The media tends to focus on the “big three” cloud service providers when comparing them: Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure. Although they are the leaders in the cloud market, that is not all.
A few “secondary” providers like Alibaba Cloud have entered the market in recent years. They offer more options and are easier to use. Are they worth taking a look at? Could one of them be the next big provider?
This blog post will compare Alibaba Cloud and AWS. It will also help you to answer the above questions.
Get ready!
What is Alibaba Cloud?
You’re not the only one who hasn’t heard of Alibaba Cloud if you live outside of Asia. Alibaba Cloud, a cloud provider that is not well-known in the US but which is taking China by storm, and giving AWS a run for their money in Asia, is Alibaba Cloud.
Alibaba Cloud was founded in 2009 and has provided cloud computing and AI services to over 200 countries and regions.
The initial focus of the company was on China, but it eventually expanded to other countries. Alibaba Cloud was only able to start working globally in 2015 after a significant investment of $1B. It opened its first US data center that year and later launched in Europe.
The booming Chinese economy is partly responsible for Alibaba Cloud’s rapid growth. As the Chinese government digitizes and brings its agencies online, the cloud will also help them. Alibaba Cloud is also the most important E-commerce platform in China and holds the title of “Amazon of Asia”.
Although it’s difficult to imagine how a cloud provider (or giant E-commerce company) could achieve such feats, the company is determined to surpass AWS and become the global leader in cloud computing.
What is AWS?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon. It offers more than 175 fully-featured cloud services from worldwide data centers.
AWS has 77 availability areas in which its servers can be found. These regions can be divided to allow users to set geographic limits for their services (if desired), and also provide security by diversifying physical locations where data is stored. The company covers 245 countries and territories.
AWS has been providing reliable and secure services to companies of all sizes around the globe since 2006. AWS makes it easy for users to request compute, storage, databases, and other Internet-based services that will power their businesses. AWS is the best way to provide computing resources, stored data and other applications to end-users. Users only pay for what they use, with low upfront capital and operating costs.
Alibaba Cloud vs. AWS: Market Share
Synergy research Group reported that AWS was the global leader in cloud computing with 33% market share. Microsoft Azure was second with 18%. Alibaba Cloud was fifth with a 5% market share. This is just a few percentage points behind the third and fourth placers, Google Cloud Platform, and IBM Cloud.
Market figures for 2021 have shown a continued rise in cloud computing demand despite the pandemic. As more businesses shift to the cloud, the market figures show that there is a continuing upward trend. Alibaba Cloud is growing rapidly as cloud computing demand increases, but it won’t be overtaking AWS as the top-cloud-provider in the world anytime soon. It is still the Asia-Pacific market leader, as of May 2021.
Alibaba Cloud vs. AWS: Key Features Comparison
Stability and coverage worldwide
Alibaba Cloud’s global infrastructure spans 22 regions and 63 availability zones, with multiple zones within each region. It also boasts a CDN (Content Delivery Network), with over 2,800 nodes in 70 countries on 6 continents. This ensures that you have fast and reliable access from any location to your web apps.
AWS has the largest coverage of cloud service providers. It serves over 245 countries through a network that includes 24 regions and 77 availability zones. Although it is present in China, its presence pales in comparison to Alibaba Cloud. AWS has recently introduced Local Zones in Los Angeles. These zones are perfect for low latency applications and high availability. One more is planned for later in the year.
Alibaba ECS vs. AWS EC2
Alibaba and AWS offer standard computer services, namely ECS (Elastic Compute Services) and EC2 (“Elastic Cloud Compute”) respectively. Both of them are Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offerings, and provide the same following features:
- You can choose from several types of instance
- You can create custom images
- Support for virtual and metal servers
- Compatibility with many Linux-based and Windows operating systems
Alibaba ECS provides auto-scaling, auto-provisioning and other scenario-based instance types for large and small companies. It also offers dedicated host clusters that can be reserved exclusively for customers. Alibaba Cloud ECS is the leading IaaS provider for the Asia-Pacific region.
AWS EC2 allows companies to create secure virtual servers and manage their storage instantly. AWS EC2 was specifically designed for developers and gives companies full control over their computing resources. There are more than 300 types of instances. It’s no surprise that AWS EC2 is the global leader in IaaS.
The main differences are that AWS is available in more countries, while Alibaba Cloud has a wider range of instance families. Alibaba Cloud currently offers only limited regions in the US, Europe and South America. AWS offers a wider geographic coverage, including two areas in China.
Storage
Alibaba Cloud and AWS both offer file, object, or block storage services.
Alibaba Cloud offers storage services such as Elastic Block Storage, Object Storage Service and Network Attached Storage. Amazon Simple Storage Service, Elastic File Service (EFS) and Elastic Block Store are the AWS equivalents.
Both offer “cold” storage for cost-effectiveness. The core features of both services are almost identical. Alibaba Cloud’s lower price is the winner.
