AWS App Mesh | Open Service Mesh AKS add-on | Anthos Service Mesh |
Workflow orchestration | AWS Data Pipeline, Amazon Managed Workflows for Apache Airflow | Logic Apps | Cloud Composer, Workflows |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Big data processing | Amazon EMR | Azure Databricks, Azure HDInsight | Dataproc |
Business Analytics | Amazon QuickSight, Amazon FinSpace | Power BI Embedded, Microsoft Graph Data Connect | Looker, Google Data Studio |
Data lake creation | Amazon HealthLake, AWS Lake Formation | Azure Data Lake Storage | Cloud Storage |
Data Sharing | AWS Data Exchange, AWS Lake Formation | Azure Data Share | Analytics Hub, Cloud Dataprep (partnership with Trifacta) |
Data warehousing | Amazon Redshift | Azure Synapse Analytics | BigQuery |
ETL | AWS Glue, Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose, Amazon SageMaker Data Wrangler | Azure Data Factory | Cloud Data Fusion, Dataflow, Dataproc |
Hosted Hadoop/Spark | Amazon EMR | Azure HDInsight | Dataproc |
Managed search | Amazon CloudSearch, Amazon Elasticsearch Service, Amazon Kendra | Azure Cognitive Search, Bing Search API | Cloud Search |
Managed Kafka | Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka | Azure Event Hubs for Apache Kafka | N/A (available through a partnership with Confluent) |
Real-time data streaming | Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics, Amazon Kinesis Data Streams | Azure Stream Analytics | Dataflow, Pub/Sub, Datastream |
Query service, data exploration | Amazon Athena, Amazon Elasticsearch Service, Amazon Managed Service for Grafana | SQL Server ML Services, Big Data Clusters (Spark), Data Lake Analytics, SQL Server Analysis Services, Azure Data Explorer | BigQuery |
Business Applications
The whole point of using a cheat sheet for cloud services is to establish a base. Of course, you cannot remember everything mentioned here.
However, you will have a general idea of what is available to date and this information can come in handy when going for your job interview.
What are cloud-based business applications?
Particularly relevant to jobs, knowing what are cloud-based business applications is important. Cloud-based business applications are software or applications that are remotely available.
They are normally hosted on behalf of the client on a vendor’s server. If you want to master these essentials of cloud computing, check out the foundational level courses by SkillCurb.
Have a look at the complete cheat sheet for business applications offered by Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Collaboration tool suite | N/A | Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace |
Document sharing and storage | Amazon WorkDocs | Microsoft Word | Google Docs, Google Workspace Essentials |
Email and calendar | Amazon WorkMail | Outlook | Gmail |
Low-code/no-code | Amazon Honeycode | Microsoft PowerApps, Project Bonsai | AppSheet |
Video calls and chat | Amazon Chime | Microsoft Teams | Google Meet |
Voice assistant | Alexa for Business | Cortana | Google Assistant |
Compute Services
Cloud compute services are defined as a collective of storage, memory, processing power, and networking, along with other cloud resources that are essential to execute the successful computation of any program.
For a more detailed comparison of compute services between AWS, Azure, and GCP, check out this article.
What is Compute?
The simplest definition of compute is – to calculate. However, it is not as simple as 1+1. Compute in the cloud requires an abundance of resources to execute “calculations” that would run an entire program.
Containers
When you’re working in the cloud, containers are the most frequently used option for the deployment and management of software in the cloud.
What are Cloud Containers?
Our simplest definition of cloud containers is – they are abstract units of software. However, they have every resource necessary to run your workload or processes.
You can use cloud containers to package your entire application configurations, dependencies, and even code into a single object.
Cost Control
Here’s the most important part of any business or organization. If you can carve the cloud cost control management cheat sheet into your memory, then you’ll be the interviewer’s favorite.
What is Cloud Cost Control?
Cloud cost control also known as cost management or optimization is the strategy that helps a business to understand the costs of resources and services at a deeper level. This enables them to manage the costs at a more efficient level.
