As more and more enterprises reconsider their current cloud strategies, moving over from Azure to AWS has become increasingly common. Reasons like pricing, performance, and vendor alignment are often cited. Despite this shift, though, the two platforms have significant architectural and services differences. This can lead to unfortunate surprises during the migration process.
Learn the 9 most common compatibility issues that organizations face when transitioning from Azure to AWS, along with the actionable solutions to each so you can bolster your business. All of these tips for managing an AWS environment during the transition from Azure will increase the efficacy of your business.
- Identity and Access Management (IAM) Differences
First and foremost, Azure uses Azure Active Directory (AAD) for identity and is often deeply embedded across services. On the other hand, AWS used IAM with different concepts related to roles, policies, and trust relationships. If you aren’t careful, rewriting user roles and permissions can break access if not mapped correctly.
To avoid this issue, use AWS IAM identity center (formerly known as AWS SSO) for all central identity control. Leverage SAML 2.0 or SCIM for any AAD integration. You should also audit and map Azure RBAC roles to the equivalent AWS IAM roles in a staged rollout that staggers the integration. This way, you can run simulation tests before a more widespread adoption.
- Virtual Machine (VM) Sizing and Instance Types
The second issue faced during migration tends to center around Azure’s VM types and naming conventions. The problem is that these don’t map over to AWS EC2 instance types perfectly. Overprovisioning often leads to unnecessary costs, and underprovisioning can cause performance degradation, which is why this is such a pitfall.
Avoiding this is as easy as using AWS Migration Evaluator or Cloudamize to analyze current VM workloads. Try to match Azure VMs to the right-sized EC2 instances based on performance, CPU, RAM, and disk I/O. Then, test with spot instances to fine-tune your selections further.
- Networking Architecture Mismatches
Another issue seen during the migration from Azure to AWS is that the virtual network architecture (VNet) of Azure has different concepts from AWS’s VPC or Virtual Private Cloud. This is especially true in route tables, peering, and security groups.
When IP addresses conflict, there are broken peering, or there are mismatched firewall rules post-migration, serious internal business issues can occur. Pre-map your VNet configurations to VPCs using diagrams to avoid this, or use AWS Transit Gateway tools for complex multi-VPC topologies.
- Storage Services Compatibility
The fourth commonly seen issue migrating from Azure to AWS is that Azure Blob Storage and Amazon S3 differ in their access protocols, tiering models, lifecycle rules, and metadata. Broken app connections and slower performance due to improper configuration can both occur due to this issue and cause operational problems.
The solution to this issue is to use AWS S3 Transfer Acceleration or AWS DataSync for large transfers. Try to reconfigure blob containers into S3 buckets with proper IAM policies and define lifecycle policies upfront. For any applications you may have, use REST APIs and triple-check that all SDKs are updated for S3 properly.
- Database Compatibility and Migration
Another problem seen during migration is that the Azure SQL database and Cosmos database may not be 1:1 compatible with AWS RDS or DynamoDB. The reason this becomes a bigger issue is through schema mismatches, missing storage procedures, or downtime during cutover.
Start to prevent this by using AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) and AWS Database Migration Service (DMS). Always run compatibility checks and simulate failovers in a staging environment as well to cover your bases. For any non-relational workloads you have, think about using Amazon Aurora or DynamoDB as an alternative.
- Serverless Platform Differences
The sixth issue you might face during the switch from Azure to AWS is that Azure Functions and AWS Lambda differ in their runtime environments, integrations, and scaling behavior. Event triggers and bindings, therefore, don’t translate directly. This can result in broken workflows.
Fix this by using refactored functions with AWS SAM or Serverless Framework. Map any and all event sources carefully while also adjusting timeout, concurrency, and memory settings for Lambda. Finally, monitor with CloudWatch Logs to identify runtime errors as early as possible.
- Monitoring and Logging Incompatibility
Azure Monitor and Log Analytics use different schemas than AWS CloudWatch and CloudTrail, which creates the seventh commonly seen issue: loss of log visibility, missing alerts, and disjointed based ability across environments.
To solve this, export Azure logs prior to the migration so that you can audit them. Also, rebuild dashboards in CloudWatch or use third-party platforms like Datadog or Splunk, which can help.
- CI/CD and DevOps Workflow Disruptions
The eight commonly seen issues with the migration stem from the fact that Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions might not align directly with certain AWS-native tools like CodePipeline, CodeBuild, or CodeDeploy. This can result in pipeline breakages, outdated YAML configurations, or unsupported integrations.
Solve this by taking steps to containerize your builds with the help of Docker to reduce dependency on the platform. Also, consider using AWS CodeCatalyst or third-party CI/CD tools for a smoother transition.
- Licensing, Marketplace, and Proprietary Software
The ninth common issue seen is that Microsoft licensing Windows Server, SQL, and other Azure-based marketplace offerings might not transfer directly over to AWS. Unexpected licensing fees, unsupported features, or forced software upgrades can all impact the operational flow of your business.
Avoiding this can be done by checking AWS License Managed and BYOL eligibility ahead of time, as well as by auditing all marketplace subscriptions you have before the migration occurs. Try to re-license through AWS Marketplace or opt for open-source alternatives wherever viable.
Complete a successful Azure to AWS migration
Migrating from Azure to AWS is a complex process, but it is certainly manageable with the right planning. By addressing these comparability issues early, you can reduce risk and ensure business continuity. Download a checklist or migration readiness assessment ahead of the process to set yourself up better and reduce operational impacts during the switch.
