Decision guide · AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud: which one fits your business
A short guide for lenders, hospitals and SaaS teams in India that are choosing a cloud, or deciding whether they need a second one. None of the three is the right answer for everyone. The choice usually comes down to what you already run and license, where your data must stay, what your team knows, which AI models you need, and who will run it.
HabileLabs works on all three and says plainly where its published proof sits: most of it on AWS, one result on Azure, and one published project on Google Cloud.
- AWS Partner, Advanced Tier Services
- Microsoft Solutions Partner, three Azure designations
- Google Cloud Partner
Where each cloud fits
Where each cloud tends to fit
Tendencies, not rules. Each of the three can run most business workloads. What separates them for you is what you already run, and what you plan to build.
AWS Partner, Advanced Tier Services
AWS
A common fit when your team works mostly outside the Microsoft stack, or your applications already run on AWS. It is also where our record is deepest: 200+ AWS customer launches, two AWS Competencies, nine Service Delivery validations and most of our published client results.
Explore AWS consultingMicrosoft Solutions Partner
Microsoft Azure
Strongest when you already run Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, Windows Server or SQL Server. Teams on Microsoft 365 often want their infrastructure in the same place, and existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance can often be applied through Azure Hybrid Benefit to lower the cost.
Explore Microsoft AzureGoogle Cloud Partner
Google Cloud
Worth a close look when data, analytics and AI come first. Google Cloud brings modern data and analytics platforms and the Gemini ecosystem for enterprise AI; we build on top of it, from assessment and architecture to data engineering and AI applications. Our one published Google Cloud project is a GDPR consent management platform built with Google Cloud services, including Bigtable and BigQuery.
Explore Google Cloud
Already running more than one of these? Many teams do without planning it, for example Microsoft 365 and Entra ID on one side and applications on AWS on the other. See multi-cloud and hybrid cloud services.
How to decide
Six questions that decide it
Answer these before you compare feature lists or prices. They are the questions we work through with you before we recommend a cloud.
01
What do you already run and license?
Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Windows Server and SQL Server point toward Azure, especially when licenses with Software Assurance can carry over through Azure Hybrid Benefit. We check this during the readiness assessment. Applications already built and running on AWS point the other way. Count what a move would cost in licenses and rework, not only what running would cost.
02
Where must your data stay?
All three clouds run more than one region in India; on AWS, Mumbai and Hyderabad. At EHCC, patient records needed encryption, data residency in India and alignment with the DPDP Act, 2023. For banks and NBFCs, RBI's IT outsourcing direction asks for an exit strategy that keeps the business running during and after an exit. We cover technical readiness, not legal or compliance advice.
See the cloud exit assessment03
What does your team already know?
A cloud your team can already run costs less than one it has to learn, or one you depend on outside help for. If the skills sit on one cloud and the workloads on another, plan for training or a managed service from the start.
04
Which AI models do you need?
Pick the cloud where the models you need and your data can sit together. On AWS, we build on Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker, under our AWS AI Services Competency. On Azure, our Data & AI designation covers data platforms, analytics and AI, and we roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot. Google Cloud brings the Gemini ecosystem.
05
What credits and partner programs apply?
Credits and funding can change what the first year costs. On AWS, the cloud readiness assessment for small and medium businesses checks which AWS programs you qualify for, including up to $300 in AWS Rapid Ramp Credits for eligible clients, and the AWS modernization assessment includes a funding eligibility check. Ask before you sign, not after.
06
Who will run it after go-live?
Someone has to own monitoring, patching, backups, access and the bill from day one. We run AWS 24x7 under AWS managed services, and Azure as Managed Azure Services with support hours agreed for each contract. On Google Cloud, our partner page lists ongoing operational support. We also take over environments another partner built.
Not sure how your answers add up? The free cloud infrastructure assessment reviews what you run on AWS, Azure or private cloud against performance, availability, security and cost. To bring down an AWS or Azure bill you already have, see cloud cost optimization.
One cloud or two
One cloud, or two?
Running more than one cloud on purpose is rarely the right goal to start with. Each extra cloud brings its own identity, security, cost and skills to manage. Sometimes it earns that cost. Often one primary cloud is enough.
One primary cloud is enough when
- Most of your workloads and data already live in one place.
- Your team knows one cloud well and has no time to learn a second.
- No client, acquisition or regulator requires another provider.
- Recovery can run across two regions of the same cloud, as at Aavas Financiers, across the AWS Mumbai and Hyderabad regions.
- The AI models and data services you need are available where you already run.
One or two?
A second cloud earns its cost when
- You already run Microsoft 365 and Entra ID beside applications on AWS, and need one identity and security view across both.
- A client contract or an acquisition brings a cloud you have to support.
- The data platform or AI model you have chosen runs on another cloud.
