Cloud Service Providers: 13 Top Companies and Their Benefits & Challenges

SaaS providers offer ready-to-use software over the internet. The software is delivered over an internet connection instead of being installed locally on a computer.

SaaS Provider Examples are Salesforce Cloud, Microsoft Azure and AWS

PaaS providers give developers an environment ready for app deployment. This allows them to concentrate more on app development and less on infrastructure provisioning.

PaaS Provider Examples are AWS, Microsoft Azure and DigitalOcean

IaaS providers offer computing building blocks like servers, storage and networking. They let users create custom software deployment environments.

IaaS Provider Examples are AWS, Alibaba Cloud and Google Cloud Platform

AWS’s pricing model is primarily pay-as-you-go, but you can get cheaper prices with a larger usage volume and long-term commitments. Some services have free tiers, but most are only conditionally free since you have to pay beyond certain usage limits.

• Cloud services offered: AWS offers IaaS services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3). It also offers AWS Elastic Beanstalk and AWS App Runner as PaaS, and Amazon Cognito and Amazon Transcribe as SaaS. 
  
  Services like EKS and ECS are more specifically described as Container as a Service (CaaS), while AWS Lambda is Function as a Service. However, they fall under the Platform-as-a-Service umbrella.
• Cloud deployment models offered: AWS offers public, hybrid and private cloud deployment models.
• Cloud storage: AWS offers object storage, filesystem storage and block storage via S3, Elastic File System (EFS) and Elastic Block Storage (EBS), respectively. There’s also FSx, which is essentially EFS for specific high-performance filesystems. On-premises infrastructures can connect to AWS cloud storage using AWS Storage Gateway.
• Cloud security: Cloud security in AWS cuts across five main categories: compliance, network and application protection, identity and access management, data protection, and detection and response. Specific tools in these categories include AWS Artifact, AWS Shield, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), Amazon Macie and AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery, respectively.
• Cloud migration: You can facilitate cloud migration to AWS using tools like AWS Migration Hub, AWS Database Migration Service and AWS Application Migration Service (MGN). 
• Other key features: AWS promises an uptime SLA of up to 99.99%. The customer support is tiered, going from basic support to Developer, Business, Enterprise On-Ramp and Enterprise Support, each of which offers progressively more technical support.

Like AWS, Azure’s primary pricing model is pay-as-you-go. A discount is available for reservations and high usage volume.

• Cloud services offered: Azure offers services including IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Azure Virtual Network and Azure Blob Storage are IaaS. Azure App Service and Azure Kubernetes Service are PaaS, but Azure Kubernetes Service could be called Container as a Service or Kubernetes as a Service. Microsoft Entra ID and Office 365 are SaaS.
• Cloud deployment models offered: Azure supports the three main deployment models: public, private and hybrid.
• Cloud storage: Azure offers object storage, block storage and a filesystem. These come as Azure Blob Storage, Azure Disk Storage and Azure Files, respectively. It also has Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, which is tailor-made storage for big data analytics.
• Cloud security: Azure has some of the best security offerings, with Entra ID for identity and access management, DDoS Protection for network security, Stack Hub for secrets rotation and Defender for threat detection and response.
• Cloud migration: Azure offers Azure Migrate for planning, assessment and other pre-migration processes. Azure Database Migration Service is for moving databases to the cloud, and Azure Data Box is for offline data migration. Other Azure cloud migration services include Movere, Web App Migration Assistant, Data Migration Assistant and Migration & Modernization.
• Other key features: Azure service-level agreements (SLAs) can be up to 99.99%. The four support tiers are Basic, Developer, Standard and Professional Direct. Though all four feature technical support, access and response times differ. Only Professional Direct has access to support API, proactive guidance, training and operation support.

At the core of GCP’s pricing is the pay-as-you-go model. Like AWS and Azure, GCP offers cheaper rates for long-term commitments and has a free tier. You can also get a $300 credit to test paid services on signup.

There is also a unique discount structure (sustained-use discounts) that applies to resources used for at least a quarter of a billing month.

• Cloud services offered: Google offers services across the three main cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS). In the IaaS space is Compute Engine and Cloud DNS. PaaS services include App Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine and Cloud Functions. SaaS offerings include BigQuery and Google Workspace.
• Cloud deployment models offered: GCP supports hybrid, private and public cloud models.
• Cloud storage: GCP has object storage, block storage and file storage. IBM Object Storage is its object storage offering. For file storage, there’s Filestore. Persistent Disk is for block storage.
• Cloud security: GCP lays claim to some neat security tools. Like the other two leading cloud providers, it has Identity and Access Management. Beyond that, Cloud Armor filters web application traffic ingress and egress. Web Security Scanner is a tool that proactively seeks out vulnerabilities in applications.
  
