A practical way to choose between Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, based on what you already use, where your data must live and who will run it.
All three major providers can run almost anything a UK organisation needs, so the choice rarely comes down to features. It comes down to what you already have, where your data has to live and who will look after it once it’s running. Working through those three questions in order usually makes the answer obvious.
Start with what you already use
If your staff sign in with Microsoft 365, you already have Microsoft Entra ID, and Azure can use those same accounts and security groups. That saves a second set of logins and keeps leavers’ access in one place. If your team builds on Google Workspace, the same logic points to Google Cloud.
Look at your existing licences too. Some Microsoft licences can be reused on Azure, which can change the cost of running Windows Server or SQL Server noticeably. Ask your licensing provider before you compare prices.
AWS has the widest range of services and the largest pool of engineers who know it. If you have no strong pull from existing tools, that breadth and the ease of hiring are good reasons to choose it.
Decide where your data must live
All three providers have UK regions:
- Microsoft Azure: UK South (London) and UK West (Cardiff)
- Amazon Web Services: Europe (London)
- Google Cloud: europe-west2 (London)
At the time of writing, Azure is the only one of the three with two UK regions, which matters if you want a second UK location for disaster recovery without data leaving the country. Note that UK West has no availability zones, so it’s best used as the recovery site rather than the main one. With AWS or Google Cloud you’d use separate availability zones within the London region instead, which protects against the failure of one data centre but not the whole region.
If contracts or regulators say your data must stay in the UK, check backups and logs as well as the main database. They’re easy to overlook and some services default to other regions.
Think about who will run it
The best platform is the one your team, or your supplier, can run well. A simple setup on a cloud your people know is safer than a sophisticated one nobody understands. Ask whoever will support the system which platform they’re most confident on, and why.
Keep costs in view from day one
Cloud bills grow quietly. Whichever provider you choose:
- Turn on budget alerts so someone is told before costs pass a set amount.
- Tag every resource with its project and owner, so you can see what each bill line is for.
- Review sizes after the first month of real use. Most systems are sized for a guess and can shrink.
A short way to decide
- If you’re a Microsoft 365 organisation, start with Azure and only move away for a clear reason.
- If you need two separate UK regions, Azure is currently the only one of the three that offers them.
- Otherwise, choose the platform your support team knows best, and compare a realistic monthly cost before committing.
If you’d like a second opinion on a specific system, tell us about it and we’ll set out the options.