- Virtual machines (VMs): An infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offering that provides scalable, on-demand computing resources hosted in Azure’s cloud. Users can select their OS, install software, configure networks and security, and deploy workloads just like they would on a physical server. Computational resources can be scaled up or down based on need.
- Azure Blob Storage: A tool for unstructured data such as images, documents, or backups. Users create containers, then upload and access data to those containers, through the web or software development kits (SDKs).
- Azure App Service: A fully managed PaaS platform that allows users to deploy apps and APIs from a codebase.
- Azure Functions: A serverless tool where users can build apps based on small blocks of code.
- Microsoft Power BI: A software-as-a-service (SaaS) business analytics platform that provides visuals and dashboards so enterprises can gain insights from their data.
What is Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?
GCP is the youngest of the big three hyperscalers, having launched in 2011. It takes an open, Kubernetes-centric strategy, with Anthos— essentially an enterprise-grade distribution of Kubernetes designed to run in a customer datacenter, on GCP itself, or on other clouds like AWS and Azure—at the center. McCarthy notes that Anthos is designed for consistent application deployment and management across environments. This differentiates GCP from AWS’s hardware-centric approach with Outposts, and Azure’s management-centric approach with Arc.
Google’s strategy with Anthos is rooted in its own history, McCarthy explains. “Google pioneered Kubernetes, and their driving principle is that open standards create a common, portable foundation for modern applications,” he says. “They’re betting that the future of enterprise IT is built on containers and microservices orchestrated by Kubernetes.”
By standardizing on Kubernetes, Anthos allows for application portability, McCarthy points out. Users can build an application once and deploy it consistently across any environment without needing to refactor in a “software-first, application-centric” vision for multicloud.