  Other noteworthy tools in the GCP arsenal include Security Command Center, Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS), Cloud Data Loss Prevention and Cloud Firewall.
• Cloud migration: When migrating to the cloud via GCP, you can use Storage Transfer Service for large-scale data transfers. Database Migration Service is for moving databases to the cloud, and Migrate to Virtual Machines helps migrate workloads to virtual machines.
• Other key features: GCP’s SLAs can clock in as high as 99.99% with its three paid support tiers (Standard, Enhanced and Premium) and one free tier. GCP’s free support is mostly for basic questions and resolutions. The paid options have expanded agent availability, faster response times and more technical support.

Alibaba Cloud also uses the pay-as-you-go pricing model. Besides the typical hourly on-demand pricing, it offers daily pricing and monthly subscriptions, which are slightly cheaper. Alibaba Cloud offers huge discounts for long-term commitments, with up to 79% discounts for reserved Elastic Compute Service instances. You also have access to more than 50 free-tier services.

• Cloud services offered: Alibaba Cloud offers services across the IaaS, PaaS and SaaS delivery models. Its foremost IaaS offerings include Elastic Compute Service (ECS) and Object Storage Service (OSS). Serverless Application Engine and Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK) are on the PaaS side, and Apsara Video Cloud is SaaS.
• Cloud deployment models offered: Alibaba Cloud offers public, private and hybrid cloud computing. It can also be a part of a multi-cloud environment, but ease of integration may vary. For its hybrid cloud model, Alibaba Cloud offers services like Apsara Stack and DCaaS (Data Center as a Service).
• Cloud storage: Alibaba Cloud offers block storage, object storage and network file storage. Object Storage Service (OSS) has standard features like an access control list (ACL), encryption and data auditing. Alibaba Cloud’s object storage is called Block Storage. Network file storage is Apsara File Storage NAS (network-attached storage).
• Cloud security: Alibaba Cloud offers an encompassing suite of security solutions. With tools like Key Management Service (KMS) and Sensitive Data Discovery & Protection (SDDP), you can ensure data safety. Users can effectively ward off network attacks with its range of firewalls and anti-DDoS.
  
  Alibaba Cloud’s identity and access management tool is called Resource Access Management. In addition, its Identity as a Service (IDaaS) shares many similarities with AWS’ single sign-on (SSO).
• Cloud migration: The Cloud Migration Hub can handle virtually all steps involved in migrating to Alibaba Cloud. Individual tools like Cloud Backup and Database Backup also come in handy for cloud migration.
• Other key features: Users can choose from four support levels: Basic, Developer, Business and Enterprise. The Basic support plan is free and has the fewest features. The Enterprise plan, on the other hand, offers rapid response times, technical support, case handling and much more.

IBM Cloud offers a free tier for at least 40 services. Users also get some credit when they sign up. The core pricing is pay-as-you-go, but there are discounted commitment plans. IBM also offers loans and financing options.

• Cloud services offered: IBM Cloud offers IaaS services such as IBM Cloud Object Storage and virtual machines. Its PaaS services include IBM Cloud Foundry and IBM Cloud Functions. The IBM Watson suite is IBM’s largest SaaS offering. It largely focuses on artificial intelligence solutions for businesses.
• Cloud deployment models offered: Like the other services, IBM Cloud is primarily public. However, it also has private offerings as well as a type of hybrid cloud model that creates dedicated hardware resources for organizations in IBM’s data centers.
• Cloud storage: IBM Cloud has object storage, block storage and file storage. Rather than reinvent the wheel, IBM integrates with GCP’s Cloud Storage for object storage. It’s available in various tiers, which differ in data access frequency. IBM Cloud File Storage and IBM Cloud Block Storage are for file storage and block storage, respectively.
• Cloud security: IBM Cloud’s data encryption features are a top selling point. In addition to Identity and Access Management is Cloud Security Advisor, which analyzes security posture and offers proactive security scanning, plus IBM Cloud Secrets Manager, IBM Cloud App ID, IBM Cloud Security and Compliance Center, and IBM Key Protect.
• Cloud migration: You can plan your IBM Cloud migration using IBM Cloud Turbonomic. Businesses can use Cloud Migration Consulting to reach out to IBM for consultations and assistance with the migration. This service includes planning, strategy, execution and post-migration assistance.
• Other key features: IBM Cloud has SLAs that go as high as 99.99%. You get access to training and documentation that help you become self-sufficient on the platform. If you need expert support, you can choose one of three support tiers: Basic, Advanced or Premium.

