Background
Since starting work with Microsoft last year (2022), I have completely moved off using AWS and GCP, to exclusively using Azure. Now that I know Azure services well, I thought I’d go back and look at how they line up with their AWS counterparts.
Since there are so many, I’ll split this into categories and only focus on the most popular services in each area.
This is meant to be a high level look at AWS Services. I will follow up with future posts where I will walk though: setting up a 3-tier architecture, how to configure CI/CD in AWS, and look at monitoring, reporting, and cost analysis. Those subsequent posts will use many of the service I’m outlining here, I’ll start with an overview.
Analytics
| AWS Service | Amazon Redshift | Amazon EMR | Amazon Athena | AWS Glue | Amazon QuickSight | Amazon Kinesis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Data warehousing service | Managed Hadoop framework | Interactive query service | ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) service | Business intelligence service | Real-time data streaming and analytics |
| Key Features | Columnar storage Data analysis using SQL Scalable and fast | Process vast amounts of data Supports Hadoop ecosystem | SQL queries in S3 data Serverless, pay-per-query | Data catalog Serverless data preparation ETL jobs | Visualizations Dashboards ML Insights | Data streaming Real-time analytics Kinesis Data Firehose, Streams, Analytics, Video Streams |
| Scalability | Scalable compute and storage | Scalable cluster size | Scales automatically to query execution | Scales automatically for processing | Scales with number of users and data | Scales to handle large stream volumes |
| Use Cases | Large-scale data warehousing Complex query processing | Big data processing Data transformations Machine learning | Ad-hoc query analysis Serverless querying in S3 | Data integration Data cleaning and transformation | Business reporting Data visualization Embed analytics | Real-time data processing IoT data analytics Streaming applications |
| Pricing Model | Pay per node per hour | Pay per instance hour | Pay per query (amount of data scanned) | Pay per DPU hour | Pay per session or capacity pricing | Pay based on data throughput and processing |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Synapse Analytics | Azure HDInsight | Azure Data Lake Analytics | Azure Data Factory | Microsoft Power BI | Azure Stream Analytics |
Application Integration
| Feature/Service | AWS Step Functions | AWS Simple Queue Service (SQS) | AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS) | AWS AppSync | AWS EventBridge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Orchestration service for automated workflows | Message queuing service for decoupling distributed systems | Pub/sub messaging and mobile notifications service | Managed GraphQL service for application data queries | Serverless event bus for application integration |
| Service Type | Managed orchestration service | Managed message queuing service | Managed pub/sub messaging service | Managed GraphQL service | Managed event bus service |
| Key Features | Visual workflow management, Integration with AWS services, State management | Message queuing, Decoupling components, Scalable, reliable message delivery | Topic-based pub/sub, Instantaneous, push-based delivery, Message filtering options | Real-time data access and updates, Integration with AWS services, Offline data synchronization | Event-driven architecture, Custom event routing, Integration with AWS services |
| Scalability | High scalability with automatic scaling | High throughput, scalable to handle high volumes of messages | High throughput, scalable to a large number of subscribers | Scales with the number of queries and mutations | Scales automatically with the number of events |
| Use Cases | Complex workflows, Microservices orchestration, Serverless applications | Decoupling application components, Message buffering, Asynchronous communication | Fan-out messaging patterns, Application-to-person communication, Decoupling publishers and subscribers | Building real-time applications, API for frontend applications, Mobile backends | Event-driven architectures, Custom applications, SaaS application integration |
| Pricing Model | Pay per transition in your workflow | Pay per million requests after the free tier | Pay per million requests after the free tier | Pay based on query execution and data transfer | Pay per event processed after the free tier |
| Management Overhead | Low to medium (depends on workflow complexity) | Low (fully managed service) | Low (fully managed service) | Medium (requires schema definition and resolvers setup) | Low (fully managed, but requires event pattern setup) |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Logic Apps | Azure Service Bus | Azure Notification Hubs | Azure API Management + Azure Functions | Azure Event Grid |
Compute
