No other cloud provider comes close to the amount of experience and capability AWS has for migrating and running Windows. Here are six reasons why AWS stands out as the premier cloud infrastructure for Windows workloads:
#1 The broadest & deepest
AWS boasts the broadest and deepest capabilities for Windows of any cloud provider, with nearly twice as many Windows Server Instances compared to its closest competitor. It also offers the widest range of cloud services tailored for Microsoft technologies, seamlessly integrated within a cohesive ecosystem. This includes an array of compute, database, application, and deployment services, along with a comprehensive set of management tools, providing a solution for all your business requirements.
#2 Greater reliability & performance
With 77 Availability Zones (AZ) spread across 24 regions, the AWS Cloud guarantees that your workloads remain operational and accessible precisely when you need them. Customers can reduce their unplanned downtime by a whopping 98% by moving their Windows workloads to AWS. AWS delivers double the performance and achieved a 62% reduction in costs in comparison with the next largest cloud provider for a SQL Server workload on an EC2 R5b.8xlarge instance, according to Principled Technologies.
#3 Superior security
AWS offers a staggering 230 security, compliance, and governance services and features, five times more than its closest cloud provider counterpart. AWS also provides encryption across over a hundred distinct AWS services. By leveraging these comprehensive security offerings, customers can effectively safeguard their environments. The AWS Nitro System in EC2 instances offloads virtualization functions to dedicated hardware and software, effectively reducing the potential attack surface and ensuring minimal exposure to vulnerabilities.
#4 Cost optimization
By leveraging AWS for Windows workloads, customers benefit from accelerated growth, increased operational efficiency, and substantial long-term cost savings. According to IDC, customers can reduce their five-year cost of operations by 56% and achieve a 37% reduction in infrastructure costs. This translates to an impressive 442% return on investment (ROI) over a three-year period. Unique pricing models such as Savings Plans offer savings of up to 72% on Amazon EC2 instances, while Amazon EC2 Spot instances enable cost reductions of up to 90% for fault-tolerant workloads.
#5 Smooth migration
AWS has facilitated the seamless migration of millions of enterprises worldwide, including renowned names like Sysco, Hess, Sony DADC, Ancestry, and Expedia. With the time-tested AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) methodology and the extensive expertise offered by AWS partners, customers are able to evaluate, optimize, and seamlessly shift their Windows and SQL Server workloads to AWS with minimal downtime to applications.
#6 Flexible licensing
AWS provides the broadest range of choices in the cloud for utilizing both new and existing Microsoft software licenses. With the purchase of license-included instances in Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) or Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), you receive fully compliant SQL Server licenses directly from AWS. You also have the flexibility to bring your existing licenses to AWS using options such as Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts, Amazon EC2 Dedicated Instances, or EC2 instances with default tenancy through Microsoft License Mobility via Software Assurance.
Ready to take the next step? Cloudar has unparalleled expertise in maximizing the potential of your Windows workloads on AWS. Get in touch to let us guide your way to higher performance and efficiency.
