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Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Microsoft Azure Block Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
3.7
Amazon EFS offers scalable, cost-effective storage with minimal maintenance, enhancing productivity and benefiting businesses through pay-as-you-go pricing.
Sentiment score
2.6
Microsoft Azure Block Storage optimizes expenses with 90% cost reduction, ease of management, and ensures data protection against issues.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Customers find Amazon EFS support reliable, though resolution times may vary based on the complexity and support plan.
Sentiment score
5.5
Microsoft Azure Block Storage support varies; premium plans offer faster responses, while others face delays and inconsistent service.
While the time to respond was good, the time to resolve was not optimal, as it took more than a week.
Regional Manager at Aspire Lifestyles
Amazon's support model is consistent across services.
AWS Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Training and support depend on the plan you have, with centralized support being very helpful in case issues arise.
Head of Engineering - Data and Machine Learning at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Support quality is good, but the main issue is the delay in handling tickets.
Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
I had contacted them before and they replied rapidly.
System vice president at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
Ours is a government enterprise organization, so we have a premium support agreement with Microsoft, and they give us the best support.
Solution Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Amazon EFS offers scalable and cost-effective file storage, but users occasionally face challenges with scalability, latency, and connections.
Sentiment score
5.8
Microsoft Azure Block Storage is scalable, user-friendly, and suitable for all businesses, though scaling can increase costs.
Its auto-scaling feature is a crucial point, providing high scalability that I would rate at ten out of ten.
Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group
Elastic File Systems allow me to scale up or down easily.
Data Engineer at Softtech Cloud Technologies
It is very cost-effective, and there's no need for initial charges.
Head of Engineering - Data and Machine Learning at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The ability to scale is well-supported.
Sr. Cloud Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is a significant advantage of the product.
Senior Consultant at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
We are on a premium plan, which should handle scalability automatically.
Delivery Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Amazon EFS is generally stable, with users praising reliability, though some report minor issues mitigated by strong support.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Azure Block Storage is highly rated for stability, despite occasional regional downtime and minor improvement suggestions.
Amazon EFS is extremely stable, as it is managed by AWS.
Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group
While I experienced an EFS mount dropping, it was related to server issues rather than EFS itself.
AWS Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It isn't as stable as sound storage systems in a premise environment.
Information Technology Business Partner and Enterprise Architecture Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
Overall, the stability is very good.
Sr. Cloud Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
None of the other storage vendors have all these features so easily manageable and fast to set up as Block Storage.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon EFS needs improved connectivity, Windows integration, cost transparency, and one-click setup for enhanced user experience and support.
Microsoft Azure Block Storage users face pricing, interface, and integration challenges, with additional needs for better security and scalability.
Database-type workloads do not run properly on Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) because at the end of the day, it is a network file system and requests must travel from one place to another and then return.
Sr. Technical Account Manager at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Enabling AI-driven or automatic features would be beneficial for new or nontechnical users.
Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group
In my project, there are challenges related to AWS, such as ensuring proper security measures with IMS code and encryption.
Data Engineer at Softtech Cloud Technologies
Its compatibility with various platforms could be enhanced to allow for a seamless operation across different cloud environments.
Information Technology Business Partner and Enterprise Architecture Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
Some alternatives are cheaper and available for long trial periods before the payment.
Lead DevOps and Release Engineer-L2 at ITWORX
Enabling SFTP on Microsoft Azure Block Storage didn’t allow us to get the IP address, as Azure doesn’t support it.
Delivery Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Amazon EFS charges based on usage with higher costs compared to S3, making it less budget-friendly.
Microsoft Azure Block Storage pricing is generally higher than competitors, but offers discounted rates through enterprise agreements.
EFS could cost around $30 to $50 per month for similar usage.
Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group
Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS.
AWS Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Elastic File Systems can be expensive due to the nature of data transfer costs.
Data Engineer at Softtech Cloud Technologies
For medium-sized companies, especially when discussing cost and scalability, it can be quite expensive.
Information Technology Business Partner and Enterprise Architecture Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
The cost for Azure Data Factory, utilized for intensive data migration, was high but expected, as it's a one-time activity.
Delivery Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
It is reasonable, however, it can be cheaper.
Senior Consultant at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Amazon EFS provides scalable, secure, and flexible storage with fast data access, auto-scaling, and seamless AWS integration for dynamic workloads.
Microsoft Azure Block Storage is reliable, scalable, secure, and affordable, with excellent data management and integration features.
Its ease of integration with other AWS services enhances our infrastructure, while the shared storage access improves reliability and processing continuity for our applications.
AWS Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
They help me process data while maintaining low latency, which is crucial for efficient data processing.
Data Engineer at Softtech Cloud Technologies
The most valuable feature of Amazon EFS is its auto-scaling capability.
Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group
The tool allows me to download to my device, control access, and manage data with ease.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
The world is now directed toward a centralized data platform or Fabric to build a data lake house for data engineering, which keeps all data in a centralized place that's beneficial for the governance layer and unified governance.
System vice president at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
The ability to increase and scale out is really easy, allowing us to manage a large amount of data with reduced dependency on scalability issues.
Information Technology Business Partner and Enterprise Architecture Lead at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon EFS (Elastic File Sy...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Storage (11th), File and Object Storage (10th)
Microsoft Azure Block Storage
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
Public Cloud Storage Services (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Cloud Services solutions, they serve different purposes. Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is designed for Cloud Storage and holds a mindshare of 3.9%, down 9.4% compared to last year.
Microsoft Azure Block Storage, on the other hand, focuses on Public Cloud Storage Services, holds 1.7% mindshare, up 0.9% since last year.
Cloud Storage Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)3.9%
Dropbox Business - Enterprise8.4%
NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP7.8%
Other79.9%
Cloud Storage
Public Cloud Storage Services Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Block Storage1.7%
Amazon S313.2%
Amazon S3 Glacier12.6%
Other72.5%
Public Cloud Storage Services
 