| AWS Compute Service | Amazon EC2 | AWS Lambda | Amazon ECS | Amazon EKS | AWS Fargate | AWS Batch | AWS Elastic Beanstalk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Scalable virtual servers | Event-driven, serverless computing | Container management service | Managed Kubernetes service | Serverless compute for containers | Batch computing in the cloud | Easy-to-use service for deploying and scaling web applications |
| Service Type | IaaS | PaaS | CaaS | CaaS | CaaS | IaaS/PaaS | PaaS |
| Key Features | Flexible configurations, Broad OS support, Integrated with many AWS services | Automatic scaling, Pay-per-use, Supports many programming languages | Supports Docker containers, Integrates with AWS services | Kubernetes-compatible, Managed Kubernetes clusters | No infrastructure management, Pay-per-use | Managed batch processing, Integrates with AWS services | Quick deployment, Automated scaling and management |
| Scalability | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Use Cases | Web servers, Application servers, Backend servers | Event-driven applications, Microservices | Microservices, Batch processing | Microservices, Application scaling | Microservices, Running containers without managing servers | Large-scale processing jobs, Parallel processing | Web applications, Quick deployment of applications |
| Pricing Model | Pay per use based on instances | Pay per request and compute time | Pay per use based on container resources | Pay per use based on cluster resources | Pay per use based on container resources | Pay per use based on computing resources | Pay per use based on resources used |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Virtual Machines | Azure Functions | Azure Container Instances or Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | Azure Container Instances | Azure Batch | Azure App Service |
Containers
| AWS Service | Amazon ECS | Amazon EKS | AWS Fargate | Amazon ECR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Container orchestration service | Kubernetes orchestration service | Serverless compute for containers | Docker container registry |
| Service Type | Container Management | Container Management | Compute | Container Registry |
| Key Features | Integrates with AWS services, Supports Docker containers | Managed Kubernetes service, Integrates with AWS services | No need to manage servers, Pay for use | Store, manage, and deploy Docker container images |
| Scalability | Scales with containerized applications | Scales with Kubernetes applications | Automatically scales computing layer | Scales with number of container images |
| Use Cases | Microservices, Batch processing | Kubernetes on AWS, Scalable applications | Running containers without managing servers | Container image storage and management |
| Pricing Model | Pay for underlying resources used | Pay for EKS control plane | Pay for vCPU and memory resources used | Pay for storage and data transfer |
| Management Overhead | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Container Instances | Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | Azure Container Instances | Azure Container Registry |
Cost Management
| AWS Service | AWS Cost Explorer | AWS Budgets | AWS Cost and Usage Report | AWS Savings Plans | AWS Trusted Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Visualization and understanding of AWS spend | Setting custom budgets for AWS costs and usage | Detailed breakdown of AWS costs and usage | Flexible pricing model to save on specific AWS services | Providing best practices to reduce costs and improve performance |
| Service Type | Analytical tool | Budgeting tool | Reporting tool | Pricing model | Advisory tool |
| Key Features | Interactive interface, Historical data analysis, Forecasting | Custom budget creation, Alerts and notifications, Cost and usage tracking | Detailed cost and usage data, Customizable report creation, Data integration with other tools | Commitment to a consistent amount of usage, Reduced rates compared to on-demand pricing, Flexibility in usage | Cost optimization recommendations, Resource usage monitoring, Alerts for underutilized resources |
| Use Cases | Analyzing spending trends, Identifying cost drivers, Budget planning | Budget tracking, Cost management, Alerting on cost overruns | Detailed cost analysis, Accounting and chargebacks, Data export for further analysis | Long-term cost savings, Predictable billing, Specific or mixed-use cases | Cost optimization, Performance improvement, Security and compliance checks |
| Pricing Model | Included with AWS subscription (additional charges for API requests) | Free for basic usage; charges for advanced features | Free | Commitment-based (1 or 3 years) | Included with AWS subscription; more features with Business and Enterprise support plans |
| Management Overhead | Low | Low to Medium | Medium to High | Low to Medium | Low |
