In a recent Stack Overflow survey of more than 80,000 developers, Amazon Web Services (AWS), emerged as the best cloud platform.
The annual developer survey by Stack Overflow is one of the most important and well-known surveys in the software development industry. It is the first edition to separate cloud platforms from a general platforms query. AWS was deemed the most popular cloud platform by developers in 2021, but Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure saw significant gains over last year.
54.22 percent of respondents chose AWS when asked “Which cloud platform have you done extensive development work over the past year and which do you plan to continue working in the next year?” (If you have both worked with the platform, and would like to continue doing so, please tick both boxes.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Cloud Platforms by Percentage Of Responses (source Stack Overflow). The numbers for AWS (29.138), GCP (16.687), and Microsoft Azure (16.540) were broken down by the number of replies as opposed to the percentage of responses.
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] Cloud Platforms by Number Of Responses (source Stack Overflow). Only professional developers chose AWS, but the percentage was higher:
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] Cloud Platforms by Percentage Of Responses Among Professional Developments (source:Stack Overflow). It is clear that AWS nearly doubled the GCP when broken down by the number of responses.
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] Cloud Platforms by the Number of Responses Among Professional Developments (source:Stack Overflow). Here are the percentage responses from all respondents and just professional developers to last year’s survey on all platforms. When clouds weren’t separated, AWS was again leading cloud platforms and came fourth overall.
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] All Respondents to the 2020 Survey on Cloud (and Other) Platforms (source:Stack Overflow). [Click on the image to see a larger view.] Cloud (and other platforms) in 2020 Survey, Professional Developers Only. Source: Stack Overflow. SO is well-known for asking about the “most loved” or “most feared” technologies and tools. The 2021 report again shows AWS as No. 1. Although Azure is still the most loved platform, GCP was a little higher up the list.
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] Loved vs. Dreaded Platforms (source Stack Overflow). Respondents were also asked which platform they “want” in a question asking about “% developers who aren’t developing with the technology or language but have expressed an interest in it.” Again, AWS leads, but GCP is ahead of Azure for No. 2:
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] Most Wanted Platforms (source Stack Overflow). You can find more information about the SO report in this article published by Visual Studio Magazine.
