AWS vs. Heroku vs. Firebase - Which one is the best?

Introduction

AWS offers all the tools and technologies to manage and integrate data without the need for managing servers. When you have chosen to go the serverless route, which cloud platform is the best for you? This is a common question that anybody asks themselves when they are planning to make a switch. To know about how a serverless architecture of AWS works, you should have a well-rounded knowledge about AWS. An AWS certification & training program can give you practical knowledge of AWS principles and architecture. Should they opt for AWS services that are mature enough with endless features, or should they opt for Firebase or Heroku cloud platforms? Before we read the actual comparison of AWS vs. Heroku vs. Firebase cloud platforms, let us first learn what is a serverless architecture?

Kickstart your career in Cloud Computing with our best Cloud Computing courses available at JanBask Training.

What is Serverless Architecture?

Traditional servers usually feature a single server and have a variety of responsibilities in its code base. Every time a request is sent to the server, it executes a few processes and the response is given back. Here one server is responsible for several multiple operations. It includes authentication, data storage, managing users, and more. So, it may be quite hectic running a server for you. 

A serverless architecture is based on the microservices architecture. Every time an event occurs, either a code or function is executed. The server wakes up only when it receives a request. So, the server doesn’t have to run all day, all week but it is working based on requirements only. In this case, the server uses resources when they are actually needed. The major benefit of the serverless architecture is that each function has its own responsibility that makes things clean and less finicky. AWS professional skills include sound knowledge of such applications. AWS Lambda lets the user run code on a serverless environment and can be thought of as an event-driven computing platform. Learn more about AWS Lambda from our AWS Lambda Tutorial Guide for AWS Solutions Architects. 

Why do you need Cloud platforms?

IDC forecasts that the overall spending on public cloud platforms will increase up to $141 billion in 2019. There are plenty of reasons why are moving to the cloud? Here are a few reasons why you should choose cloud over traditional platforms.

• Operational Flexibility: This is the core reason why business should opt for cloud services. Every time you scale up or scale down requirements, cloud platform will make it for you.
• Backup and Recovery Solutions: Cloud platforms offer attractive backup and recovery options for businesses of all sizes and they also help to save time and upfront investments.
• Security Updates: Cloud vendors take care of security or software updates themselves together with file servers, backup controls and so on.
• Edit data anytime anywhere: With cloud platforms, you have the flexibility to access, edit or share files from anywhere in the real-time that increases the overall employees’ productivity.
• Centralized Storage: When all documents are stored centrally, you don’t have to confuse with formats, versions, or titles. Also, your team doesn’t have to send files back and forth to edit or review.
• Start-ups: the cloud platforms provide start-ups with world-class enterprise technologies, ensure a competitive edge in the global market and ability to act smarter or faster.

Moving ahead, let us discuss three popular platforms – AWS vs Heroku, and Firebase. We will discuss all these platforms one by one to help you in deciding the best cloud platform for your next IT project.

You might be interested in pursuing a career as an AWS Solutions Architect. Here’s a complete guide on the AWS Solutions Architect career path.

What is AWS?

AWS provides a massive collection of cloud computing services that build up a full-fledged platform offered by Amazon.com since 2004. It is also named as the powerhouse of databases, management, analytics, deployment, storage, and delivery or deployment featured offered to developers. Today, AWS cloud services can be accessed in 16 geographical regions and it is still growing. 

Among all, AWS EC2 and S3 are the most popular cloud services with ever-expanding database library, load balancing, and ready-to-use deployment configurations. The core benefits of the AWS platform include extensive control levels, comprehensive analytics, meaningful insights, the ability to access the inner workings of your application.

AWS Lambda is equally strong, user-friendly, and easy to set up. AWS cloud services are highly reliable with amazing customer support from Amazon. The cost of service generally depends on the traffic you receive. Learn more about AWS by getting your basic concepts clear in What is Cloud Computing and how it works with this blog.

Drawbacks:

• Deployment is not reliable and there are no manual troubleshooting and error descriptions.
• The deployment process is quite lengthy and it may take up to 20 minutes even for simple websites.
• There are transparency issues with new stack versions and updates.
• AWS has so many products on hand which are difficult to learn together. Also, if AWS services are handled incorrectly, AWS could end up costing you more than your expectations.

Participate in this fun Quiz on AWS and gain motivation with this self-analysis test.

What is Heroku?