| Azure Service Equivalent | Azure Cost Management + Billing | Azure Budgets | Azure Cost Analysis | Azure Reserved VM Instances | Azure Advisor |
Database
| AWS Service | Amazon RDS | Amazon DynamoDB | Amazon Redshift | Amazon Aurora | Amazon Neptune | Amazon DocumentDB | AWS Glue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Managed relational database service | Managed NoSQL database service | Managed data warehouse service | MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database | Graph database service | MongoDB-compatible document database service | ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) service |
| Service Type | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS |
| Key Features | Multiple database engine support, Automated backups, Scalability | Key-value and document data models, High performance at scale, Fully managed | Fast query performance, Columnar storage, Data warehousing | High performance and scalability, MySQL and PostgreSQL compatibility, Managed service | Graph model support, High throughput, ACID transactions | MongoDB compatibility, Scalability and performance, Fully managed | Data integration, Data catalog, Serverless data processing |
| Scalability | Scalable storage and compute resources | Automatically scales to accommodate data and traffic | Scalable compute and storage resources | Automatically scales compute and storage | Scalable storage and query processing | Scalable compute and storage resources | Scales resources as needed for jobs |
| Use Cases | Web and mobile applications, E-commerce systems, Reporting applications | Web-scale applications, Real-time analytics, IoT applications | Business intelligence, Large scale reporting, Data analysis | Enterprise applications, High throughput applications, SaaS applications | Knowledge graphs, Fraud detection, Social networking | Document storage, Content management, Catalogs and profiles | Data preparation, Data loading, Data transformation |
| Pricing Model | Pay for compute, storage, and I/O | Pay for read/write throughput and storage | Pay for compute nodes and storage | Pay for compute and storage usage | Pay for instance hours and data transfer | Pay for compute, storage, and I/O | Pay per job run and data processed |
| Management Overhead | Low to Medium | Low | Low to Medium | Low to Medium | Low to Medium | Low | Medium |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure SQL Database | Azure Cosmos DB | Azure Synapse Analytics | Azure Database for MySQL & Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Azure Cosmos DB Gremlin API | Azure Cosmos DB API for MongoDB | Azure Data Factory |
Front-End & Mobile
| AWS Service | AWS Amplify | Amazon S3 | Amazon API Gateway | AWS AppSync | Amazon Cognito |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Development platform for mobile and web applications | Scalable storage in the cloud | Service for creating, publishing, maintaining, and securing APIs | Managed GraphQL service for applications | User identity and data synchronization service |
| Service Type | PaaS | IaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS |
| Key Features | Full-stack development, Continuous deployment, Real-time data | Data storage and retrieval, Scalability, Data availability | API creation and deployment, Traffic management, Authorization and access control | Real-time data updates, Offline data synchronization, Integration with other AWS services | User authentication, User data synchronization, Integration with external identity providers |
| Scalability | Scales with application usage | Highly scalable storage solution | Scales with API call volumes | Scales with query volumes | Scales with number of users |
| Use Cases | Building and deploying mobile and web applications | Storing web application assets, Backup and storage, Hosting static websites | Creating RESTful APIs, Microservices backends, Real-time applications | Building real-time collaborative applications, Mobile backends | User authentication for web and mobile applications, User management for applications |
| Pricing Model | Pay for underlying services used | Pay for storage used and data transfer | Pay per API call and data transfer | Pay per query and data transfer | Pay per monthly active user and data synchronization |
| Management Overhead | Low to Medium | Low | Low to Medium | Low to Medium | Low to Medium |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Static Web Apps & Azure Mobile Apps | Azure Blob Storage | Azure API Management | Azure API for FHIR (No direct equivalent for GraphQL) | Azure Active Directory B2C |
Machine Learning
| AWS Service | AWS SageMaker | AWS Comprehend | AWS Rekognition | AWS Lex | AWS Polly | AWS Translate | AWS DeepLens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Comprehensive machine learning service | Natural language processing service | Image and video analysis service | Conversational interfaces for applications | Text-to-speech service | Language translation service | Deep learning enabled video camera |
