Cloud Service Providers: Choosing the Right Platform

What are cloud service providers?

Cloud service providers (CSPs) are companies that offer on-demand computing resources—including servers, storage, databases, and networking—hosted in the cloud and accessible through the web. 

CSPs make cloud computing possible, scalable, and accessible to enterprises of all sizes, letting them procure and scale IT resources without having to invest in physical infrastructure. Instead, CSPs invest in the infrastructure—networks of data centers dispersed widely across the globe—and bill enterprise users on a pay-as-you-go-basis. 

The perks of using CSPs are huge, including flexible storage for large volumes of data, smooth backup and disaster recovery, limitless scalability, and security features like SSO and IAM measures.

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Common CSP models

CSPs offer cloud computing products broadly split into infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS). These cloud computing models differ when it comes to their offerings, use cases, and shared responsibility models. (By shared responsibility model, we mean a cloud security strategy where CSPs and customers take on unique and complementary security roles.) Let’s take a closer look at each model.

Software as a service (SaaS)

Think of SaaS as streaming your favorite Netflix movie—you don’t have to buy and maintain a DVD or worry about storage space on your device.

SaaS runs as a single instance of a software that’s available to multitudes of users on a pay-per-use basis. This model eliminates the need to develop and manage your own software or worry about buying and securing data storage and networking—those responsibilities belong to your CSP. 

So what do you have to worry about? Securing your data, identities, and devices. 

Top SaaS use cases include collaboration (e.g., Slack), secure file sharing (e.g., Dropbox), customer relationship management (e.g., Salesforce), and emailing (e.g., Gmail).

Platform as a service (PaaS)

PaaS is similar to a serviced office—fully furnished with basic amenities and reliable internet. Just like the serviced office delivers the workspace and maintenance, PaaS providers handle the runtime, OS, database, physical networks, and other infrastructure components.

PaaS customers deploy these to build, compile, test, and run their software applications. In the shared responsibility model, PaaS customers are responsible for securing their software, data, devices, and identities. 

Common PaaS examples include Google App Engine and Heroku. 

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

IaaS offers the entire computing infrastructure—virtual machines, networking, storage, and servers—in virtualized form. Unlike PaaS (which is like renting a fully furnished office), with IaaS, you rent an empty office and get the chance to set it up however you want. 

IaaS offers more customization and control than PaaS, but it also requires users to manage more components—including the operating system, middleware, and runtime environment. Major IaaS examples are AWS EC2 and Azure VMs. 

The Rise of Kubernetes and Containerization in Cloud Environments

Containerization and Kubernetes have revolutionized the way applications are developed, deployed, and managed in cloud environments. CSPs have embraced these technologies, offering robust support to help businesses modernize their infrastructure and achieve greater agility.

1. What Are Containers and Kubernetes?

• Containers: Lightweight, portable units that package an application and its dependencies, ensuring consistency across development, testing, and production environments.

• Kubernetes: An open-source platform for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

2. Benefits of Kubernetes and Containerization

• Portability: Containers can run consistently across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, reducing vendor lock-in.

• Scalability: Kubernetes automatically scales applications based on traffic and resource usage, ensuring optimal performance.

• Resource Efficiency: Containers share the host OS kernel, reducing overhead and improving resource utilization.

• Faster Development: Developers can build, test, and deploy applications faster using containerized environments.

3. Challenges and How CSPs Address Them

• Complexity: Kubernetes has a steep learning curve. CSPs mitigate this by offering managed services and intuitive interfaces.

• Security: CSPs provide built-in security features like network policies, encryption, and IAM integration to secure containerized workloads.

• Cost Management: CSPs offer tools for monitoring and optimizing resource usage, helping businesses control costs.

Top cloud service providers in 2025

The public cloud market has hundreds of CSPs to offer, but three—AWS, Azure and GCP—currently lead the pack, in that order. And three more are considered not-so-close contenders: Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and IBM Cloud. So what are their unique strengths and offerings? And what compliance and security features do they offer?

Key considerations when choosing a cloud service provider

When selecting a CSP, there are several important functional and security considerations. Let’s take them one at a time. 

Functional considerations

• Data storage locations: Consider a CSP with widely dispersed data centers and availability zones; the more the locations, the farther your reach, and the lower the latency. Data center spread also has implications for compliance with region-specific laws like GDPR, which restricts EU data storage to EU borders. 

• Ease of migration: Ask your potential vendor about support for on-premises-to-cloud migration to ensure your business suffers minimal disruption during migration. Also, check on the feasibility of cloud-to-cloud migration to avoid vendor lock-in.

• Pricing: Confirm that the pricing is budget-friendly and cost-effective (that is, pricing vs. what’s on offer). Choosing a CSP that provides a transparent pricing calculator is also a great idea to avoid cloud bill shock. 