Take a look at the complete cheat sheet for compute services, cloud containers, and cloud cost control.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Autoscaling | AWS EC2 Auto Scaling | Azure Autoscale, Azure virtual machine scale sets | Managed instance groups (MIGs) |
Batch scheduling, executing, and processing | AWS Batch | Azure Batch | Batch on GKE, Cloud Scheduler |
Functions as a service | AWS Lambda | Azure Functions | Cloud Functions |
5G-based infrastructure | AWS Wavelength | Azure Edge Zones | Global Mobile Edge Cloud (GMEC) |
High-performance computing cluster management | AWS ParallelCluster | Azure CycleCloud, Azure FXT Edge Filer | N/A |
VM image builder | EC2 Image Builder | Azure VM Image Builder | N/A |
Isolated servers | Dedicated Instances | Azure Dedicated Host | Sole-tenant Nodes, Shielded VMs |
PaaS | AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS | App Service, Azure Cloud Services, Azure Spring Cloud, Azure Red Hat OpenShift | App Engine |
On-premises/edge devices | AWS Outposts, AWS Snow Family | Azure Modular Datacenter, Azure Stack Hub, Azure Stack HCI, Azure Stack Edge | N/A |
Quantum computing | Amazon Bracket | Azure Quantum | N/A |
Virtual machines | Amazon EC2 | Virtual Machines | Compute Engine |
Virtual private server | Amazon Lightsail | N/A | N/A |
VMware integration | VMware Cloud on AWS | Azure VMware Solution | VMware Engine |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Container registry | Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), ECR Public | Azure Container Registry | Artifact Registry, Container Registry |
Managed container service | AWS Copilot, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) | Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) |
Serverless containers | AWS App Runner, AWS Fargate | Azure Container Instances (ACI) | Cloud Run |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Long-term commitment discount programs | EC2 Reserved Instances, Savings Plans | Reservations, Azure Hybrid Benefit | Committed use discounts, sustained use discounts |
Low-cost, interruptible VMs | EC2 Spot | Azure Spot Virtual Machines | Preemptible Virtual Machines |
Optimization tools | Amazon CodeGuru, Amazon DevOps Guru, AWS Compute Optimizer, AWS Trusted Advisor, AWS Well-Architected Tool | Azure Advisor, Azure Well-Architected Review | Recommender, Network Intelligence Center, Cloud Profiler |
Spending tracker and analysis | AWS Budgets, AWS Cost Anomaly Detection, AWS Cost Explorer, AWS Cost, and Usage Report, Reserved Instance Reporting | Azure Cost Management and Billing | Cost Management |
Database Services
Cloudification becomes more common and services such as cloud databases have become high in demand. As Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP compete, they offered different types of database services. You can check the complete comparison of cloud database services here.
What is Cloud Database?
Simply put, well-organized and managed data collection in any IT system. See our full definition of a cloud database here.
Developer Tools
Cloud vendors offer various development tools to enhance productivity. When it comes to comparing the big three: Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP, this is the part where convenience for developers prevails over the number of services offered.
What are Cloud Development Tools?
Cloud development tools are all the tools for developers and deployments teams that are required to maximize productivity while writing, deploying, and debugging cloud applications.
We recommend the following courses if you are on the path to becoming a certified cloud professional dealing with development and engineering.
Following is the complete cheat sheet for database services and developer tools offered by Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Blockchain | Amazon Managed Blockchain, Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB) | Azure Blockchain Service, Azure Blockchain Development Kit, Azure Blockchain Workbench, Microsoft Azure Confidential Ledger | N/A |
Caching | Amazon ElastiCache (Memcached, Redis) | Azure Cache for Redis, Azure HPC Cache | Cloud Memorystore |
NoSQL: Column-family | Amazon Keyspaces (for Apache Cassandra) | Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra | Cloud Bigtable |
NoSQL: Document | Amazon DocumentDB (with MongoDB compatibility), Amazon DynamoDB | Azure Cosmos DB | Cloud Firestore, Firebase Realtime Database |
NoSQL: Graph | Amazon Neptune | Azure Cosmos DB Gremlin API | N/A |
NoSQL: Key-value | Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Keyspaces | Azure Cosmos DB, Table storage | Cloud Bigtable, Firestore |
Relational database management system | Amazon Aurora, Amazon RDS (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MariaDB), Amazon RDS on VMware | Azure Database (MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL), Azure SQL (Database, Edge, Managed Instance) | Cloud SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server), Cloud Spanner |
Time-series database | Amazon Timestream | Azure Time Series Insights | Cloud Bigtable |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
App configuration parameter storage | AWS AppConfig | App Configuration | Cloud Storage |
Artifact management | AWS CodeArtifact | Azure Artifacts, GitHub Packages | Artifact Registry (preview) |
Code debugging | AWS X-Ray | Visual Studio Code | Cloud Debugger, Firebase Crashlytics |
CI/CD | AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, AWS CodePipeline, AWS CodeStar | Azure Boards, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines | Cloud Build, Tekton |
Development kits | AWS Cloud Development Kit, Amazon Corretto | Azure SDKs | Cloud SDK |
IDEs and other tools for interacting with cloud resources | AWS Cloud9, AWS CLI, AWS CloudShell, Amazon EMR Studio | Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, Azure Cloud Shell, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code | Cloud Code, Tools for Eclipse, Tools for PowerShell |
Lab environment | N/A | Azure Lab Services, Azure DevTest Labs | N/A |
Mobile and Web app development | AWS Amplify | App Service, Mobile Apps, Xamarin with Azure, Web Apps, Static Web Apps | Google Firebase |
Private repository | AWS CodeCommit, AWS Serverless Application Repository | Azure Repos | Cloud Source Repositories |
Testing | AWS Device Farm, AWS Fault Injection Simulator | Visual Studio App Center, Azure Test Plans, Azure Internet Analyzer (preview) | Google Firebase Test Lab |
Internet of Things (IoT)
When you talk IoT cloud, you can employ it in three different ways. These are:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS),
- Platform as a Service (PaaS),
- Software as a Service (SaaS).
