AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud Jobs in Norway & Sweden (2026)
2026-09-25 · Petter Larsen
Looking for cloud jobs in Norway or Sweden? Then the first thing to know is which cloud employers there actually use. We checked 5,244 tech job ads posted in 2026 (2,058 in Norway and 3,186 in Sweden) for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and on-prem.
AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud: the short version
- Norway is Azure-first. Of the ads that name a big cloud, 57% mention only Azure.
- Sweden is more balanced. Azure still leads, but one in three cloud ads mentions more than one provider.
- Startups prefer AWS and Google Cloud in both countries.
- On-prem is still around in Norway's public sector, but rare in developer roles.
Cloud market share in Norwegian and Swedish job ads
| Cloud | Norway | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Azure | 29.8% | 20.3% |
| AWS | 13.2% | 16.1% |
| Google Cloud | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| Any of the three | 36.5% | 30.5% |
Only about a third of tech ads name one of the big three. Embedded, frontend and IT support ads often don't mention a cloud at all. Among the ads that do:
| Norway | Sweden | |
|---|---|---|
| Only Azure | 57.0% | 38.6% |
| Only AWS | 12.3% | 21.7% |
| Only Google Cloud | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| More than one cloud | 25.6% | 32.9% |
Azure jobs in Norway: why Norway is Azure-first
Azure is the most mentioned technology of any kind in Norwegian tech ads, ahead of Python. The rest of the Microsoft ecosystem comes with it: Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune, Power BI and Microsoft Fabric are all far more common in Norway than in Sweden (see Norway vs Sweden tech jobs).
The stereotype holds: Norwegian employers pick Azure, while startups and international companies pick AWS or Google Cloud.
| Segment (Norway) | Tech ads | Azure | AWS | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ads written in Norwegian | 1,625 | 32.3% | 11.9% | 8.4% |
| Ads written in English | 426 | 20.9% | 18.1% | 8.9% |
| Startups | 72 | 8.3% | 20.8% | 11.1% |
| Public sector | 442 | 25.1% | 6.8% | 5.0% |
| Private sector | 1,016 | 33.8% | 16.2% | 9.8% |
Ads written in Norwegian, which mostly come from Norwegian employers, mention Azure almost three times as often as AWS. English-language ads are much closer. Startups flip the picture, with AWS and Google Cloud both ahead of Azure. The startup sample is small, but Sweden shows the same pattern. The public sector barely mentions AWS and leans on Azure and on-prem instead.
AWS and Azure jobs in Sweden
Azure is still the most mentioned cloud in Sweden, but the gap is much smaller.
| Segment (Sweden) | Tech ads | Azure | AWS | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ads written in Swedish | 1,490 | 19.0% | 10.1% | 5.2% |
| Ads written in English | 1,695 | 21.4% | 21.4% | 12.6% |
| Startups | 106 | 17.9% | 45.3% | 35.8% |
In English-language Swedish ads, AWS and Azure are exactly tied. Swedish startups are an AWS and Google Cloud market: 60.4% of their tech ads name a big cloud, and Azure trails far behind. Swedish-language ads lean towards Azure, like in Norway but less extreme.
Which cloud do DevOps, backend and data jobs use?
| Role | Norway: any cloud | Norway: Azure / AWS / GCP | Sweden: any cloud | Sweden: Azure / AWS / GCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backend / full-stack developer | 61.1% | 45.4 / 23.2 / 13.0 | 51.3% | 31.8 / 28.8 / 14.0 |
| DevOps / cloud / platform | 55.4% | 47.3 / 22.8 / 15.2 | 59.9% | 40.1 / 31.6 / 18.6 |
| Data / AI / ML | 42.5% | 34.1 / 19.2 / 15.9 | 51.6% | 33.3 / 29.8 / 23.4 |
| Leadership / architecture | 39.3% | 31.4 / 14.2 / 10.5 | 23.9% | 13.8 / 13.2 / 9.4 |
| Security | 26.3% | 23.4 / 10.2 / 5.8 | 25.4% | 16.9 / 16.9 / 18.6 |
| IT operations / support | 25.7% | 25.2 / 2.8 / 0.9 | 14.3% | 14.3 / 0 / 0 |
| Frontend / mobile developer | 24.7% | 20.8 / 9.1 / 5.2 | 17.6% | 11.8 / 6.9 / 3.9 |
| Embedded / hardware | 4.9% | 2.4 / 2.4 / 2.4 | 5.6% | 4.7 / 3.1 / 1.9 |
Small samples: Norwegian embedded (41 ads) and Swedish IT operations (35 ads) and security (59 ads).