Heroku is a cloud platform that offers an efficient place for building, scaling, and deploying web apps. The ecosystem is made up of more than 140 add-ons including alerts, notifications, databases, analytics tools, security services, monitoring, or networking add-ons. 

This cloud platform is designed with an objective to boost your team’s productivity and make development or rolling out processes more convenient and efficient. AWS and Heroku are direct competitors that allow you to deploy or manage web apps in the AWS cloud without worrying about the infrastructure.

Drawbacks:

• There is no control over scaling and load balancing that may lead to bottlenecks in the long run,
• Scaling is generally expensive.
• It is good at the beginning but does not provide full server control.

Explore more about Cloud Computing through our blogs and resources at JanBask Training and get yourself enrolled!

What is Firebase?

Firebase is a powerful cloud platform designed to empower real-time collaborative apps. You just have to add Firebase library to your application to gain access to the shared data structure. Every time changes are made to the data that automatically synchronize with the Firebase cloud and other clients too within milliseconds. 

Firebase is a little younger and advanced cloud solution in terms of technology. From images, texts to voice APIs, the platform has a lot of more unique features to offer. This is a product by Google that includes services that are easy to scale. It also offers traffic management services within their suite. For a small team set up, Firebase serves you better than a heavy AWS setup. Also, it is easy to learn when compared to AWS.

On the flip side, Firebase makes it difficult to query larger datasets. The database does not provide any relational data that may spell trouble for start-ups.

An AWS Solutions Architect is one of the most sought-after job profiles in 2022. Get a detailed analysis of an AWS Solutions Architect roles and responsibilities that enable him to take a vital responsibility of his team.

AWS vs Firebase vs Heroku – The Alternatives

AWS is definitely the best choice among the leading providers of cloud services. But due to its complexity and heavy costs, users tend to explore alternatives as well. Today, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud platform are the most suitable options or main alternatives to Amazon.

The popularity of Azure is still growing and it offers easy and quick setup of virtual machines, autoscaling based on the live traffic, continuous functioning under heavy loads, support of multiple operating systems and programming language, built-in continuous deployment and so on.

On the other hand, Google Cloud is considered the most affordable solution offering a rich toolset for the big data, it provides developers with live migration of virtual machines, time-proven security systems, redundant backups, swift performance and more.

When we are talking about the Heroku alternatives, it mainly refers to the Digital Ocean. It is the second largest hosting provider in the world and Forbes included Digital Ocean I best 100 cloud Companies list. It mainly focused on high-level security, rich developer toolset, comprehensive documentation, and reliable infrastructure etc.

Grow your career by becoming a certified AWS Solutions Architect. Checkout the complete details of an AWS Solution Architect salary according to various factors.

AWS vs Firebase vs Heroku - Which to Choose?

The question of choosing one of them is a loaded one. It usually depends on your preferences and the situation. When you choose any of the three platforms, focus on the cost first. Is it suitable for you to manage infrastructure yourself or is it cost-effective using a ready platform that manages the infrastructure for you?

If you are in a situation to utilize a more matured service then AWS is a great choice for you. If you are a start-up prepping to set up things quickly then Firebase could be the right choice. At the same time, AWS and Heroku are direct competitors. If you don’t worry about infrastructure much then you could opt for Heroku cloud platform here.

If you choose AWS services then make sure that the Company you are working with has experience in managing the AWS infrastructure. If rapid application development is your highest priority then consider Heroku here. Keep in mind that it is easy to switch between IaaS and PaaS solutions based on the application demands or when it needs a custom infrastructure. Still, it is always good to start with the right service from the beginning.

If you are preparing for your AWS Solution Architect interview, here are the top AWS interview questions that you need to prepare before the final day. 

Final Thoughts

We live in an era where big enterprises and start-ups both can access top-notch infrastructure to compute, store, and manage the next innovative online services. Such approaches allow Companies to focus more on business strategy, improve business operations, and increase the overall business performance. 

It is clear from the discussion that while choosing between AWS, Heroku, and Firebase, you should consider resources and costs initially for the administration of machines. When running data centers, it is your responsibility to maintain, update, and support them 24/7 at later dates. With AWS, Heroku, or Firebase cloud services, all responsibilities are shifted on cloud vendors. In this way, cloud computing platforms are taking the industries by storm with endless features and benefits that are actually needed in the modern space.

Join a credible AWS training program and earn skills required to become a leader in the industry. 