What is cloud IoT?
Internet of Things (IoT) cloud is a vast network offering support for online applications and IoT devices. This embodies everything including servers, storage, and underlying infrastructure, among other resources required for real-time processing and operations.
Check out the complete cloud services cheat sheet for IoT cloud by Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Cloud-device connections, data collection, and management | AWS IoT Analytics, AWS IoT Core, AWS IoT Device Defender, AWS IoT Device Management, AWS IoT Events, AWS IoT SiteWise | Azure IoT Central, Azure IoT Hub, Azure Defender for IoT, Azure Sphere | Cloud IoT Core |
IoT edge compute | AWS Greengrass | Azure IoT Edge, Azure Percept | Edge TPU |
Microcontroller OS | FreeRTOS | Azure RTOS | N/A |
Virtual modeling | AWS IoT Things Graph | Azure Digital Twins | N/A |
Migration Services
Cloud migration services make it easy for businesses to implement the cloud and push all their data in their cloud setup.
Vendors such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud offer several tools and services to help migrate applications and workloads.
What is Cloud Migration?
Cloud migration can be defined as the process of moving your digital assets, databases, services, applications, and IT resources, into the cloud. Moreover, cloud migration also refers to the process of shifting from one cloud provider to another.
For an example of cloud migration and a step-by-step guide, check out the Aurora Data Migration: Oracle database to Aurora MySQL using the DMS article.
Management and Governance
Cloud management and governance can easily help break down cloud systems into independent accounts. These can represent projects, cost centers, or even departments within the organization.
It’s fair to say that many cloud vendors recommend this as one of the best practices for any business that wants to fully leverage the cloud.
What is Cloud Management and Governance?
Cloud management refers to the organized control, oversight, administration, and maintenance of private cloud, public cloud, and even hybrid multi-cloud computing resources, services, and infrastructure.
Whereas, cloud governance is simply a set of policies and rules implemented and adopted by organizations and businesses that are running services in cloud.
Learn more about all the services provided by Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP, in the cheat sheet below for migration services, management, and governance in the cloud.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Database migration | AWS Database Migration Service | Azure Database Migration Service | Database Migration Service |
Data transfer appliance | Snow Family | Data Box | Transfer Appliance |
Disaster recovery | CloudEndure Disaster Recovery | Azure Site Recovery | N/A |
Online data transfer | AWS DataSync, AWS Transfer Family | Azure File Sync | BigQuery Data Transfer Service, Cloud Data Transfer |
On-premises application analysis | AWS Application Discovery Service, Migration Evaluator | Azure Migrate, Movere, Azure Resource Mover | N/A |
On-premises and cloud storage integration | Storage Gateway | StorSimple | N/A (offered by partner Cloudian) |
Migration tracker | AWS Migration Hub | Azure Migrate | N/A |
Server migration | AWS App2Container, AWS Server Migration Service, CloudEndure Migration | Azure Migrate | Migrate for Anthos, Migrate for Compute Engine, VM migration |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Automation | AWS CloudFormation, AWS Proton, AWS OpsWorks | Azure Resource Manager, Azure Automation | Cloud Deployment Manager, Cloud Foundation Toolkit, Cloud Scheduler |
Anomaly detection | CloudWatch Anomaly Detection | Anomaly Detector | Anomaly Detection |
Application portfolio and data governance | AWS Service Catalog | Azure Managed Applications, Azure Blueprints, Azure Purview | Dataplex, Private Catalog, Service Directory |
Automated Windows Server management | N/A | Azure Automanage | N/A |
Configuration management | AWS Config | Azure App Configuration | Cloud Asset Inventory |
Health Dashboard | Personal Health Dashboard | Resource Health, Azure Service Health | Cloud Monitoring |
Hybrid and multi-cloud management | Amazon EKS Anywhere, Amazon ECS Anywhere | Azure Arc | Google Anthos, Network Connectivity Center |
License management | AWS License Manager | N/A | N/A |
