Governance for Cloud Providers
Cloud computing offers businesses incredible benefits for agility, scalability, and cost savings. As companies look to migrate their infrastructure to the cloud, it is important to consider the governance of the cloud environment.
Effective cloud governance should ensure that the company gets the most out of the cloud experience, well-utilized resources, and secure access.
Here, we compare the governance offerings of the leading cloud providers - Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud - to help you make an informed decision.
Azure
Azure offers a comprehensive set of governance solutions through the Azure Policy. This policy helps manage and enforce compliance across all resources and subscriptions in the Azure environment.
In particular, Azure provides access management tools, including Azure AD, which enhances security through advanced identity and access management.
Azure also boasts an extensive network of partners and more than 100 compliance offerings, including HIPAA, HITECH, and HITRUST.
However, Azure is more expensive than other providers, such as AWS and Google Cloud, and its subscription fees can quickly add up.
AWS
AWS offers governance solutions through the AWS Organizations feature, which helps IT administrators manage multiple AWS accounts. AWS also offers CloudTrail for auditing, AWS Config for monitoring changes to the environment, and AWS Trusted Advisor for cost optimization.
Additionally, AWS provides advanced network security features, including AWS Shield for DDoS protection and AWS WAF for website and application protection.
Compared to Azure, AWS tends to be cheaper, especially for small to mid-size businesses.
Google Cloud
Google Cloud offers a powerful governance offering via the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Resource Manager. This service helps manage GCP resources and ensures compliance at every level of the environment.
Google Cloud also offers extensive machine learning capabilities, including automated bot prevention and user detection, making its security features unique among cloud providers.
In terms of pricing, Google Cloud sits between Azure and AWS with fairly flexible pricing options.
Conclusion
Each cloud provider offers different governance features, and companies need to consider what matters most for their business. With Azure, businesses can benefit from enhanced security measures and a broad range of compliance offerings. AWS provides cost-effective governance solutions for small to mid-size companies, and Google Cloud offers an extensive set of machine learning capabilities.
Ultimately, it's up to each company to identify its own needs and undertake a cost-benefit analysis to determine which provider is the best fit.