• Documentation and ease of use: Be sure to ask how friendly it is to use. Look for unified, easy-to-navigate management consoles, SDKs (software development kits) and CLIs (command-line interfaces) for seamless access to cloud resources. You’ll also want straightforward documentation/guides to minimize the learning curve.

• Service level agreements (SLAs): Check the SLAs: They tell you a lot about the quality of service and uptime the CSP guarantees, and the penalties (e.g., service credits) they are willing to pay. Most CSPs offer varying SLAs for different services in their stacks, but the general rule of thumb is the higher, the better. 

Security considerations

• The shared responsibility model: As we mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to understand your security responsibilities as a cloud customer and execute them to the letter. And remember to verify your CSP’s history of upholding their end of the shared responsibility model too.

• Compliance certifications: The compliance certifications a CSP has are also an indication of their commitment to securing your data and assets and keeping your enterprise aligned with industry best practices. Some of the most important compliance certifications include ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, CSA STAR, and FedRAMP. 

• Security track record: Dig into your potential CSP’s history of data breaches and how they were handled. This will give you an idea of the potential architectural vulnerabilities you may have to deal with and mitigation strategies that the CSP has put in place. 

Vendor Lock-in Considerations

Many enterprises fear getting locked into a single cloud provider. When choosing a CSP, consider:

•  Multi-cloud flexibility

• Does the CSP offer seamless integrations with other cloud providers?

• Examples: Azure-Oracle Interconnect, Google Anthos (for hybrid/multi-cloud management).

•  Standardized technology stack

• Use Kubernetes and Terraform to keep applications portable.

• Avoid proprietary managed services that may not transfer easily between CSPs.

• Cloud-to-cloud migration feasibility

• Some CSPs charge hefty egress fees for moving data out.

• AWS, GCP, and Azure offer free inbound data transfer but charge for outbound.

By addressing vendor lock-in risks early, businesses can ensure greater cloud flexibility.

Cost Optimization Strategies

Cloud costs can spiral if not properly managed. Here’s how to optimize cloud spend:

• Use Reserved Instances (RIs) or Savings Plans: AWS, Azure, and GCP all offer discounts (up to 75% off) for long-term commitments.

• Take advantage of auto-scaling: Use horizontal scaling to ensure you only pay for what you use.

•  Monitor costs with built-in tools: AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, and GCP’s Billing Reports provide detailed spending insights.

This section makes cost efficiency a key decision factor when choosing a CSP.

Common security challenges with cloud service providers

Cloud services come with unique risks. Let’s check them out and learn how to handle them. 

Visibility problems 

The cloud’s elastic and ephemeral nature, along with the fragmented view that traditional security tools offer, makes real time end-to-end visibility near impossible. 

For example, how do you see in real time that a low-priority container image vulnerability can be exploited to access one of your sensitive data stores? Not so low priority anymore, right? 

The solution? Use a cloud native application protection platform (CNAPP) that connects the dots, at a glance and in real time. Wiz enables agentless, real-time visibility across your entire cloud environment—helping you instantly correlate risks across workloads, identities, and data without stitching together siloed tools.

Misconfigurations

The cloud’s pace is insanely complex and fast—too many resources emerge simultaneously for devs to ensure they’re all properly configured. Unfortunately, a single misconfigured container (like one with root privileges) or S3 bucket (like one that’s publicly exposed) is enough for an attacker to carry out a damaging data breach. 

To protect yourself, use a CSPM tool that can help detect and resolve misconfigurations on the fly.

Insecure APIs

Due to their complexity, APIs are commonly misconfigured, often leading to risks like overfetching (where APIs excessively expose sensitive data) and insecure API tokens (that allow attackers access to sensitive assets). 

Getting rid of API vulnerabilities begins with implementing secure coding practices, encrypting data always, and deploying monitoring tools to uncover threats early.

Compliance and data storage

The sheer number of frameworks enterprises must adhere to is a challenge, especially considering constantly changing data usage, data residency and sovereignty, and data retention laws. 

Cloud infrastructure as code (IaC) templates help automate infrastructure provisioning and scaling. However, without proper security checks, they can also introduce compliance risks at scale—especially if misconfigurations are baked into templates and reused across environments.

That said, managing compliance in the cloud boils down to using CSPM tools to automate compliance management and using IaC scanners to check for security risks.

Identity and access management complexity

With several resources to manage in the cloud and so many identities required to manage them, role sprawl and excessive permissions are inevitable. 

Investing in IAM automation software can help minimize IAM complexities. Also, applying the principle of least privilege (POLP), zero trust, and role-based access controls (RBAC) can reduce IAM risks.