Monitoring | Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon CloudWatch Logs, AWS Transit Gateway Network Manager, Amazon Lookout for Metrics, Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus | Azure Monitor, Network Watcher, Log Analytics, Azure Metrics Advisor | Operations, Cloud Operations for GKE (formerly Stackdriver), Network Intelligence Center |
Multi-account management | AWS Control Tower, AWS Organizations | Azure Management Groups, Azure Lighthouse | N/A |
Policy management | AWS Organizations | Azure Policy | Organization Policy Service |
Telemetry collection and response | AWS Systems Manager, AWS Distro for Open Telemetry | Azure Monitor | Network Telemetry |
Web-based user interface | AWS Management Console | Azure Portal | Cloud Console |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Customer engagement | Amazon Connect, Contact Lens for Amazon Connect | Azure Communication Services, Azure SignalR Service | Contact Center AI |
End-user communications | Amazon Pinpoint, Amazon Simple Email Service | Azure Notification Hubs | Firebase Cloud Messaging |
Gaming | Amazon GameLift, Amazon Lumberyard | Game Stack | Game Servers |
Geolocation APIs and services | Amazon Maps API, Amazon Location Service | Azure Maps | Google Maps Platform |
Genomics | N/A | Microsoft Genomics | Cloud Life Sciences |
Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources | FHIR Works on AWS | Azure API for FHIR | Apigee HealthAPIx, Cloud Healthcare API |
Industrial and other workplace monitoring tools | Amazon Lookout for Vision, Amazon Lookout for Equipment, Amazon Panorama, Amazon Monitron | Azure IoT | Vision AI, Visual Inspection AI |
Media services | Amazon Elastic Transcoder, AWS Elemental suite, Amazon Interactive Video Service, Amazon Kinesis Video Streams | Azure Media Player, Content Protection, Encoding, Live and On-Demand Streaming, Azure Video Analyzer, Media Services | OpenCue, Transcoder API |
Mobile access to internal web apps | Amazon WorkLink | N/A | Identity-Aware Proxy |
Robotics application development | AWS RoboMaker | N/A | Cloud Robotics Core |
Satellite ground stations | AWS Ground Station | Azure Orbital | N/A |
Virtual desktop | Amazon WorkSpaces, Amazon AppStream 2.0 | Azure Virtual Desktop, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure | N/A |
Virtual reality, mixed reality app development | Amazon Sumerian | Azure Digital Twins, Kinect DK, Object Anchors, Remote Rendering, Spatial Anchors | Google VR |
Network Services
Cloud networking revolves around a single core concept and that is the virtual representation of physical data centers within multiple public clouds or a single cloud.
Learn everything you need to know about network services comparison between Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP here.
What is Cloud Networking?
As aforementioned, cloud networking involves network capabilities and resources hosted in public, private, or hybrid cloud. Read the full definition of cloud networking here.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Build, deploy and manage APIs | Amazon API Gateway | Azure API Apps, API Management | Apigee API Management Platform |
Content delivery network | Amazon CloudFront | Content Delivery Network (CDN) | Cloud CDN |
Dedicated fiber connection between VPCs and private network | AWS Direct Connect | Azure ExpressRoute | Cloud Interconnect |
Domain name system | Amazon Route 53 | Azure DNS | Cloud DNS |
Load balancing | Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) | Application Gateway, Load Balancer, Traffic Manager | Cloud Load Balancing |
Network accelerator | AWS Global Accelerator | Accelerated Networking | Premium Network Service Tier |
Network area translation | NAT Gateway | Virtual Network NAT, Azure Route Server (preview) | Cloud NAT |
Satellite ground station | AWS Ground Station | Azure Orbital (preview) | N/A |
Service discovery | Amazon ECS, AWS Cloud Map | N/A | GKE |
Traffic control plane | AWS App Mesh | Azure Front Door, Azure Service Fabric | Traffic Director |
Virtual WAN | N/A | Virtual WAN | N/A |
VPC | Amazon VPC | Azure Virtual Network | Virtual Private Cloud |
VPC/VM secure connector | AWS Transit Gateway, AWS VPN | Azure Bastion, Azure Private Link, Azure VPN gateway | Cloud VPN, Direct Peering, VPC Service Controls |
Storage Services
Cloud storage comes in three main types, and they are:
- Block Storage,
- File Storage,
- Object Storage.