| Service Type | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | PaaS | Hardware + Software |
| Key Features | Build, train, deploy ML models, Jupyter notebooks, Broad framework support | Text analysis, Sentiment analysis, Entity recognition | Object and scene detection, Facial analysis | Chatbots creation, Natural language understanding | Lifelike speech generation, Multiple languages | Real-time translation, Multiple languages | Pre-trained models, Custom model training |
| Scalability | Scalable model training and deployment | Scales with text processing demand | Scales with image/video analysis demand | Scales with conversational demand | High scalability | High scalability | Depends on deployment |
| Use Cases | Data scientists and developers, ML model development and deployment | Customer sentiment analysis, Text data insights | Image moderation, Facial recognition | Virtual assistants, Customer service bots | Content creation, Voice-enabled applications | Multilingual content creation, Global communication | Educational projects, Custom model development |
| Pricing Model | Pay for what you use (compute, storage, data processing) | Pay per use based on data processed | Pay per use based on images/videos processed | Pay per request | Pay per character | Pay per character | One-time purchase for hardware |
| Management Overhead | Medium (setup and management of ML workflows) | Low (managed service) | Low (managed service) | Medium (setup and management of conversations) | Low (managed service) | Low (managed service) | Medium (setup and model training) |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Machine Learning | Azure Text Analytics | Azure Computer Vision | Azure Bot Service | Azure Speech Service | Azure Translator | Azure Kinect DK |
Management & Governance
| AWS Service | AWS CloudFormation | AWS CloudTrail | AWS Config | AWS OpsWorks | AWS Service Catalog | AWS Systems Manager | AWS Trusted Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Infrastructure as Code service | Web service that records AWS account activity | Service for resource configuration auditing | Configuration management service | Service for organizing and governing cloud resources | Unified interface for managing AWS infrastructure | Online tool providing best practice recommendations |
| Service Type | Management | Monitoring | Monitoring | Management | Management | Management | Advisory |
| Key Features | Automate and manage resources, Template-based configurations | Track user activity and API usage, Audit changes | Track resource configurations, Evaluate compliance | Automate operations with Chef and Puppet | Create and manage catalogs of IT services | Automate operational tasks, Centralized management | Best practice checks, Cost optimization, Performance |
| Scalability | Scales with infrastructure size | Scales with AWS account activity | Scales with number of AWS resources | Scales with managed instances | Scales with number of service catalogs | Scales with AWS infrastructure | Scales with AWS usage |
| Use Cases | Infrastructure provisioning, Application deployment | Compliance auditing, Security analysis | Compliance and audit, Resource inventory | Server configuration management, Application management | IT service management, Resource governance | Systems operations, Application management | Cost optimization, Security assessment, Performance improvement |
| Pricing Model | Free (charges for underlying resources) | Pay per event recorded | Pay per resource recorded and evaluated | Free (charges for underlying resources) | Pay per user and product used | Free (charges for underlying resources) | Included with AWS subscription; more features with Business and Enterprise support plans |
| Management Overhead | Medium (template creation and management) | Low | Medium | Medium (configuration and management) | Medium (catalog creation and management) | Medium (task automation and management) | Low |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Resource Manager | Azure Monitor | Azure Policy | Azure Automation State Configuration | Azure Managed Applications | Azure Automation | Azure Advisor |
Migration & Transfer
| AWS Service | AWS Migration Hub | AWS DataSync | AWS Transfer Family | AWS Snow Family | AWS Database Migration Service | AWS Server Migration Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Centralized migration tracking | Data transfer service | Secure file transfers | Physical data transport solution | Database migration service | Server migration service |
| Service Type | Management & Monitoring | Data Transfer | Data Transfer | Data Transfer & Physical Shipping | Data Migration | Server Migration |