DigitalOcean prices are typically straightforward. It’s mostly pay-as-you-go, with hourly and monthly pricing. Unlike the other services we’ve seen so far, DigitalOcean does not do upfront contracts. That said, its prices are comparatively lower and easy to predict. All in all, DigitalOcean has an excellent approach to pricing.

• Cloud services offered: DigitalOcean’s services are mainly IaaS and PaaS. Among its top IaaS services are Droplets (virtual machines), Spaces Object Storage and Volume Block Storage. Its PaaS offerings include App Platform and Functions, which are equivalent to Elastic Beanstalk and Lambda on AWS.
• Cloud deployment models offered: DigitalOcean’s main deployment models are public and private. For the private model, you get VPC Hosting. Though DigitalOcean offers no hybrid tool itself, it can be integrated into a hybrid cloud environment.
• Cloud storage: Storage options on DigitalOcean include Spaces Object Storage and Volume Block Storage. DigitalOcean does not have a dedicated file storage service.
• Cloud security: DigitalOcean puts a lot of work into infrastructure security. However, when it comes to security tools or services, it unfortunately doesn’t offer many options. That said, you do get network protection services such as Cloud Firewalls and DDoS Protection. 
• Cloud migration: DigitalOcean doesn’t have a dedicated cloud migration tool. However, backup and snapshot services are available. DigitalOcean also has many resources to guide users through the migration process, including planning, policies and third-party migration tools.
• Other key features: DigitalOcean’s SLA is as high as 99.99% with services like Droplets, but its Marketplace has an SLA of 99%. It has four support tiers. Basic is free and Developer is paid, but both only offer access to email support. Standard has email and live chat, while Premium adds a video call option and a Slack channel.

Salesforce pricing is largely subscription-based. Most subscriptions are monthly, but there are some yearly plans.

• Cloud services offered: Salesforce primarily offers PaaS and SaaS. Its PaaS offerings include Heroku and Lightning Platform. On the SaaS side, there’s Sales Cloud, Einstein Analytics and Salesforce Health Cloud. 
• Cloud deployment models offered: Salesforce’s deployment model is primarily public cloud, but there are some indications of hybrid and private cloud models in its system.
• Cloud storage: Salesforce allocates data storage, file storage and object storage to its products.
• Cloud security: Salesforce’s security model features object-level access control, field-level access control, rule sharing and encryption.
• Cloud migration: Salesforce Data Loader is one of the main migration tools. It helps with bulk data migration into and outside Salesforce. 
• Other key features: You can familiarize yourself with the Salesforce platform using Trailhead. Three support plans are available: Standard Success, Premier Success and Signature Success. 

Tencent Cloud offers more than 40 services with its free trial. Though generally priced on a pay-as-you-go model, it also offers annual and monthly subscriptions, which come with significant discounts.

• Cloud services offered: Tencent Cloud offers IaaS services such as Cloud Virtual Machine and Cloud Block Storage. It also has PaaS and SaaS offerings, including Tencent Kubernetes Engine and Data Transfer Services, respectively.
• Cloud deployment models offered: Tencent Cloud offers hybrid, public and private deployment models.
• Cloud storage: With Tencent Cloud, you get block, file and object storage with Cloud Block Storage, Cloud File Storage and Cloud Object Storage, respectively. There are also special storage options like Cloud Infinite for data analysis and processing.
• Cloud security: Tencent Cloud’s security suite has quite the roster. Network security services include Cloud Firewall and three levels of Anti-DDoS services. In addition, you can test your system’s security strength with the Penetration Test Service. 
  
  Tencent Cloud also has data security, business security, application security, endpoint security and security management tools. Services in these categories include Secrets Manager, Text Moderation System, Web Application Firewall, Tencent Container Security Service and Cloud Security Center, respectively.
• Cloud migration: If you’re migrating a relational database to Tencent Cloud, you can use Data Transmission Services (DTS). For larger data transfers, opt for Cloud Data Migration. Tencent Cloud also has CFS Filetruck for transferring file storage to the cloud and Migration Service Platform (MSP) for monitoring cloud migration.
• Other key features: Tencent Cloud offers training for five certifications ranging from Cloud Practitioner to Solutions Architect Professional. There are four support tiers: Basic, Developer, Business and Enterprise, all of which offer technical support. The Basic plan provides support only via tickets, and the rest have access to phone support.
  

