In the tech world, we often play front row to several battles amongst giants. Some are ongoing and will be fought until the end of time, like Sony’s PlayStation vs. Microsoft’s Xbox. Some have already been decided, like HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray. Others seem to descend into legal battles, like Facebook vs. any country.
When it comes to AWS and Oracle, this is definitely one of those battles that is ongoing. It’s hard to see Amazon going anywhere anytime soon and Oracle is a global power in its own right, having been around for over 40 years.
Both of these companies offer cloud services so when it comes to choosing one for your business, which one should you go with?
We’re going to run through the pros and cons of each service and help you decide which one you should choose.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon Web Services has been around for almost 15 years now as a subsidiary of the eCommerce giant, Amazon (maybe you’ve heard of them). Thousands of companies around the world use AWS, such as GE, Expedia, Kellogg’s, and even Time Magazine.
AWS prides itself on being secure, compliant, and scalable to fit needs. Although their customers listed above are giant corporations, AWS can scale down to meet the needs of small businesses and even individuals.
It is used across a wide number of sectors such as manufacturing, financial services, fitness, real estate, healthcare, gaming, media, and more. Can you use it for your business? Let’s find out.
AWS Pros
Name Recognition
Just to get the obvious point out of the way, AWS comes with name recognition. There’s a reason that Amazon, as a whole, has become a global trillion-dollar company. With such name recognition, AWS has built up a great deal of trust.
Not only does it come with the Bezos stamp of approval, but AWS has compiled the most compliance certifications for its cloud services. Sure, it’s been able to become a powerhouse because of the name, but its past track record has helped it stay as one of the top cloud services in the business.
Ease of Use
Some cloud services can be a bit tough to understand, especially if you’re not used to working in such a sector or have relative experience. AWS, on the other hand, is oft-raved about because of its simplicity.
The platform itself is clear, organized, and very user-friendly. If you’re diving into AWS for the first time, your learning curve isn’t going to be as steep as you might find with other services. With nearly 15 years of experience and thousands of users around the globe, AWS has had the time to refine and refurbish its offerings for potential new users.
Scalable
One of the best features of AWS is its scalability. We already mentioned how large companies such as GE use AWS, but there are also plenty of options for smaller businesses and individuals. In the past, companies were forced to purchase a set amount of data storage. If you were a smaller company, you might find yourself purchasing more data than you needed and wasting money.
Not anymore.
Now, you can find a scalable data option for your business and purchase the right amount. If your business grows in the future, you can adjust your plan and scale to your changing needs.
Speed
When it comes to speed, you’d be hard-pressed to find another cloud service that moves quicker than AWS. Users often find that they can set up an application in just minutes and then dive into work. This will save you time and money, two of the most precious commodities in this world.
Payment Options
While we’ll dig into price specifics later, one thing that users love about AWS is its pay-as-you-go option. This makes payment simple and goes right in line with their scalable options. When you need more data storage, you can pay for it. If you’re using less, you can reduce your costs.
Flexible payment is something that businesses have come to expect from their services and AWS delivers.
AWS Cons
Bill Shock
We ended with a pro on payment, so we’ll start with a con on payment.
While the pay-as-you-go is a plus for many users, customers have reported bill shock ever since AWS’s inception. Usually, this happens when you are using more data than you realize and before you know it, you have a giant bill at the end of the month.
It’s vital that you enable monitoring for your account so you can set alerts and be aware of how much you’re spending and what type of monthly bill you can expect.
Amazon EC2 Limitations
While Amazon and AWS are global, users across different regions will find they have limitations on their services. Unfortunately, AWS sets default limits on resources which could consist of images, volumes, snapshots, and more.
You can request upgrades, but once again acquiring these upgrades may vary from region to region. It’s best to speak with an AWS representative before being 100% positive you’re going to have a set amount of resources.
Outages
Even the most robust systems in the world will experience occasional downtime or outages. Unfortunately for AWS, they seem to have occurred more frequently than with other cloud services.
In fact, AWS has had some very noteworthy outages over the past decade. One of the biggest was in 2016 when storms in Sydney, Australia knocked AWS data centers offline for 10 hours over a weekend. Many businesses were hurt by the outage, including some huge brands and websites.
They have also had similar outages across the US, including the infamous Friday the 13th outage.
