Azure, AWS, and the platforms that run modern infrastructure
Cloud computing is the substrate on which most modern software is built. But cloud spend is also one of the largest controllable line items in a technology budget, and cloud architecture choices made in the first three months of a project tend to shape the next three years. The SoftwareMarketplace.Net cloud hub publishes the architecture references, cost-optimization playbooks, and operational guides we wish we had when we were running production workloads.
The cloud hub is organized by platform — Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud — and by capability — landing zones, identity, networking, storage, compute, databases, observability, and FinOps. We publish step-by-step tutorials with screenshots, Terraform and Bicep examples that have been tested against current provider versions, and reference architectures that capture the trade-offs you actually face. Our cost content goes beyond the obvious advice: we explain how to model reserved instances against committed-use discounts, how to use savings plans without locking in over-provisioned capacity, and how to instrument workloads so engineering teams can self-serve their own optimization.
We write for cloud engineers, platform engineers, SREs, and the architects who shape multi-account or multi-subscription environments. We also publish for technology leaders who need to understand the implications of vendor strategy without becoming experts in every service. Every guide tells you which version of which provider it was tested against, which alternatives you should consider, and which failure modes have caused us pain in production.
Start with the pillar guides if you are designing a new landing zone or migrating a portfolio. Use the latest articles to keep up with platform releases that actually matter — most do not. The reviews and comparison sections will help you choose between managed services, third-party tools, and self-hosted options with a clear understanding of the operational cost of each.
The edge-compute market has matured. Here are the workloads where it earns its keep, and the workloads where it is still a distraction.
How to design, deploy, and operate an enterprise-scale Azure landing zone that survives growth, M&A, and a changing regulatory environment.
Where each cloud is genuinely ahead, where they are at parity, and how to choose for a specific workload rather than as a religion.
A practitioner's tour of the AWS services that actually run modern workloads, plus the architecture patterns, governance, and cost controls that keep them healthy in production.
An administrator's reference for Microsoft 365 — identity, Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, Intune, and the security baselines that make the stack defensible.
Where the headline pricing comparisons get it wrong, and the cost dimensions that actually determine your bill.
