There were many aspects to consider when choosing a cloud provider to specialize in. There’s so much to learn about cloud computing. I don’t want to spend time learning a service and then realize it was the wrong choice.
The first aspect is not technical at all. Do I enjoy learning and using it? I can’t explain why, but I like the look and feel of Azure, and I really enjoyed learning it. Microsoft Learn is just awesome.
It was pretty fun to learn and use AWS and GCP as well. There is no real loser here.
The second aspect is market share. In the world, AWS is the winner, but in Belgium, Azure is the winner.
The third aspect is the presence of data centers in Belgium. Right now, AWS does not have a presence in Belgium and no official plan to do so. Microsoft is building three availability zones around Brussels, and GCP is present in Mons.
The Fourth aspect is jobs. I researched jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed using keywords AWS, Azure & GCP. The research was conducted on July 7, 2023.
Here are the results:
- LinkedIn – Belgium: AWS 1599 – Azure 4356 – GCP 1159
- LinkedIn – Brussels: AWS 710 – Azure 1914 – GCP 498
- Indeed – Brussels: AWS 486 – Azure 1049 – GCP 168
The fifth aspect is my current job and my current knowledge. As an IT Support Specialist, I use and troubleshoot Microsoft 365 every day. I use Intune, Azure AD, etc.
Do I need to say more?