CASE STUDY: CLOUD SERVICE VENDOR ANALYSIS & RECOMMENDATION

November 2024
 Why Prefer a Cloud Vendor over Building an In-House IT Stack?

COST EFFICIENCY
 Cloud services eliminate the need for substantial capital expenditures on hardware and facilities
 The pay-as-you-go model allows businesses to pay only for the resources they use, converting capital expenses into operational expenses

SCALABILITY
 Cloud platforms provide the flexibility to scale resources up or down based on demand, ensuring optimal performance during peak times
without over-provisioning during low-usage periods

RELIABILITY & AVAILABILITY

 Leading cloud providers offer high availability with minimal downtime, often backed by Service Level Agreements (SLAs) guaranteeing
uptime

SECURITY & COMPLIANCE

 Reputable cloud vendors invest heavily in security measures and compliance certifications, ensuring data protection and adherence to
industry standards

FOCUS ON CORE BUSINESS

 By outsourcing IT infrastructure management, businesses can concentrate on their core competencies, driving innovation and growth

Source: Secondary Research & Analysis

 A shortlist of 20 companies was created, taking into consideration various criteria and
mapping each company against these parameters

01 02 03

MARKET SHARE SERVICE PORTFOLIO GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

 A cloud vendor's market leadership indicates  A robust and diversified service portfolio  A vendor’s global reach ensures that
their stability, innovation, and ability to scale enables businesses to deploy a wide variety services can be deployed in multiple
over time of applications, ensuring that all their geographic locations, enabling businesses to
 Larger, well-established vendors often have infrastructure and software needs are met. serve their customers and users efficiently,
extensive infrastructure, resources, and a  Vendors that offer comprehensive solutions regardless of their location
proven track record across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS can  Availability in multiple regions provides
 Their reputation is a reflection of their accommodate businesses with diverse redundancy, low latency, and disaster
reliability and customer satisfaction needs recovery capabilities

04 05 06

SECURITY & COMPLIANCE PRICING MODEL CUSTOMER SUPPORT

 Security is a top priority for cloud service  Pricing flexibility is vital for businesses that  Cloud services should come with reliable
adoption. Businesses rely on cloud vendors want to control costs while scaling customer support to assist with any issues
to protect sensitive data from cyber threats  Vendors with flexible pricing models can help that arise during usage, such as
 Compliance with industry standards and businesses optimize expenses based on performance degradation, technical glitches,
regulations is crucial for businesses in usage patterns or configuration challenges
sectors like healthcare, finance, and  Transparent, competitive pricing ensures  Reliable and responsive support ensures
government there are no hidden fees or surprises that businesses can keep operations running
smoothly and resolve problems quickly

Source: Gartner, Statista, EY, Secondary Research & Analysis *IaaS – Information-as-Service, PaaS – Platform-as-Service, SaaS- Software-as-Service
 Likert scale was used to rank the shortlisted companies, with the top 6 chosen based on
their performance across different criteria

Cloud Service Provider Market Presence Service Portfolio Global Presence Security & Compliance Pricing & Support Total Score Total Score (10) Recommendation
Amazon Web Services (AWS) 10 10 10 10 9 49 9.8
Microsoft Azure 9 9 10 10 9 47 9.4
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) 8 9 9 9 9 44 8.8
Oracle Cloud 7 8 8 9 8 40 8.0
IBM Cloud 8 8 8 8 8 40 8.0
Salesforce 8 7 7 9 9 40 8.0
Alibaba Cloud 7 8 7 9 8 39 7.8
SAP Cloud 7 8 7 9 7 38 7.6
VMware Cloud 6 8 7 9 8 38 7.6
Tencent Cloud 7 7 8 8 7 37 7.4
Red Hat OpenShift 7 8 6 8 8 37 7.4
Rackspace Technology 6 7 7 8 8 36 7.2
DigitalOcean 7 6 7 7 8 35 7.0
HPE GreenLake 6 7 6 8 8 35 7.0
Fujitsu Cloud 6 7 6 8 7 34 6.8
Cisco Cloud Solutions 6 7 6 8 7 34 6.8
Linode 6 6 6 7 8 33 6.6
OVHcloud 6 6 6 7 8 33 6.6
CenturyLink Cloud 6 6 6 7 7 32 6.4
Verizon Cloud 6 6 5 7 7 31 6.2

Top Recommendation
Legend: Alternate Recommendation
No Go

Source:, Statista, Secondary Research & Analysis

 Evaluation of the top 5 selected peers against multiple parameters for benchmarking

Criteria Amazon Web Services Microsoft Azure Google Cloud Platform IBM Cloud Oracle Cloud

Leading with approximately Approximately 4% market

Second, holding around Third, with about 11% Around 2% market share,
Market Share 34% of the global cloud
23% of the market market share
share, focusing on
strong in database services
market enterprise solutions

Extensive services across Comprehensive offerings Robust data analytics, Specializes in database
Focus on AI (Watson),
IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, with strong integration of AI/ML services, and services, enterprise
Service Portfolio including AI/ML, analytics, Microsoft products, AI/ML, containerization
enterprise solutions, and
applications, and hybrid
hybrid cloud deployments
and IoT and enterprise applications (Kubernetes) expertise cloud