Account hijacking

Account hijacking often results from credential theft, weak IAM, or phishing attacks. Once a cloud account is hijacked, threat actors get almost unrestricted access to it—allowing them to conduct ransomware attacks, expose sensitive data, and disrupt business operations.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA), strict password hygiene, and cutting-edge cloud threat detection and response tools are the top ways to neutralize account hijacking risks.

Cloud vulnerabilities

Cloud resources often come with vulnerabilities (like container image vulnerabilities and software supply chain risks). Because these vulnerabilities can be disastrous if left unresolved, enterprises should take advantage of software composition analysis (SCA), static application security testing (SAST), and dynamic application security testing (DAST) tools to uncover and fix vulnerabilities before deployment and at runtime.

Multi-Cloud vs. Single Cloud Strategy: Which is Right for You?

When choosing a cloud service provider, organizations must decide between a single-cloud strategy (sticking to one provider like AWS, Azure, or GCP) or a multi-cloud strategy (leveraging multiple CSPs). Each approach has advantages and trade-offs.

Single-Cloud Strategy: Simplicity and Deep Integration

A single-cloud approach centralizes workloads on one CSP—ideal for organizations that prioritize simplicity and tight integration.

Benefits of a Single Cloud Approach:

Stronger ecosystem integration – CSP-native services (e.g., AWS Lambda + S3, Azure Synapse + Power BI) work seamlessly.

• Lower complexity – Managing one IAM model, one security framework, and one billing system simplifies operations.

• Better volume discounts – Many CSPs offer tiered pricing benefits for high usage and long-term contracts.

• Easier compliance management – Security frameworks (e.g., FedRAMP, SOC 2, HIPAA) are simpler to track within a single provider.

• Challenges of a Single Cloud:

• Vendor lock-in risks – Migrating to another CSP can be costly and complex.

• Single point of failure – If the CSP experiences downtime, all workloads are impacted.

• Limited service variety – You may miss out on specialized tools available in other clouds (e.g., BigQuery on GCP, Autonomous Database on OCI).

Multi-Cloud Strategy: Flexibility and Redundancy

A multi-cloud approach uses two or more CSPs, ensuring businesses aren’t dependent on a single provider.

• Benefits of Multi-Cloud:

• Avoids vendor lock-in – You’re not tied to one provider, giving you flexibility in pricing and services.

• Improved uptime and redundancy – Workloads can be distributed across clouds, minimizing downtime risks.

• Optimized for best-in-class services –

• AI and analytics? GCP (BigQuery, Vertex AI)

• Enterprise SaaS? Azure (Microsoft 365, Power Platform)

• Database-heavy applications? OCI (Autonomous Database)

• Greater compliance flexibility – Data can be stored in different regions to meet sovereignty requirements (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).

• Challenges of Multi-Cloud:

• Higher complexity – Managing multiple IAM policies, security frameworks, and billing models can be overwhelming.

• Increased costs – Data transfer between clouds incurs egress fees, and tooling may need to be duplicated across providers.

• Security fragmentation – Each CSP has different security models, requiring consistent policies and monitoring tools. That’s why unified security platforms like Wiz are crucial—they provide consistent visibility and control across AWS, Azure, GCP, and more, helping teams enforce policies, detect threats, and manage risk holistically across all clouds.

Wiz CNAPP

There’s a long list of perks of using cloud service providers (CSPs)—no denying that. But the associated security risks aren’t trivial either, and partnering with a top-notch CNAPP provider is your best bet for enjoying the cloud’s gains without its pains. 

Wiz is the only CNAPP that unifies code-to-cloud security across your entire environment—offering deep context, automated remediation, and full multi-cloud visibility out of the box. Here’s how Wiz makes it easier to secure your cloud operations:

• Enable agentless code-to-cloud visibility across all your cloud platforms, including CSPs, AI platforms, data lakes, version control systems, security and identity tools, and a host of others

• Support AI-powered DSPM, CSPM, SCA, CWPP, CIEM, and more

• Correlate security findings across code, cloud, data, workloads, and runtime to help you understand how seemingly low-priority risks can actually be high priority once they’re contextualized

• Offer a unique cloud security graph that lets you visualize attack paths and discover toxic combinations in your stack with a single click

• Deliver high-fidelity vulnerability and threat detection; with Wiz’s contextualized findings, your teams won’t get bogged down by false positives

• Automate threat response and vulnerability remediation 

• Automate compliance checks with support for 100+ frameworks and a compliance heatmap for a snapshot view of your compliance status 

• Provide detailed AI-driven, in-code remediation guidance to allow DevOps teams to fix security flaws before code is shipped

Basically, if you’re looking to secure your cloud environment and uphold your roles in the shared responsibility model without stress, Wiz is your go-to. Don’t take our word for it; request a demo to see for yourself.

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