| Key Features | Track progress of migrations, Integrate with other AWS tools | High-speed data transfer, Automated data synchronization | Managed SFTP, FTPS, and FTP service | Physical devices for large data transfer, Secure data transport | Supports multiple database platforms, Continuous data replication | Automate server migration, Incremental replication |
| Scalability | Scales with number of migrations | Scales with amount of data | Scales with number of transfers | Scales with data volume | Scales with database size | Scales with number of servers |
| Use Cases | Managing large-scale migrations, Tracking multiple migration projects | Moving large datasets, Regular data sync | Secure file transfer to AWS, Replace legacy file transfer systems | Large-scale data migration, Data center shutdowns | Migrating databases to AWS, Database consolidation | Migrating VMs to AWS, Data center evacuation |
| Pricing Model | Pay for underlying services used | Pay per data transferred | Pay per use based on transfer capacity | Service fee plus shipping | Pay per instance and data transferred | Free (charges for underlying EC2 usage) |
| Management Overhead | Medium | Low to Medium | Low | Medium to High (physical handling) | Medium | Medium |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Migrate | Azure Data Box | Azure Blob Storage | Azure Data Box | Azure Database Migration Service | Azure Site Recovery |
Networking & Content Delivery
| AWS Service | Amazon VPC | Amazon CloudFront | AWS Direct Connect | Amazon Route 53 | AWS Elastic Load Balancing | Amazon API Gateway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Virtual network within AWS | Content delivery network service | Dedicated network connection to AWS | DNS web service | Distribute incoming application traffic | Create, publish, maintain, and secure APIs |
| Service Type | Networking | Content Delivery | Networking | DNS Service | Load Balancing | API Management |
| Key Features | Isolated network environment, Customizable IP address range, Route tables, Network gateways | Global content delivery, Website and video content acceleration | Private connectivity to AWS, Reduced bandwidth costs | Scalable Domain Name System, Traffic routing | High availability, Automatic scaling, Multiple load balancer types | API caching, Throttling, Swagger support |
| Scalability | Scales with your AWS infrastructure | Scales with content delivery needs | Scales with your network traffic | Scales with request volume | Scales with application traffic | Scales with API call volumes |
| Use Cases | Hosting applications, Secure and scalable networking | Fast content delivery, Web application acceleration | Hybrid cloud environments, Bandwidth-heavy workloads | Web application hosting, Traffic routing | Load balancing for EC2 instances, Application scaling | Building RESTful APIs, Microservices backends |
| Pricing Model | Pay for resources used | Pay as you go based on content delivery | Pay for dedicated connection | Pay per hosted zone and query volume | Pay per hour and additional charges for processed bytes | Pay per API call and data transfer |
| Management Overhead | Medium | Low | Medium | Low | Low to Medium | Low to Medium |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Virtual Network | Azure CDN | Azure ExpressRoute | Azure DNS | Azure Load Balancer | Azure API Management |
Security, Identity, and Compliance
| AWS Service | AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) | Amazon Cognito | AWS Key Management Service (KMS) | AWS Shield | AWS WAF | AWS GuardDuty | AWS Inspector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | User and access management | User identity and data synchronization service | Managed service to create and control encryption keys | DDoS protection | Web application firewall | Threat detection service | Automated security assessment |
| Service Type | Identity Management | Identity Management | Key Management | Security | Security | Security | Security |
| Key Features | User and group management, Permission policies, MFA | User sign-up, sign-in, and access control, Social identity integration | Centralized key management, Encryption and decryption, Audit capabilities | DDoS protection, Integration with AWS WAF and AWS Shield Advanced | Web traffic filtering, Customizable rules, Real-time metrics | Intelligent threat detection, Continuous monitoring, Automated alerts | Security assessment, Vulnerability management, Automated checks |
| Scalability | Scales with number of users and permissions | Scales with number of users | Scales with key usage | Scales with AWS infrastructure | Scales with web traffic | Scales with AWS infrastructure | Scales with number of instances |
| Use Cases | Secure AWS resource access, Fine-grained access control | Mobile and web application user management, Identity federation | Data encryption, Regulatory compliance | Protect against DDoS attacks, Minimize downtime | Protect web applications, Customize web traffic rules | Detect malicious activity, Protect AWS accounts and workloads | Security assessment for EC2 instances, Improve security posture |