Each has its own functionality and differs in terms of use and purpose. Go through the easy yet comprehensive storage service comparison between AWS, Azure, and GCP here.
What is Cloud Storage?
Simply put, cloud storage is a cloud computing service model. You can use it to transmit and store data on remote storage systems. Read the full definition of cloud data storage here.
Security Services
The cloud is meant to benefit businesses and technological growth. However, when dealing with so much sensitive data, there are risks of privacy violations and data breaches included.
Fortunately, reputable vendors such as AWS, Azure, and GCP offer security services in the cloud to make things slightly easier.
However, not everything is secure. That is to say, there are certain ways you are protected but you are also responsible for your own security.
The best way to learn about cloud security services is to learn more about the shared responsibility model for AWS, Azure, and GCP.
What is Cloud Security?
Cloud security refers to a set of technology and procedures that are precisely designed to tackle and overcome internal and external threats to business security.
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Archival storage | S3 Glacier, S3 Glacier Deep Archive | Archive Storage | Archive Storage |
Backup | AWS Backup | Azure Backup | N/A |
Block storage | Amazon Block Store (EBS) | Azure Disk Storage | Persistent Disk, Local SSD |
File storage | Amazon Elastic File Service (EFS), Amazon FSx for Windows File Server, Amazon FSx for Luster | Avere vFXT for Azure, Azure Files, Azure NetApp Files, Azure FXT Edge Filer | Filestore |
Object storage | Amazon S3 | Azure Blob Storage | Cloud Storage, Cloud Storage for Firebase |
Amazon AWS | Microsoft Azure | Google Cloud | |
Audit and compliance reports and controls | AWS Artifact, AWS Audit Manager | Service Trust Portal | Assured Workloads |
Centralized security management | AWS Security Hub | Security Center | Security Command Center |
Certificate management | AWS Certificate Manager | App Service | Certificate Authority Service |
Confidential computing | AWS Nitro Enclaves | Azure Confidential Computing | Confidential Computing |
Container deploy-time security control | N/A | N/A | Binary Authorization |
Data discovery and classification | Amazon Macie | Data Catalog, Azure Information Protection | Data Catalog, Cloud Data Loss Prevention |
Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection | AWS Shield | Azure DDoS Protection | Google Cloud Armor |
End-user identity management | Amazon Cognito | Azure Active Directory B2C | Firebase Authentication |
Firewall management | AWS Firewall Manager, AWS Network Firewall, AWS WAF | Azure Firewall Manager, Web Application Firewall | Cloud Armor, Cloud firewalls |
Identity and access management | AWS Identity and Access Management | Azure Active Directory, role-based access control (Azure RBAC), Azure Active Directory External Identities | BeyondCorp Enterprise, Identity and Access Management, Identity Platform, Identity-Aware Proxy |
Key management | AWS Key Management Service, AWS CloudHSM | Key Vault, Azure Dedicated HSM | Cloud Key Management |
Multi-Factor authentication | AWS Multi-Factor Authentication | Azure AD Multi-Factor Authentication | Google Authenticator, Titan Security Key |
Microsoft Active Directory compatible directory service | AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory | Azure Active Directory Domain Service | Managed Service for Microsoft Active Directory |
Resource access management | AWS Resource Access Manager | Azure Resource Manager | Resource Manager |
Security data analysis | Amazon Detective | Security Center | Chronicle, Risk Protection Program |
Secrets management | AWS Secrets Manager | Azure Key Vault | Secret Manager |
Single sign-on | AWS Single Sign-On | Azure Active Directory single single-on | Cloud Identity |
Signoff for cloud provider data access requests | N/A | Customer Lockbox | Access Transparency |
Threat Detection | Amazon GuardDuty | Microsoft Azure Attestation, Azure Defender, Azure Sentinel | Chronicle, Phishing Protection, Web Risk, Event Threat Detection |
Vulnerability scanning | Amazon Inspector | Security Center | Web Security Scanner |
Summary – Cloud Services Cheat Sheet
As you have seen there are plenty of similar services offered by AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP. Thanks to the similarity, you can choose a multi-cloud architecture and still easily interact between providers and your private cloud.
It is important to take note of the different names and terms each vendor uses for its service. Nevertheless, as long as you keep this cheat sheet at hand, you can begin your journey and master it one at a time.
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