Poor Data Policies
Last on our list is the AWS data policy. While AWS will compensate customers for credits when it comes to service outages, there is no such compensation for data loss.
If your business loses out on valuable data, AWS probably isn’t going to compensate you for the issue.
Oracle
Oracle has been in the business since 1977, starting in what is now Silicon Valley. While they may not have the name recognition that Amazon does, Oracle is one of the largest businesses in the world, and its founder Larry Ellison is one of the richest men in the United States.
Like Amazon, Oracle is a global brand and has centers everywhere from Tokyo to Sao Paulo. They have some big-name clients, such as Bank of America, PNC, and Zoom. Like AWS, they can cater to many different users and sized businesses.
Pros
Customization
One of the top features of Oracle is its simple and smooth customization. Clients can enter Oracle and ensure that it meets their unique requirements. Oracle knows that every client is different and wants to ensure that each interaction is efficient and streamlined.
Scalable Options
Similar to AWS, Oracle has scalable options for all types of businesses and individuals. It can work for places as large and global as Zoom and it can also work for small businesses. Just because it’s a recognizable brand with thousands of clients around the web doesn’t mean you should shy away from it.
You can also use as much or as little data as you want and have costs vary depending on your needs.
Solid Technology Stack
Oracle, in a few words, knows what you need. They deliver apps, middleware, and database as an all-encompassing, well-integrated system. With Oracle, you won’t have to be running around and investigating various third-party services to be integrated and becoming frustrated when integration isn’t successful.
Simple Setup
While AWS may take the crown for overall ease of use, Oracle has regularly drawn praise for its easy setup and network integration, meaning there are fewer hoops to jump through and steps to take to ensure a successful setup.
Customer Support
While it may be minor, Oracle has received rave reviews for its rapid and efficient customer service. It’s always good to know that a large company cares about their customers.
Cons
Pricing Options
Many users have noted that Oracle seems better suited for high-end functionalities and services. While Oracle does offer various cloud service options for clients, many have noted that the less expensive, minimal options are often not enough.
They lack some functionalities and processes that the higher-end options have, forcing you to spend a bit more in order to get the most out of Oracle’s potential.
Poor Internet Can Have Big Effects
Of course, the cloud needs the internet to survive and while Oracle hasn’t as high-profile outages as AWS has, Oracle seems to lose significant usage when faced with poor internet connections. Sometimes, something loading or behaving slower can be more frustrating than something just not working at all.
No Mobile Option
We’re always on our phones for personal or professional use and if a service doesn’t offer a mobile app, then that can be frustrating. Unfortunately, Oracle does not have a mobile option at this time.
Even though you’re used to working on cloud-based platforms from a computer, it’d be nice to at least have the option of being able to use the service from your phone.
AWS vs Oracle Pricing
Doing an exact pricing comparison between AWS and Oracle is challenging because both offer flexible options and pay-as-you-go plans. In fact, both services offer so many various options that it makes it almost impossible to present a side-by-side comparison when it comes to exact pricing.
One of the easiest charts, however, is the price per GB per month.
As you can see, Oracle clearly has cheaper options than AWS across all regions listed here.
The easiest thing to do, however, is to use their pricing calculators.
AWS has an estimate calculator that will let you examine all of their services while mixing and matching what you may need. A live estimate will be kept at the bottom so you can keep track of your anticipated costs.
Oracle also offers a cost estimation tool, called the Cloud Cost Estimator, which functions exactly like AWS’s calculator. You’ll be able to browse services, mix and match, and a running tally will be kept at the bottom for you.
Both of these tools are necessary before you go investigating the price. As services can vary greatly and business needs will also be different, it’s vital that you make use of these handy tools in finding the most cost-effective option for your business.
What’s the Verdict?
Now that we’re at the end, is there a clear winner? In the battle of cloud services, which one comes out on top?
We hate to disappoint, but we honestly can’t choose between AWS and Oracle.
At Atiba, we pride ourselves on being product agnostic and we’ve seen both services do wonders for all kinds of different businesses. That’s why we offer both Oracle support and AWS support because we know how valuable they can be to different parties.
If you have an AWS or Oracle project coming up or just want help choosing between these two services, reach out to us today for a free quote. We can’t wait to help and provide support along the way.