Featured Reviews

MuhammadAzhar Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior DevOps Engineer at Alibaba Group
Auto-scaling capabilities enhance file management while reducing downtime
The most valuable feature of Amazon EFS is its auto-scaling capability. It's really easy to configure EFS by just creating it and running a command to directly configure it with my servers. It supports unlimited use, and charges are applied based on the file usage at the end of the month. The solution offers reduced downtime and increased durability through its auto-scaling features.
Ajai Jayakumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported secure file sharing and data automation with minimal setup effort
The encryption feature in Microsoft Azure Block Storage is very good, and the security is excellent. It is easy to map the storage to the virtual servers and user desktops, which is also very beneficial. I can perform automations on the data, such as moving hot data and cold data, and I can select storage based on performance. The security provided by Microsoft around Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a very good function. The replication feature in Microsoft Azure Block Storage is a very good function. The analytic capabilities of Microsoft Azure Block Storage can help optimize resources. I usually work with a third-party tool; our data analytics team uses some custom-made tools for analytics data and dashboards, so we do not use the Microsoft dashboard; we are using a third-party dashboard. It is very easy to manage Microsoft Azure Block Storage. If you have good knowledge of it, it is very easy to manage. Microsoft Azure Block Storage service is a very good, 100% reliable service. It is highly scalable, and performance-wise and reliability-wise, it does not go down. It provides 99.9% uptime without downtime, so it is a very good feature. The backup and restoration efficiency of Microsoft Azure Block Storage is good.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Performing Arts
11%
Non Tech Company
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

Which file storage system is better - Amazon EFS (elastic file storage) or Azure File Storage?
Amazon EFS is easy to set up: you can use the AWS management console, API, or command-line. Amazon EFS can grow to petabytes and deliver consistent low latencies and high levels of throughput. This...
What do you like most about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
The product's initial setup phase is easy, as per the configurations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
We don't need to purchase it; we are just using it and paying Amazon as per the utilization. We make direct payments to Amazon based on our usage.
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
We use the solution to develop SaaS platforms on Azure. We utilize various Microsoft components like block storage and databases for this purpose.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
Our experience with pricing has been positive. The budget for Microsoft Azure services has been within expectations for the last couple of months. The cost for Azure Data Factory ( /products/azure-...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Block Storage?
For improvement in Microsoft Azure Block Storage, they can provide tiered level storages, maybe low-cost storages for storing archive data, but it is already there. I do not think there is much to ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Azure Block Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Arcesium, Atlassian, Seeking Alpha, Zend
Mazda, BlinkBox, Rakuten Showtime, Xbox One, Serko, ChronoDrive
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Microsoft Azure Block Storage and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.