AWS vs Azure in Greece: which cloud are local enterprises actually choosing?

Data from GRNET and local resellers reveals surprising adoption patterns — and the gap between the two giants may be smaller than you think.

The Greek cloud market in 2025

Cloud adoption in Greece has accelerated significantly over the past three years, driven by digital transformation mandates in the public sector, pressure from multinationals operating locally, and a growing startup ecosystem. But the choice between the two dominant platforms — AWS and Microsoft Azure — is not playing out the same way here as it does globally.

Why Azure has an edge in Greece

Microsoft’s deep presence in Greek enterprise IT — through Windows Server, Active Directory, Office 365, and long-standing reseller relationships — gives Azure a natural home court advantage. For most Greek IT departments, the path of least resistance is extending their existing Microsoft investment into the cloud. Azure Arc, Entra ID, and the tight integration with Microsoft 365 are strong pull factors.

The Greek public sector has also leaned Azure, partly due to compliance familiarity and Microsoft’s EU data residency commitments.

Where AWS is winning

AWS tends to dominate in greenfield projects — especially among startups, software companies, and teams building cloud-native applications. The breadth of AWS services, the maturity of its developer tooling, and competitive pricing on compute make it the default choice for teams starting from scratch without legacy Microsoft infrastructure.

The honest takeaway

If your organisation is already deep in Microsoft, Azure is almost certainly the right call. If you’re building something new and your team is developer-led, AWS gives you more flexibility. The real mistake is choosing based on global market share data rather than your own workload profile and team skills.