IBM Cloud vs AWS: Battle of the Clouds
If your business requires a cloud infrastructure, then two options might come to your mind: IBM Cloud and AWS. Both platforms are incredibly popular, but how do they compare? Let's dive into a detailed comparison of the two cloud services.
Features
IBM Cloud and AWS offer similar features in terms of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS). However, IBM Cloud sets itself apart with its focus on Kubernetes and container management. IBM Cloud provides extensive support to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications on its platform.
On the other hand, AWS has the most extensive feature range of all cloud providers, including services for machine learning, data analytics, IoT, and video processing.
Winner: AWS
AWS has a more extensive set of features, with many services not available on IBM Cloud.
Pricing
When it comes to pricing, the cost of using a cloud platform depends on numerous factors, including the type of services you use, the amount of time you use the services, and the location. Let's compare several cloud services offered by both platforms and see which one is cheaper.
| Service | IBM Cloud | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Machine | $0.02 per hour | $0.01 per hour |
| Cloud Object Storage | $0.025 per GB for standard Storage | $0.023 per GB for the first 50 TB |
| Load Balancer | $0.03 per hour | $0.0225 per hour |
Winner: AWS
AWS comes out on top compared to IBM Cloud, with lower pricing for most services.
Performance
Performance is an essential factor to consider when choosing a cloud platform. Let's look at some benchmark results on various cloud services to see which platform comes out on top.
Kubernetes
IBM Cloud's Kubernetes service, based on the open-source Kubernetes project, has proven to be fast, reliable, and developer-friendly. IBM Cloud Kubernetes beat AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) in the Kubernetes performance benchmark conducted by The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).
Virtual Machines
When it comes to virtual machines, AWS outperforms IBM Cloud. The cloud provider conducted the Virtual Machine Image Bake-Off, where they compared the boot and application launch time of Windows Server images on various cloud platforms, and AWS outperformed IBM Cloud.
Winner: Draw
While AWS wins in VM performance, IBM Cloud excels in Kubernetes support. Therefore the best performer depends on your cloud-needs.
Conclusion
Both IBM Cloud and AWS provide reliable and high-performance cloud services. While IBM Cloud focuses on Kubernetes and containerized applications, AWS provides a comprehensive range of features across all cloud service categories. In terms of pricing, most of the services are cheaper in AWS than IBM Cloud. However, IBM Cloud could be a more cost-effective solution for containerized applications. Ultimately, the platform chosen depends on unique business needs.
References:
IBM Cloud Pricing AWS pricing AWS benchmark results Cloud Native Computing Foundation report