AWS CloudWatch vs Azure Monitor vs Google Cloud Operations Suite
Overview
Modern enterprises require real-time observability across cloud and hybrid systems. While AWS CloudWatch, Azure Monitor, and Google Cloud Operations Suite serve similar purposes, they differ in telemetry sources, data models, alerting mechanisms, integrations, and hybrid monitoring capabilities. This Level 500 article explores these services in exhaustive detail.
1. Core Capabilities Comparison
| Feature | AWS CloudWatch | Azure Monitor | Google Cloud Operations Suite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Sources | Metrics, logs, events, traces | Metrics, logs, activity logs, diagnostics | Metrics, logs, events, traces |
| Log Types | VPC Flow Logs, Application, Synthetics | Azure NSG Flow Logs, Activity Logs, Diagnostics | VPC Flow Logs, Audit Logs, Custom Logs |
| Monitoring On-Premises | Hybrid agent, Systems Manager, CW Agent | Azure Arc, Log Analytics Agent | Ops Agent, Transfer via Ops Agent or BindPlane |
| Log Routing | To S3, Lambda, Kinesis, Elasticsearch | To Azure Storage, Event Hub, Log Analytics | To BigQuery, Pub/Sub, Storage |
| Retention Policy | Custom; Default 14 days for logs | Up to 2 years configurable | Logs: 30 days default (extendable to 365+) |
| Metric Resolution | 1-sec (custom); 5-min (standard) | 1-min default, down to 10-sec | 1-min default; 15-sec (with Prometheus) |
2. Metrics and Logs
🔸 AWS CloudWatch
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Metric Streams: Export in near real-time to S3, Kinesis, or partner destinations (Datadog, Splunk).
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Custom Metrics: 1-second resolution with detailed monitoring (paid tier).
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Flow Logs: For VPC, Transit Gateway, and ENIs. Stored in CloudWatch Logs or S3.
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CloudWatch Agent: Deployed on EC2 and on-prem systems; collects metrics and logs.
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Log Groups & Streams: Organizes application logs; supports query via CloudWatch Logs Insights.
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Metric Filters: Converts logs into numerical metrics for alarms.
🔸 Azure Monitor
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Log Analytics Workspace: Core unit to store metrics and logs (KQL-powered).
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Azure Monitor Agent: Replaces legacy MMA and supports multi-homing.
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Flow Logs: For NSGs, stored in Log Analytics or storage.
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Diagnostics Settings: Push logs to Event Hub, Storage, or Log Analytics.
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Kusto Query Language (KQL): Advanced telemetry analysis.
🔸 Google Cloud Operations Suite
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Ops Agent: Unified agent for logs and metrics.
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Cloud Logging: Supports structured, unstructured logs; fully integrated with GKE and Compute Engine.
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Log Sinks: Export logs to Pub/Sub, BigQuery, GCS.
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VPC Flow Logs: With sampling and aggregation; stored in Cloud Logging.
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Log-Based Metrics: Auto-create metrics from log queries.
3. Monitoring Rules, Alerts, and Automation
| Feature | AWS CloudWatch | Azure Monitor | Google Cloud Operations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alert Rules | CloudWatch Alarms, Composite Alarms | Action Groups, Metric Alerts, Log Alerts | Alerting Policy, Uptime Checks |
| Metric Rule Actions | SNS, Lambda, EC2 Auto Scaling | Email, ITSM, Azure Functions, Logic Apps | Email, Webhooks, Slack, GCP Functions |
| Threshold Types | Static, Anomaly, Step Scaling | Static, Dynamic Thresholds | Static, MLOps Anomaly Detection |
| Multi-resource Alerts | Composite Alarms | Multi-resource Alerts | Multi-condition policies |
4. Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Monitoring
AWS CloudWatch:
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Integrate on-prem via CloudWatch Agent and Systems Manager.
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Use AWS DMS or OpenTelemetry for trace collection.
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Flow logs from on-prem firewall → push to CloudWatch via custom scripts or partner tools.
Azure Monitor:
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Azure Arc and Log Analytics Agent allow full visibility into on-prem VMs.
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Flow logs collected from NSGs, firewalls.
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Connect other clouds via Custom Logs, HTTP Data Collector API, or Grafana plugin.
Google Cloud Operations:
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Ops Agent deployed on on-prem VMs, integrates with BindPlane for hybrid setups.
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Logging and metrics from AWS or Azure can be sent via Pub/Sub connectors.
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Native multi-cloud dashboarding via Monitoring Workspace.
5. Data Retention and Storage Integration
| Feature | AWS CloudWatch | Azure Monitor | Google Cloud Operations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Log Retention | Configurable per log group; 1 day to ∞ | Up to 730 days; older via Storage account | 30 days (default), configurable |
| Metrics Retention | 15 months (granularity decreases) | 93 days full fidelity; aggregation up to 2 yrs | 6 weeks detailed, 24 months aggregated |
| Export Destinations | S3, Kinesis, Lambda | Azure Blob, Event Hub, Analytics | BigQuery, GCS, Pub/Sub |
6. Security and Compliance
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Encryption: All three platforms encrypt metrics and logs at rest.
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IAM/ACLs: Granular access control via IAM roles, RBAC (Azure), IAM policies (GCP).
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Audit Logs: Integrated into monitoring flows (AWS CloudTrail, Azure Activity Logs, GCP Audit Logs).
Use Cases & Recommendations
| Use Case | Best Option |
|---|---|
| Multi-cloud Observability | Google Cloud Ops with BindPlane |
| Cost-effective S3 archiving | AWS CloudWatch + S3 |
| High-resolution metric analysis | Azure Monitor + Log Analytics |
| Hybrid Cloud Integration | Azure Arc + Monitor or AWS SSM |
| Custom Log-based Alarming | AWS Metric Filters or Azure KQL |
Summary Table
| Feature | AWS CloudWatch | Azure Monitor | GCP Ops Suite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flow Logs | ✅ VPC Flow Logs | ✅ NSG, Firewall | ✅ VPC Flow Logs |
| On-prem Support | ✅ Agent + SSM | ✅ Azure Arc | ✅ Ops Agent |
| Retention Control | ✅ Customizable | ✅ Up to 2 years | ✅ 30+ days |
| Log Exports | ✅ S3, Kinesis | ✅ Storage, EH | ✅ BigQuery, GCS |
| Multi-Cloud Integration | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Manual setup | ✅ Built-in |
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Disclaimer
This article is independently developed and not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). All service names, prices, and descriptions are based on publicly available sources as of June 2025 and may change.