- Your exit strategy, which RBI's IT outsourcing direction asks regulated entities to set out, names another provider as the alternative and you want it ready to use.
- You want recovery copies kept outside your primary provider.
Already running two? Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud services cover one landing-zone standard, one identity model, one security and recovery view and one cost view across AWS and Azure. Planning an exit? The cloud exit assessment covers technical readiness, not legal or compliance advice.
What we deliver
What we deliver on each cloud
On AWS and Azure, an engagement runs in the same four stages: assess, plan, build and move, then run and improve. The published proof behind each cloud differs, and we say so.
AWS · Most of our published results
On AWS
Migration, modernization on Amazon ECS and AWS Lambda, 24x7 managed services, security and disaster recovery, cost optimization, DevOps with AWS CloudFormation, and AI on Amazon Bedrock. At Aavas Financiers: 99.99% uptime from an active-active disaster recovery architecture across the AWS Mumbai and Hyderabad regions.
See AWS case studiesAzure · One published result
On Microsoft Azure
A readiness assessment and a landing zone built first, migration in planned waves with Azure Migrate, licenses checked for Azure Hybrid Benefit, Managed Azure Services, cost optimization, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Power BI on Microsoft Fabric. Marsons Energy cut cold storage backup costs by 50%, compared with physical disks, with Azure Blob Storage tiers.
Plan a move to AzureGoogle Cloud · One published project
On Google Cloud
As a Google Cloud Partner, we offer cloud assessment and architecture, migration and modernization planning and implementation, data engineering, AI application engineering with the Gemini ecosystem, DevOps, cloud optimization and ongoing operational support. Our one published Google Cloud project is a GDPR consent management platform built with Google Cloud services, including Bigtable and BigQuery.
Read the Google Cloud case study
Moves from Azure or Google Cloud to AWS are part of our AWS migration service; none of our published case studies covers a move between clouds yet. Further reading: Azure vs AWS for Indian SMBs · What is Microsoft Azure and how it works
FAQs
AWS, Azure or Google Cloud: common questions
Short answers. Where we cite a client result, it comes from a published case study.
None of them is better for every business. The right choice depends on what you already run and license, where your data must stay, what your team knows, which AI models you need and who will run it. Work through those questions before you compare feature lists or prices.
Not automatically, but it makes Azure a strong candidate, especially if you also run Windows Server or SQL Server: existing licenses with Software Assurance can often be applied through Azure Hybrid Benefit to lower the cost, and we check this during the readiness assessment. Many teams run Microsoft 365 and Entra ID beside applications on AWS, and that can work well with one identity model across both.
All three clouds run more than one region in India. On AWS, those are Mumbai and Hyderabad: Aavas Financiers runs active-active disaster recovery across both, and EHCC's landing zone was set up in the AWS Mumbai Region, where its patient records needed encryption and data residency in India. What your regulator or contracts require is for your compliance team to confirm; we cover technical readiness, not legal or compliance advice.
Yes, though most of it is on AWS. On Azure, Marsons Energy cut cold storage backup costs by 50%, compared with physical disks. Our one published Google Cloud project is a GDPR consent management platform built with Google Cloud services, including Bigtable and BigQuery. Its case study is linked from the Google Cloud card above.
Usually not by design. One primary cloud is simpler to secure, staff and pay for. A second earns its cost when Microsoft 365 and Entra ID already put you on the Microsoft side, when a client or an acquisition brings another cloud, when the data platform or AI model you need runs elsewhere, or when your exit plan needs an alternative provider. If you already run two, see our multi-cloud and hybrid cloud services page.
Not yet. Our published results are single-cloud projects, most of them on AWS. Aavas Financiers' disaster recovery spans two AWS regions, Mumbai and Hyderabad: that is multi-region, not multi-cloud.
Into AWS, yes: cloud-to-cloud moves from Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud to AWS are part of our AWS migration service. None of our published case studies covers a move between clouds yet. If you need an exit plan rather than a move, start with our cloud exit assessment.
It depends on your workloads, licenses and commitments, so we do not compare list prices here. Licenses you already own can change the answer through Azure Hybrid Benefit, and steady usage can be committed through Savings Plans on AWS or reservations on Azure. Before a move, the Azure readiness assessment includes an estimate of running costs on Azure, and the AWS modernization assessment a calculator view of cost, effort and timeline. For a bill you already have, our cloud cost optimization page sets out the AWS cost optimization assessment and the Azure cost review.
Next step
Not sure which cloud fits?
Tell us what you run today, where your data must stay and who will run it. A cloud architect will come back with an approach, the effort and the risks, whether or not we end up working together.
- AWS Partner, Advanced Tier Services
- Microsoft Solutions Partner for Azure
- Google Cloud Partner
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