Azure and AWS dominate the global cloud market. Each one sells compute, storage, networking, databases, AI services and hundreds of other products. Large organisations with dedicated cloud engineers can run either platform. For a UK business of 10 to 200 people, it's usually a clearer choice.
The short answer
A business already on Microsoft 365 will usually choose Azure.
Microsoft 365, Entra ID (the directory formerly called Azure Active Directory), Intune, Defender and Azure infrastructure share one identity system and one set of admin tools. Security policy is set once and applied across the estate. Splitting Microsoft software across an AWS environment costs more to run and needs extra integration work.
Where Azure wins for SMEs
Identity. Microsoft 365 already uses Entra ID as its identity provider. Putting infrastructure on Azure means single sign-on, conditional access and multi-factor authentication cover servers and applications as well as email. You don't need a second identity product.
Hybrid scenarios. Businesses that still run servers on site can manage them through Azure Arc and Azure AD Connect. AWS has hybrid tools as well. They take more work to set up.
Windows workloads. Windows Server, SQL Server and .NET applications cost less on Azure because of Azure Hybrid Benefit. Existing Windows Server licences can be reused there. AWS does not offer the same licence carry-over.
MSP tooling. Azure Lighthouse and the Microsoft Partner Centre give a managed provider such as Wanzo delegated access to the environment. Shared administrator credentials are not required. That improves security and day-to-day operations.
UK data residency. Azure operates two UK regions: UK South in London and UK West in Cardiff. AWS has one, in London. Businesses with data sovereignty requirements get more geographic flexibility inside the UK on Azure.
Where AWS wins
Developer tooling. AWS has a wider catalogue for software development, containers and serverless computing. SaaS engineering teams often pick AWS Lambda, ECS and the AWS database range.
Market share in tech. AWS is the default in the startup and software-engineering market. Recruited developers are more likely to have used it.
Pricing flexibility. Spot instances and savings plans on AWS can undercut Azure reserved instances for some workloads, especially those that burn a lot of compute.
What about Google Cloud?
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is strong for data analytics, machine learning and Kubernetes. As general-purpose SME infrastructure it is a weaker match. It doesn't plug into Microsoft 365 the way Azure does. It also lacks the spread of managed services that makes AWS versatile.
Typical SME Azure costs
For a 30-person firm with a small Azure server estate:
- 2 virtual machines (domain controller + file server): £150 to £300/month
- Azure Backup: £30 to £80/month
- Azure AD Premium P1 (included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium): £0 extra
- Azure Site Recovery (disaster recovery): £20 to £50/month
Total: about £200 to £430 per month, before reserved instance discounts.
Cloud as the base for automation
Workflow automation needs a directory, storage and a place to run. For a Microsoft 365 business, Azure is usually that place. The same Entra ID that signs people in can also govern the automated work sitting on top of it.
How Wanzo helps
We design Azure environments, migrate workloads onto them and manage the cloud afterwards. Wanzo is a Microsoft partner. Microsoft 365, Azure and cybersecurity sit in the same monthly service. Monitoring runs 24/7, with a four-hour response commitment when something needs attention.
What to do next
If you want a recommendation for your own stack, get in touch. Email hello@wanzo.co.uk with what you currently run. We'll say which platform fits and what a move would cost.