24 regions with 77 6 regions with 18

60+ regions and availability 29 regions with 88 37 regions with 56
Global Presence availability zones
zones globally availability zones
availability zones, focusing
availability zones
worldwide on enterprise clients

Robust security features

Extensive compliance Broad compliance portfolio Strong security measures Emphasis on security for
and compliance with
Security & certifications (e.g., ISO and integration with Azure with a focus on data enterprise clients, with
industry standards,
Compliance 27001, HIPAA) and Security Center for unified encryption and compliance numerous compliance
particularly in database
advanced security features security management standards certifications
security

Pay-as-you-go with Pay-as-you-go, reserved Pay-as-you-go with Flexible pricing with pay- Pay-as-you-go with options
Pricing Model reserved instances for cost instances, and hybrid sustained use discounts; as-you-go and subscription for reserved instances; free
savings; free tier available benefits; free tier available free tier available models; free tier available tier available

Comprehensive support
24/7 support with various 24/7 support with multiple 24/7 support with different
Customer tailored for enterprise 24/7 support
plans, including developer tiers, including premier levels, including premium
Support and enterprise support support for enterprises support options
clients, including dedicated (as mentioned on website)
account managers

Source:, Statista, Secondary Research & Analysis

 Scenario Planning (1/3)

Profitable B2B Desktop Software

Recommended Vendor Microsoft Azure Company (10+ years)

 For a well-established B2B software company, reliability, strong security, and compatibility with existing enterprise systems are crucial
 Microsoft Azure stands out for its seamless integration with legacy Microsoft tools, making it easier for companies to leverage both cloud
and on-premise solutions through its hybrid cloud capabilities
Rationale  Azure’s extensive support for enterprise applications, combined with top-tier security and compliance certifications, ensures data
protection and continuity
 This setup is ideal for a mature business that requires stability and the flexibility to gradually transition or integrate legacy applications
into a cloud environment

Recommended Vendor IBM Cloud Healthcare Provider

 Healthcare providers operate in one of the most regulated sectors, with strict data privacy requirements to protect sensitive patient
information
 IBM Cloud is an excellent choice because it emphasizes security, compliance, and hybrid cloud solutions tailored for highly regulated
industries like healthcare. IBM’s certifications (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR) and industry-specific solutions ensure healthcare providers meet
Rationale regulatory demands
 The hybrid cloud setup allows providers to maintain sensitive data on-premises while using the cloud for other applications
 Additionally, IBM Watson’s AI capabilities support advanced data analytics, which can be leveraged for patient care insights, diagnostics,
and operational improvements

Source: Secondary Research & Analysis

 Scenario Planning (2/3)

B2C Startup Operating in a Single

Recommended Vendor Amazon Web Services Country

 AWS offers a robust, cost-effective solution for startups that need flexibility to grow without significant upfront costs
 With a pay-as-you-go pricing model and an extensive free tier, AWS allows startups to manage budgets effectively, scaling up resources
as the business grows
Rationale  AWS’s comprehensive suite of tools for developers, along with startup support programs like AWS Activate, make it an ideal choice for
fast development and deployment
 The platform’s high scalability ensures that B2C startups can handle increased user loads without performance issues
 Additionally, AWS’s global reach provides options for future expansion if the business expands to other countries

Recommended Vendor Google Cloud Platform Video/Live Streaming Provider

 A video or live streaming provider requires low latency, high availability, and efficient data handling capabilities to ensure a smooth user
experience
 Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is designed for high-performance data-intensive tasks and shares the same infrastructure that supports
YouTube, making it particularly suited for streaming services
Rationale  GCP’s global content delivery network (CDN) ensures minimal buffering and high video quality, while its powerful data analytics tools
(like BigQuery) enable real-time data processing
 For added functionality, GCP’s AI tools can be used for real-time translation, content tagging, and user personalization, enhancing the
streaming experience and user engagement

Source: Secondary Research & Analysis

 Scenario Planning (3/3)

Recommended Vendor Amazon Web Services Investment Tech Startup (1/2)*

 AWS is a strong choice for financial startups due to its extensive security features and compliance with industry standards like PCI DSS
and SOC
 AWS offers a range of financial services tools, including encryption and data management options, which are essential for handling
Rationale sensitive financial information
 Amazon SageMaker and Redshift provide advanced machine learning and data analytics capabilities, enabling investment tech
companies to perform predictive modeling, analyze large datasets, and support algorithmic trading with high performance and reliability

Recommended Vendor Microsoft Azure Investment Tech Startup (2/2)*

 Microsoft Azure is also well-suited for financial technology applications, especially for startups focused on financial compliance and
integration with enterprise tools
 Azure’s robust compliance certifications and focus on secure cloud infrastructure align well with financial industry requirements
Rationale  Its integration with popular business applications and strong machine learning capabilities in Azure Machine Learning provide fintech
startups with tools for advanced data processing and modeling, critical for developing innovative financial products and maintaining
regulatory compliance

Source: Secondary Research & Analysis

THANK YOU!