Are All These Well-Architected Frameworks All the Same

The largest cloud providers have all put forward what they believe are best practices when it comes to transitioning to, developing for, or otherwise building anything in the cloud. While a framework can help, it’s important to note that the three major cloud service providers—AWS, Google, and Azure— have somewhat different frameworks and focuses. In the end, are they all the same?

Exactly What Is a Well-Architected Framework? Who Does It Benefit?

Architecture frameworks in computing typically offer guiding principles to help a person or organization build or use computing tools in the best possible way. These frameworks offer best practices and how to achieve them.

Cloud infrastructure isn’t homogenous. In fact, it’s all over the place. It helps to remember that while cloud computing isn’t as young as people think, it only really started to explode in the last decade or so. That exponential growth in cloud services, technologies, infrastructures, and networks hasn’t slowed down.

These days, there are so many services, applications, models, and types of cloud architecture that it’s almost a given that anyone on a network connected device of any type is making use of the cloud. In addition, as cloud computing grows, so do the expectations of those who make use of cloud services.

Also, cloud computing falls under constant threat from potential cybersecurity issues pressure. Bad actors also keep up with this field, its changes, and innovations. When some cloud service falls behind with their diligence in security, an attacker will find and exploit it and go to work.

Beyond all those considerations, there are millions of people, businesses, and organizations actively moving operations to the cloud and seeking services from cloud computing that will give them the value proposition and return on investment that they’re led to believe they will receive.

However, with all these disparate services, technologies, and organizations bringing cloud services to the masses, several questions arise:

• What’s there to keep everything working together in harmony?
• What’s stopping hackers from exploiting the security faults of one cloud system to infiltrate another?
• What are the principles that help to keep all cloud architecture reliable and secure?
• Is it possible to ensure all these things are well-architected from the start?

And that’s what these frameworks represent. They require you to ask these types of questions, then help to guide you toward the answers that will make your thing better while also improving cloud computing overall for everyone involved.

These frameworks aren’t one and done. Constant improvement is the name of the game. When you consider the larger picture, these frameworks literally benefit everyone in some way or another. But, it absolutely benefits cloud service providers and cloud architecture.

What Are the Guiding Principles?

The architectural frameworks of the three major players use Pillars (for AWS and Azure) or principles (Google). Generally, these principles all have the same type of language to an extent.

AWS – Operation Excellence, Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, Cost Optimization

Azure – Reliability, Security, Cost Optimization, Performance Efficiency, Operations Excellence

Google – System Design, Operational Excellence; Security, Privacy, and Compliance; Reliability, Cost Optimization, Performance Optimization

You can probably see there’s a lot of overlap. Also, Google added a few more considerations to their framework. The order you find these principles in can change with updates to the documentation. While the principles seem similar, there’s something about their order that lets you know that each of these providers has slightly different approaches.

AWS wants to help architects build something secure and efficient first. Azure strives to help architects build fast, cost-efficient solutions that work. Google wants architects to design highly secure but excellently designed solutions first.

They all want architects to build better, constantly improve, and generally put out an excellent product. However, different cloud service architects may appreciate the approach of one framework over another.

This is especially true if the architect already works closely with one of the major cloud services providers. And odds are, if they’re not already, they will have to at some point.

As these are the principles the major cloud service providers want their vendors, clients, and business customers to operate on, that means the services they offer reflect that. You can use a well architected framework to leverage cloud resources provided by these services.

So, getting familiar with these frameworks is an excellent idea. Not just because you may need to deploy with one of the giant providers, but because these architectural frameworks really can help build better products, businesses, and services.

Cloud Tech and Design Changes Rapidly, Are These Frameworks Outdated?

The major cloud service providers frequently update their architectural framework documentation and tools. All three of the main cloud service providers and others not only update their documentation, they introduce new ways of understanding the principles, new tools for making them work for you, and new information when the technology itself forces things to change.

Nevertheless, the three major cloud service providers aren’t going anywhere any time soon. So, it’s only beneficial to work with their principles. Especially since these frameworks provide very real benefits.