Backend, DevOps and data roles are where cloud matters: half or more of these ads name a big cloud in both countries. Data and AI roles are the most Google Cloud-friendly. IT operations is Azure territory, the world of Microsoft 365 and Entra ID: in Norway, a quarter of IT operations ads mention Azure and almost none mention AWS or Google Cloud. Embedded roles rarely mention a cloud, and QA roles seldom do (12.9% in Norway, 4.6% in Sweden).
How common is on-prem in Norway and Sweden?
| Deployment signal | Norway | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| On-prem, own data centre or private cloud (any) | 6.8% | 2.5% |
| "On-premises" mentioned | 4.7% | 2.1% |
| Windows Server | 2.3% | 0.6% |
| VMware | 2.2% | 0.6% |
| Private cloud / OpenStack | 1.7% | 0.4% |
| Hybrid cloud | 1.7% | 0.4% |
| Own data centre | 1.0% | 0.2% |
| Sovereign / local cloud providers | 0.8% | 0.1% |
On-prem is a minority, but it hasn't disappeared, especially in Norway:
- Norway's public sector mentions on-prem or its own infrastructure in 13.3% of tech ads, three times the private sector (4.3%).
- Platform and IT roles carry it. In Norway, 21.7% of DevOps / platform ads and 11.9% of IT operations ads mention on-prem. In Sweden, 11.4% of DevOps / platform ads do.
- Developers rarely see it. Backend and frontend ads almost never mention on-prem (0.2% or less).
- On-prem usually means hybrid. About half of the ads that mention on-prem also mention Azure, AWS or Google Cloud (46% in Norway, 52.5% in Sweden). Typical wording is "cloud and on-premises environments" or "moving from on-prem to a hybrid cloud".
- Sovereign cloud is a Norwegian niche. 17 Norwegian tech ads mention sovereign cloud, Norwegian-operated cloud platforms or data sovereignty, against 2 in Sweden.
Kubernetes, OpenShift and serverless
| Platform | Norway | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes | 15.1% | 15.8% |
| OpenShift | 2.1% | 3.3% |
| Serverless | 1.4% | 2.7% |
| Cloudflare | <0.1% | 1.2% |
| Firebase / Supabase | 0.2% | 1.0% |
| Vercel / Netlify / Heroku | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Hetzner / DigitalOcean / OVH | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Oracle Cloud | 0.1% | <0.1% |
| IBM Cloud | <0.1% | 0% |
Kubernetes is the common layer. It's mentioned about as often in both countries, whatever cloud sits underneath, which makes it the most portable cloud skill you can have. OpenShift is the on-prem and regulated-industry version of Kubernetes, more common in Sweden. Smaller providers like Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud, Hetzner, DigitalOcean and OVH barely register, and Firebase, Supabase and Cloudflare show up mainly in Sweden.
Which cloud should you learn for Norway or Sweden?
- Established Norwegian employers or the public sector: learn Azure first. It's the default, often alongside Microsoft 365 and Entra ID.
- Startups or international companies: AWS is the best first cloud, with Google Cloud a strong second, especially for data roles.
- Sweden in general: Azure or AWS both work. Since one in three cloud ads names more than one provider, showing you can move between clouds is a plus.
- The most portable skills: Kubernetes (about 15% in both countries) and Terraform (9.3% in Norway, 7% in Sweden) work on every cloud.
- Platform or IT operations in Norway: expect some on-prem and hybrid work. VMware, Windows Server and networking still matter there.
For which DevOps skills to learn alongside your cloud, read DevOps and cloud jobs in Norway and Sweden.
About the data
- Data: tech job ads collected by Nordic Tech Jobs from Norwegian and Swedish job boards, including startup job boards, from January (Sweden) and mid-February (Norway) to September 2026. Reposts are counted once. The full method is in the Norway and Sweden posts.
- Mentions, not contracts: we count whether an ad mentions a platform. An ad that says "AWS, Azure or GCP" counts for all three.
Find cloud jobs in Norway and Sweden
Browse Azure jobs in Norway, AWS jobs in Norway, Azure jobs in Sweden and AWS jobs in Sweden.