Examine the top cloud service providers reshaping the tech world in 2024. In this piece, we explore the foundations of cloud computing and present you with the forward-thinking businesses influencing the direction of cloud technology. Before the widespread adoption of cloud platforms and virtual servers, enterprises struggled with the constraints of servers located on-site, which resulted in prolonged service disruptions and sensitive data. This paradigm was completely altered by the introduction of cloud computing, which provided a reliable solution that was always accessible.
We highlight a select few of the world’s more than 800 companies, each with distinct advantages and objectives, in the run-up to 2024.
The top cloud provider in the world, Amazon Web Services (AWS), offers more than 200 integrated features and services. With AWS’s free tier, you may try out a range of services risk-free and without having to commit.
With 24 geographical areas and 77 Availability Zones, AWS holds more than 30% of the cloud market share.
AWS offers a free 12-month trial so that customers can test out their services without having to pay anything. Users who want to continue using AWS services after the trial term expires have the option to switch to a premium version. Furthermore, AWS provides credits to entrepreneurs via seminars, events, and community involvement.
Similar to AWS, Microsoft Azure provides a wide range of on-demand computing capabilities aimed at cloud construction that is efficient.
Azure provides software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and serverless computing.
Additionally, Azure has a free 12-month tier in which users can register for a free Azure account and get credits to test out any Azure service for 30 days.
The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a collection of services running on the same infrastructure as YouTube, Google Search, and several other massive digital companies.
A 12-month free tier is offered by Google Cloud Platform to entice users to try out the services before making a purchase commitment. The Google Cloud for Companies Program, which provides credits to access services at reasonable costs, is open to developers and companies.
Salesforce provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM), sales, marketing automation, and much more. Their range of CRM solutions can assist you in adopting a data-driven strategy for your company.
VMware offers platform and cloud infrastructure services for enterprises that use multiple clouds. It also offers a standardized environment that speeds up current app operations and updates data centers. Numerous virtualization features are available with VMware, one of which is a strong data center that facilitates networking and cloud migration. In November 2023, VMware was acquired by Broadcom.
Alibaba is a pioneer in the cloud industry globally, emphasizing artificial intelligence and security. Almost half of China’s 4.97 million websites are powered by Alibaba Cloud, the second-largest cloud service provider globally.
Oracle Cloud provides all-inclusive cloud services, encompassing private, public, multi-cloud, and hybrid cloud options. Additionally, it facilitates cloud-native application development with open-source frameworks and tools. Oracle Cloud Solutions maintains a uniform pricing structure, in contrast to several cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and VMware, who provide varying pricing plans depending on the area.
Rackspace supports end-to-end cloud transformation and provides robust application management services in addition to efficient multi-cloud strategies and experience across many industry verticals. While Rackspace strives for cost and performance optimization, its customer service and support ratings are inadequate and its pricing structures are more complicated than those of Salesforce and VMware.
The goal of Digital Ocean is to satisfy developers’ requirements for the deployment and scalability of concurrently running programs across several machines. Digital Ocean, the third-biggest hosting provider in the world, specializes in two main product categories: computing and storage.
For 30 days, users can test out DigitalOcean’s services with free credits worth $50 from the company. Users must pay for the services they use after the trial period ends. Additionally, Hatch—a program created especially to give free credits to startups—is available from DigitalOcean.
IBM offers a comprehensive cloud experience by combining PaaS and IaaS. Similar to Microsoft Azure and AWS, IBM offers a wide range of services to make a variety of software development activities easier.
A Lite Tier of IBM Cloud gives customers 256MB of Cloud Foundry Memory as a trial offer. Additionally, IBM promotes entrepreneurs through its Startup with IBM program, which offers free credits worth up to $120,000.