AWS Solution Architect Training and Certification

• Personalized Free Consultation
• Access to Our Learning Management System
• Access to Our Course Curriculum
• Be a Part of Our Free Demo Class

Sign Up Now

FAQs

Q1. What will you learn from a Cloud Computing course?
Ans- From this course, you will-

• Gain an in-depth understanding of cloud services
• Learn how to design and deploy cloud applications
• Learn about cloud architecture & latest cloud technologies
• Implement cloud security features

Q2. What are the prerequisites of joining an AWS training course?
Ans- There are no prerequisites for joining our AWS course. And, no need to have a core to any technical experience/background to take our online AWS training course. Any learner to professionals with or without any technical experience/background can learn AWS with ease. Since we cover everything around AWS from basics to advanced, you won't have any problem aligning with our online AWS training course. If you are unsure about this course, you can put in a request for a detailed & free AWS course online counseling & demo class - to identify why this discipline is subjected to a growing career.

Q3. What learning benefits will I get from this course?
Ans- Our online training of AWS is not just about introducing you with theoretical knowledge for qualifying a certification exam, our motive is to deliver you the knowledge that can be practically applied. We serve you with the knowledge that's around real-industry scenarios, case studies & practical assignments along with theoretical practice. We unfold you with real-time learnings that will make you ready for real-time use cases of the AWS techniques. In our online AWS course, we have embedded market researched, business’s real situation based practical assignments/case studies related to AWS procedures- which you will solve along with the support of our trainers throughout the training.

Q4. Why are AWS certifications necessary?
Ans- AWS certifications are important to have as they:

• Expand your job ready practical skills.
• Gives boost while representing portfolio & CV to recruiters.
• Maximize the possibility of getting hired over non-certified AWS Architects.
• Help you demand your desired salary, as AWS certification reflects you have proven & competent skills.
• Help you get great confidence while dealing with AWS solution architect jobs or real industry projects.

Q5. Which AWS Solutions Architect certifications are in demand?
Ans- AWS Certified Big Data – Specialty

• AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty
• AWS Certified Security - Speciality
• AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate (AWS Operations Certification)
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate(AWS Architecting Certification)
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional (AWS Developing Certifications)
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional(AWS Architecting Certification)

Q6. What is the objective of an AWS course?
Ans- The objective of our online AWS training is:

• To provide you with an AWS Solutions Architect certification course online that gives experiences similar to offline classrooms and saves you from struggles of traveling to the physical classes, incurring expenses, spending energy & time.
• To give you a complete AWS discipline preparation by covering concepts, skills, techniques that AWS certifications & job role demands.
• To provide a unified and comprehensive AWS training that imparts you basic to advanced concepts/skills of AWS techniques & processes - that are examined for an individual in the AWS online Certification examination - via immersive, exciting e-learning tools & industry experts-led classes

Q7. What skills will I learn in this course?
Ans- Here are all that you will learn:

• AWS Cloud Computing, AWS Architecture
• Identity Access Management & S3
• Amazon VPC, Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
• Databases, Application Services, DynamoDB, Redshift
• Configuration Management, Automation, AWS Route 53
• Networking, Monitoring, Security Groups

Q8. What are the required skills for AWS?
Ans- Technical Skills for AWS Solution Architect jobs

• Java/Python or C++
• Networking
• Data Storage Fundamentals
• Security Foundations
• AWS Service Selection
• Cloud specific patterns & technologies

Q9.  What can I expect after this course?
Ans- After completing our AWS certifications training online, you will achieve:

• Competent skills & knowledge, all ready to be utilized during the certification exam of AWS.
• Smart & well-calculated ways to proceed & absorb in the lucrative AWS led job markets.
• An AWS Training Certification online for training completion, by a highly recognized name - JanBask Training - declaring a successful completion of your learning-filled AWS training online for beginners to professionals. Our training completion certification gives you a great boost during interview calls.

Q10. What is the future scope of AWS professionals?
Ans- AWS has customers all across from over 190 countries - which covers millions of customers in 5000 education institutions, 127,500 nonprofit organizations, 2000 government agencies. AWS Data Services increased by a whopping 96% in just a single year - including Amazon ElastiCashe, Amazon RDS, Amazon Redshift, Amazon DynamoDB. AWS has over 70 services inclusive of storage, computing, database, networking, application services, analytics.