In Oracle Cloud, you typically only pay for what you use. Besides that, there are various usage rewards in the form of credits and discounts. Oracle Cloud also offers a free tier with 26 always-free services and 41 free-trial-eligible services.

• Cloud services offered: IaaS has compute, storage and networking. You can use OCI Compute with Block Volumes for block storage and Load Balancer to optimize traffic. OCI’s many SaaS solutions include Oracle Analytics, Fusion Analytics and Workforce Management. OCI Functions and OCI Container Engine for Kubernetes are PaaS.
• Cloud deployment models offered: OCI is a big player when it comes to multi-cloud and hybrid cloud deployment. It also has public cloud and private cloud offerings.
• Cloud storage: As with most cloud providers, Oracle Cloud offers block, file and object storage. Object storage comes in four tiers, which are always free up to 20GB. Block storage is always free up to a total of 200GB between two volumes.
• Cloud security: OCI streamlines security adoption, especially since it integrates security features into its systems. However, it also offers a decent number of security tools, including Certificates and Vault for data protection, Bastions for SSH protection and Identity for user management.
• Cloud migration: Oracle Cloud Migrations automatically transfers virtual on-premises resources to Oracle Cloud. Other OCI cloud migration services are available via OCI Migration Hub, including databases, applications, DNS zones, file storage, block storage and big data migration services.
• Other key features: OCI offers tailored support for cloud infrastructure, cloud applications, on-premises software and on-premises hardware. OCI’s Autonomous Database is one of its most outstanding services available. With automated maintenance and support for various data types, it makes for increased efficiency and flexibility.

Huawei Cloud is primarily pay-as-you-go. Stable workloads may benefit from the monthly and yearly subscription models since they are cheaper than the pay-as-you-go rates. 

• Cloud services offered: Huawei Cloud offers IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. IaaS includes Elastic Cloud Server for compute, Elastic IP for networking and Object Storage Service for storage. PaaS includes Cloud Container Engine and RDS for MySQL. Lastly, Image Recognition, EIHealth and Short Sentence Recognition are part of its SaaS offerings.
• Cloud deployment models offered: Huawei Cloud does public, private and hybrid cloud computing.
• Cloud storage: You can get file, object and block storage on Huawei Cloud. There’s even an option for a dedicated block storage. Besides the three main storage options, Huawei Cloud has multiple backup services, including Cloud Server Backup Service and Volume Backup Service.
• Cloud security: Many security tools from Huawei Cloud focus on network, application and data security. It has fewer tools than AWS, but significantly more than other providers outside the top three.
• Cloud migration: Huawei Cloud’s Data Express Service comes in handy when transferring large volumes of data to the cloud. There are also migration-specific tools on Huawei Cloud, including Object Storage Migration Service, Server Migration Service, Cloud Data Migration and Migration Center.
• Other key features: Huawei Cloud provides a thorough FAQ section, which gives users the chance to try to resolve issues themselves. If that doesn’t help, you can access one of four support tiers: Basic, Developer, Business or Enterprise.

Dell Cloud uses a subscription-based pricing model, which may be cheaper for intensive workloads.

• Cloud services offered: Dell Technologies Cloud offers virtual cloud storage for public and private cloud, plus on-premises compute, security and backup, and data protection and hybrid deployment services. Popular hybrid cloud deployment services are Dell APEX Hybrid Cloud for VMware and Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure.
• Cloud deployment models offered: The main deployment model on Dell Technologies Cloud is hybrid cloud. However, it also offers private cloud, which sees customers manage Dell Technologies Cloud resources on-premises.
• Cloud storage: Dell Technologies Cloud offers file and block storage for use on private and public clouds. Dell Technologies offers two public cloud services: Dell APEX File Storage for AWS and Dell APEX File Storage for Microsoft Azure. Its block storage for public cloud is only available for AWS and Microsoft Azure.
• Cloud security: Dell Technologies Cloud’s security solutions largely focus on data backup and disaster recovery. Its security portfolio includes Dell APEX Cyber Recovery Services, Dell APEX Backup Services and Dell APEX Data Storage Services Backup Target.
• Cloud migration: Dell Technologies Cloud offers data, application and workload migration services. You may also consult with their experts for assistance with cloud migration.
• Other key features: Dell APEX Console offers a centralized management dashboard for Dell Technologies Cloud users. With it, users can readily scale resources while keeping an eye on their spending and system health.

Vultr mainly uses hourly pricing and monthly subscriptions. The upside is that you’re not tied to long-term contracts, so you can easily switch services. The downside is that there are no long-term commitment discounts like with other cloud service providers.

