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IBM Cloud Private vs Microsoft Azure comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cloud Private
Ranking in PaaS Clouds
23rd
Average Rating
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure
Ranking in PaaS Clouds
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
324
Ranking in other categories
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Private is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure is 12.9%, down from 19.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
PaaS Clouds Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure12.9%
IBM Cloud Private1.5%
Other85.6%
PaaS Clouds
 

Featured Reviews

VM
Executive Manager - Strategy & Enterprise Architecture Office at Al Rajhi Bank
Helps in microservices environment but satellite layer needs to improve
We opted for the IBM Private Cloud due to the prevalence of IBM applications in our ecosystem, including IBM IIB, IBM API Connect, DataPower, IBM ESB, and IBM FileNet. The seamless integration with our middle layer, the IBM Integration Hub, was a key factor in our decision. Leveraging API Connect simplified the integration process, aligning well with our overall architecture.
Syed Abid  - PeerSpot reviewer
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
Versatile integrations and reliable customer satisfaction elevate cloud service experience
For Microsoft Azure improvement, they need to enhance their support system. The first level of support should be improved in terms of quality and response time. They need more technical support at the first level, as there are currently only one or two technical people among five to ten staff members at this level. They should ensure that the first level support is more technical because we normally provide services to technical users ourselves. When an issue arises, it usually escalates to the second or third level. When facing first level support, they may have limited knowledge and only collect screenshots to forward to their seniors. They should ensure that the first level support is aligned with L2 and L3 to better assist us, especially since we mention in the ticket that our issues are related to specific problems and require that sort of support.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I think this IBM solution is the best for the industry because they support legacy systems, and since we're dealing with regulations, it's the best way for us to stay safe."
"The product's framework is good, it integrates well with API Connect, and the private cloud allows for use in any location."
"Excellent technical support."
"We have control of the ESXi."
"The most valuable attribute is the platform's ability to consistently deliver high reliability."
"Our core banking process was monolithic. To address this, we transitioned to a microservices-based architecture. Leveraging Microsoft technologies, including Terminals version 23, we’ve revamped our banking operations. Not all services are microservices; some remain monolithic for simplicity. Containerization is pivotal, with OpenShift (based on Kubernetes and Docker) managing our microservices."
"The product's framework is good, it integrates well with API Connect, and the private cloud allows for use in any location."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure is its ease of use."
"We are seeing probably about 75% of the regular data center cost in Azure, so there were 25% savings, but we could see that go down as testing was being eliminated over different platforms."
"It provides us with access to technology that's not available in any other form and only exists in the cloud, so in order to keep our solutions modern, we have to do it through the public cloud."
"Azure offers broad compatibility with both structured and unstructured data. For example, we use PostgreSQL for storing Azure's official data and manage various types of data, including tabular and image data, accommodating the storage of all data types we handle. So, in many ways, Azure simplified the data storage and management needs."
"Azure Data Lake is useful. We are in the process of populating the data lake for our current project. Also, we are directly importing for Power BI to using PowerPlay."
"There are many benefits, for example, there is a special customized portal for all apps and services built in Azure AD (myapps.microsoft.com) with a seamless single sign-on experience for the users in AD or Office 365."
"One of the most valuable features of Azure is that it's a very integrated solution. You have to learn how to use it properly, but it's not that hard, and you can define your whole scrum process and deploy it from one place. It was a really nice surprise to see how easily integrated this tool is."
"The proper engineering of a cloud infrastructure which includes smart VMs well orchestrated by business-demand-level-driven auto scaling will always push the TCO/ROI argument to a public solution for large scale systems."
 

Cons

"I've noticed that the satellite services layer requires some improvement compared to platforms like Azure or Microsoft. While it's in development, I believe the satellite layer has room for enhancement. Additionally, the DevOps layer could benefit from closer integrations, especially for using external applications like Jenkins."
"One issue with the solution is latency because there is lag time when we connect."
"From a technical perspective, there are some things lacking including some defects around multi-cloud management."
"One issue with the solution is latency because there is lag time when we connect from Argentina to IBM's data centers in Washington and Dallas."
"Auto-scaling and managing pod scaling in the microservices architecture, a core feature of IBM Cloud Private, can pose challenges, especially when dealing with larger volumes of traffic."
"lacking in multi-cloud management."
"The support and pricing need to improve."
"Performance could be improved."
"For some use cases, Microsoft Azure is okay and working, but it is lacking features and we cannot implement it fully."
"They can add more documentation about the solution."
"If the price were reduced then it would be an improvement."
"The quality of some components of Microsoft Azure is not that great. For example, Microsoft has not fixed issues in Microsoft Teams for many years."
"When we are doing transfers of records in large amounts, for example, petabytes of data or few long datasets, the performance should not degrade as it does."
"Onboarding customers is a challenge. Sometimes our customers don't know how to deal with the cloud environment. Maybe the customers are more comfortable with the old-fashioned on-premise environment."
"While Microsoft Azure is user-friendly, some of the other cloud products I use are more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In general, the cost is on the higher side."
"We pay annual licensing fees."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The solution is expensive."
"The cost could definitely be lower."
"The license cost could be reduced."
"The pricing of Microsoft Azure is not very flexible."
"The licensing fees depend on the number of users that we have."
"Customers need to purchase additional services because of the complexity of it."
"The licensing fee is quite cheap for what they're offering."
"The price of the solution can be expensive."
"Customers pay for our software and use our solution as a service through monthly payments. They don't pay the licensing fee directly to Microsoft."
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Comparison Review

it_user8586 - PeerSpot reviewer
Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Aug 14, 2013
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
University
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business141
Midsize Enterprise54
Large Enterprise151
 

Questions from the Community

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Also Known As

ICP
Windows Azure, Azure, MS Azure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company
BMW, Toyota, easyJet, NBC Sports, HarperCollins, Aviva, TalkTalk Business, Avanade, and Telenor.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Private vs. Microsoft Azure and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.