| Pricing Model | Free (charges for additional services) | Free tier available; pay for monthly active users | Pay per key and API call | Free (additional cost for AWS Shield Advanced) | Pay based on rules and web requests | Pay based on volume of logs analyzed | Pay per assessment run |
| Management Overhead | Medium | Low to Medium | Low to Medium | Low | Low to Medium | Low | Low to Medium |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Active Directory & Azure Role-Based Access Control | Azure Active Directory B2C | Azure Key Vault | Azure DDoS Protection | Azure Web Application Firewall | Azure Sentinel | Azure Security Center |
Serverless
| AWS Service | AWS Lambda | Amazon API Gateway | AWS Step Functions | Amazon S3 | Amazon DynamoDB | Amazon SNS | Amazon SQS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Run code without provisioning servers | Create, publish, maintain, and secure APIs | Coordinate multiple AWS services into serverless workflows | Object storage service | Managed NoSQL database service | Pub/Sub messaging and mobile notifications service | Message queuing service |
| Service Type | Compute | API Management | Orchestration | Storage | Database | Messaging | Messaging |
| Key Features | Automatic scaling, Event-driven, Supports multiple languages | API caching, Throttling, Swagger support | Visual workflow management, Integration with AWS services | Data storage and retrieval, Scalability, Data availability | Key-value and document data models, High performance at scale, Fully managed | Decouple and scale microservices, applications, and systems | Secure, durable, and available message queue |
| Scalability | Scales automatically with execution | Scales with API call volumes | Scales with workflow complexity | Highly scalable storage solution | Automatically scales to accommodate data and traffic | Scales with number of messages | Scales with message throughput |
| Use Cases | Event-driven applications, Microservices, Real-time file processing | Building RESTful APIs, Microservices backends | Workflow automation, Application orchestration | Storing web application assets, Backup and storage, Hosting static websites | Web-scale applications, Real-time analytics, IoT applications | Application-to-application messaging, SMS and email notifications | Decoupling application components, Message buffering |
| Pricing Model | Pay per request and compute time | Pay per API call and data transfer | Pay per state transition | Pay for storage used and data transfer | Pay for read/write throughput and storage | Pay per request | Pay per request and data transfer |
| Management Overhead | Low | Low to Medium | Medium | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Functions | Azure API Management | Azure Logic Apps | Azure Blob Storage | Azure Cosmos DB | Azure Notification Hubs | Azure Queue Storage |
Storage
| AWS Service | Amazon S3 | Amazon EBS | Amazon EFS | Amazon Glacier | AWS Storage Gateway | AWS Snow Family | Amazon FSx |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Object storage service | Block storage for EC2 | File storage for EC2 | Long-term archival storage | Hybrid cloud storage service | Physical data transport solution | Fully managed file storage |
| Service Type | Storage | Storage | Storage | Storage | Storage | Storage | Storage |
| Key Features | High durability, Scalability, Data availability | Persistent block storage, High performance | Scalable file storage, Simple interface | Low-cost data archiving, Secure and durable | On-premises integration, Cached and stored volumes | Large-scale data transfer, Secure data transport | Managed Windows and Lustre file systems |
| Scalability | Highly scalable storage solution | Scales with EC2 instances | Scales with number of files and connections | Scales with amount of data | Scales with on-premises environment | Scales with data volume | Scales with file system size and performance needs |
| Use Cases | Storing web application assets, Backup and storage, Hosting static websites | Databases, Enterprise applications | Shared file storage, Content management | Data archiving, Backup and disaster recovery | Integrating on-premises environments with cloud | Large-scale data migrations, Temporary storage for large datasets | High-performance computing, Machine learning, Media data processing |
| Pricing Model | Pay for storage used and data transfer | Pay for provisioned storage | Pay for storage used | Pay for storage and retrieval | Pay for gateway deployed and data stored | Service fee plus shipping | Pay for provisioned storage and throughput |
| Management Overhead | Low | Low | Low | Low | Medium | Medium to High (physical handling) | Low to Medium |
| Azure Equivalent | Azure Blob Storage | Azure Managed Disks | Azure Files | Azure Blob Storage - Cool & Archive Tiers | Azure StorSimple | Azure Data Box | Azure NetApp Files & Azure Files |