Advanced security features
AWS and Alibaba Cloud take security very seriously. They offer many standard features such as malware removal software and a proprietary web application firewall.
AWS also offers a great data protection service. It provides encryption for cloud-based data and traffic, and protection against unauthorized access. AWS Identity Services allows you to manage different identities, permission levels, and resource availability.
Alibaba Cloud, on the other hand, is known for its anti-DDoS software and infrastructure. Alibaba Cloud offers global protection through its Global Traffic Scrubbing policies. While many services offer protection against DDoS attacks up to a certain level, Alibaba Cloud is able to provide protection for all levels of the Internet. Malicious traffic that is affected by a DDoS attack will be directed to scrubbing centers closest to the source to ensure that you have access to your services.
Other services
AWS has developed a wider range of cloud-based services over the years. These include the CloudFront CDN, Fargate container service, Lambda serverless computing and many others.
Alibaba Cloud offers similar services. Alibaba Cloud Function Computing is its answer to AWS Lambda. It also offers a container service.
This blog post is too long to compare each service offered by Alibaba Cloud and AWS. Both services aim to provide a complete suite of cloud services, which go beyond the basic computing and storage requirements.
AWS is more prominent in terms of community and awareness, particularly among English-speaking users. It’s almost impossible to find an English-speaking IT professional that hasn’t heard of and likely used AWS services.
Alibaba Cloud is, however, still not well-known in Western countries. The English-language documentation of Alibaba Cloud is not as comprehensive. Some essential information about the company’s services and pricing are posted on its forums, rather than being integrated into the official documentation. Alibaba Cloud is clearly working hard to increase its presence in Western countries as well as improve its services for English-speaking clients.
NOTE We’ve created the following table to help you understand AWS vs Alibaba Cloud: Key Features Comparison. Let’s take a closer look at this!
| Alibaba Cloud | AWS | |
| Stability and coverage worldwide | 22 regions and 63 availability areas | There are 24 regions and 77 availability areas |
| All continents covered | No | Yes |
| Standard compute service | ECS | EC2 |
| Storage services | Block, object and file | Block, object and file |
| Operating systems supported | Windows, Linux | Windows, Linux |
| Bare-metal server option? | Yes | Yes |
Alibaba Cloud vs. AWS Pricing
Alibaba Cloud offers two payment options for customers: subscription and pay-as you-go. Pay-as-you go allows you to pay for actual resources used by your company. This is a good option for cases where traffic spikes or drops at any given time. Subscriptions require upfront payments for a specific billing period. This option is best for long-term, consistent use of applications with low traffic.
AWS offers the pay-as you-go pricing option. Your company also gets volume-based discounts when it uses more services. AWS also offers Reserved Instances (RI), which allows you to purchase reserved capacity for your requirements and choose from Full Upfront, Partial upfront and No Upfront payment options. This option can help you save up to 75% over pay-as-you go.
Alibaba Cloud appears to have a clear advantage in pricing over AWS. Alibaba Cloud’s pricing options may not be as good when you consider the significant savings that you can make from AWS RI.
Alibaba Cloud vs. AWS – Free Trial
AWS and Alibaba Cloud both allow subscribers to access and use their cloud services and solutions on a trial basis.
Alibaba Cloud now allows customers to select from 16 free trials and more than 20 always-free products. Subscribers can even assess the quality and reliability of elastic computing, databases storage, storage, or application services.
AWS subscribers can also access and use its cloud platform, products and services via the free tier. AWS offers a variety of services and solutions that are always free, including a 12-month-free trial.
Comparison of Alibaba Cloud and AWS: The Pros and Cons
The pros and cons of Alibaba Cloud
Pros:
- Strong growth and rapid expansion
- Services available in a wide variety of formats
- High-quality security features
- Is there the money to make your company a success?
- Affordable pricing
Cons:
- The US cloud market is new
- Potential compliance issues – Alibaba Cloud isn’t an American company. It runs the risk that it has sensitive data stored on servers outside the US, or loses all data.
- Its website tools, including the pricing calculator and online documentation, aren’t as sophisticated as other cloud providers.
AWS pros and cons
Pros:
- A wide range of tools and services available
- Wide global coverage
- Secure encryption and reliable security
- Flexibility and affordability are possible
Cons:
- It can be confusing to bill.
- AWS EC2 instances are limited
- AWS does not include enterprise-grade support by default. Customers will need to purchase Business tier support.
The bottom line
It is better to follow the leader of the group than the one following you. Alibaba Cloud is China’s leader, but AWS reigns over the rest of the world. Alibaba Cloud, unlike other Alibaba ventures, has been aggressive in entering the market and is now looking to compete directly against AWS.
You should consider your business’s needs before you decide whether to use AWS or Alibaba Cloud. This will allow you to choose the one that is more valuable for your business.
