Everything You Need to Know About Amazon Web Services

Amazon launched its first web service in 2002. It was an in-house-created IT solution whose purpose was to handle and optimize the company’s retail operations. But now, Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds more than 30% of the market share in cloud computing.

Leading companies such as Facebook, X, Adobe, ESPN, Netflix, BBC, and many more actively use AWS to strengthen their IT infrastructure. Other than this, with over 240 IT solutions, AWS is widely used in public and governmental organizations as well.

Having said that, even if you’re running a small business from your garage, AWS can be a game-changer for you as well. Starting from what AWS is, I’ll explain how businesses around the world are benefiting from it.

So, let’s start:

What is Amazon Web Services?

AWS is a subsidiary of one of the biggest e-commerce marketplaces, Amazon. As I mentioned earlier, it all started when Amazon created an in-house IT service to manage its retail operations. 

Now, AWS combines Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) to provide full-fledged cloud solutions to companies, government institutions, and individuals across the globe.

Below are some of the major types of cloud solutions offered by AWS:

• Cloud servers
• Databases
• Data Centers
• Networking Resources
• Storage

How Does Amazon Web Services Work?

How AWS works depends on what kind of cloud-based service you choose. However, the basic principle behind the cloud service remains the same. The users don’t own the cloud solution, and they’re not responsible for upgrading or maintaining the underlying infrastructure of those tools.

However, AWS users are still responsible for updating the client-side interface. Technically, those updates are also rolled out by the service provider, and users just need to update them from their side.

That said, it goes without saying that AWS-powered cloud solutions are bandwidth-heavy and require a reliable and high-speed internet connection to work. These tools might lag, glitch, or become unresponsive on a spotty connection, which I believe kills the purpose of efficiency offered by cloud services.

Sharing my experience, my existing cloud-based tools started to lag and eventually became unresponsive when I signed up for additional services. So, upon a friend’s recommendation, I called Verizon customer service, explored their offers, and subscribed to a high-speed, yet affordable plan for my small home-based business.

Now, I’ve added a few more tools, and not once have they lagged or become inefficient. Besides this, you might also want to consider your business’s IT practices.

Some cloud-based tools might not smoothly fit into your business’s IT ecosystem. And, you might need to change existing IT practices to use such cloud services.

Benefits of Amazon Web Services

Companies from different industries are benefiting from AWS. Here’s how:

• Global Infrastructure

AWS has a well-developed and global network of servers, data centers, and networks to assist companies. Precisely, AWS has 120 availability zones with 30 geographic regions. And, each region has three availability zones, which ensures speedy delivery of cloud-based services even to the far-fetched locations.

Other than this, AWS has over 6 million kilometers of fiber-optic cabling, which significantly reduces the downtime in delivering new services or rolling out updates.

• No Maintenance

I’ve explained earlier that companies don’t have to maintain, update, or upgrade the cloud services offered by AWS or any other third-party developer. The users are only responsible for updating the client-end app and the interface of the cloud tools, which, in most cases, can be done in a few clicks.

So, besides saving costs, companies don’t have to allocate useful resources or deal with the complex and technical issues that can erupt in the process.

• Pricing Model

AWS products work on a “pay as you go” model when it comes to pricing.  It means that you can subscribe to any AWS tools just like you subscribe to Netflix.

The pricing of AWS tools can fluctuate with respect to a user’s location. Plus, you can easily unsubscribe from any AWS tool by canceling its subscription.

• Flexibility and Scalability

AWS cloud solutions are highly flexible and scalable. Businesses, be it a large corporation or a small venture, can find useful AWS applications.

Plus, businesses might need more computational power as they scale. So, they can simply subscribe to high-tier plans by AWS that offer more advanced features, such as more servers, networks, or greater computational power.

• Data Security

AWS offers one of the most secure cloud-based tools. AWS specifically takes help from Identity and Access Management (IAM), a strong security measure to ensure data safety.

Other than this, AWS also places encryption and different security protocols to ensure that data stored on the cloud servers remains safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any disadvantages of AWS?

A lot of services offered by AWS might have a steep learning curve. Users, especially beginners, might face difficulties while exploring the extensive catalog of cloud tools offered by AWS.

Can I use multiple AWS products simultaneously?

Yes, you can use multiple AWS products simultaneously by subscribing to them separately.