Vultr guarantees an uptime of 100% on host nodes and network, offering 12-hour credits if availability drops to 99.99% for less than nine minutes.

• Cloud services offered: Vultr offers compute, storage, network, security and PaaS services. You can use bare-metal servers and virtual servers with this platform, as well as load balancers, a content delivery network (CDN), object storage and block storage. Vultr’s PaaS offerings include managed databases and a managed Kubernetes service.
• Cloud deployment models offered: Vultr supports private, public, hybrid and multi-cloud deployment models.
• Cloud storage: Vultr offers block storage and object storage. The block storage runs on SSD volumes and the object storage lays claim to seamless Amazon S3 integration.
• Cloud security: The Vultr platform offers DDoS protection, which secures networks and applications. Vultr Firewall controls server-bound traffic, protecting against unchecked access.
• Cloud migration: Though it has no dedicated cloud migration service at the moment, Vultr offers various resources for seamless migration.
• Other key features: Currently, opening a support ticket from your account seems to be the only support option for technical issues.

Cloudflare’s basic plan is sufficient for services like DNS, CDN, and DDoS protection. Paid plans are also available, with monthly or annual billing.

• Cloud services offered: Cloudflare offers application/network security and performance services, including a CDN, DDoS protection and web application firewalls. It also offers PaaS services (mostly serveless), such as Cloudflare Workers, D1 and Cloudflare Stream. One of Cloudflare’s few IaaS services is R2 Object Storage.
• Cloud deployment models offered: Cloudflare integrates into private, public, hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures.
• Cloud storage: R2 Object Storage is Cloudflare’s main cloud storage option. However, Cloudflare also offers serverless platforms for developing SQL databases and apps that come with data stores.
• Cloud security: On the security front, Cloudflare has a fairly extensive range of services, including Cloud Email Security, Magic Firewall, Magic WAN, Magic Transit, Web Application Firewall, Rate Limiting and Threat Intelligence.
• Cloud migration: Cloudflare Migration Services is a suite of services that promote the easy transfer of existing configurations to Cloudflare services.
• Other key features: Cloudflare offers a domain registration service. It also has a traffic encryption service for private browsing.

According to the Synergy Research Group, the largest cloud service provider is AWS with 31 to 33% of market share. It dominates the worldwide cloud infrastructure market.

The best public cloud providers are AWS, Azure and GCP which all have vast offerings and broad global coverage, which are vital to a public cloud model. This places them among the best public cloud providers.

Azure, IBM, Dell Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure have decent hybrid cloud models, making them some of the best hybrid cloud providers.

IBM Cloud, AWS, Azure, Dell and GCP have multiple options for their private cloud model. Users consider them some of the best private cloud providers.

AWS, Cloudflare, IBM Cloud, and Azure have remarkable multi-cloud models, particularly when it comes to security. They are some of the best multi-cloud providers.

DigitalOcean and Vultr have simple pricing and user interfaces, which place them among the best cloud service providers for small businesses.

AWS, Azure, GCP and Alibaba Cloud have the global reach and reputation expected of the best cloud providers for enterprises.

When choosing a cloud service provider, assess the pricing model and potential hidden costs. These determine the affordability of the provider.

When choosing a cloud provider, ensuring it meets industry-specific compliance requirements is crucial.

Assessing customer reviews for each CSP offers an indication of what to expect with respect to uptime, security, services and so on.

CSPs that have an open ecosystem are less likely to drive a business into vendor lock-in. In other words, you can easily switch.

Opt for providers with a broad global reach and a history of high uptimes. This will ensure stable performance for your workloads.

Cloud computing security is the most crucial factor to consider when choosing a cloud service provider. Verify the provider’s track record of data security and breaches. In addition, check for specific security tools based on your needs.

Look for cloud storage options that meet your requirements. For instance, if you want high-speed access to data, block storage might be the best option.

Assessing the provider for its cloud scalability features is particularly vital for workloads or apps with widely variable access volume.

A reliable cloud provider will have a redundant data recovery system in place. This ensures that data disasters do not leave lasting damage.

A cloud provider with comprehensive cloud migration support and tools makes it very easy to transfer workloads. Research the tools available on each platform and verify that they meet your specific needs.

Assess the provider’s support tiers and features, response time and support medium. These will let you know how you can reach support, how they can assist you and how quickly you can communicate with them.

Contracts and SLAs can give you even more insight into the security and privacy protocols, expectations and potential downtime compensation.