What Is Amazon Cloud?
Since its launch in 2002, the AWS Amazon Cloud has become one of the world’s leading cloud-based solutions including specialized cloud services, computing resources, and other cloud products related to cloud computing. At the time of writing, AWS Amazon Cloud is the largest and most comprehensive cloud platform for organizations, including around 175 products and services ranging from analytics to storage space and virtual computing resources.
Read on to learn how Amazon AWS Cloud works and what it can offer you.
How Does Amazon AWS Cloud Work?
Amazon Cloud AWS provides IT resources on-demand via the internet. You can access Amazon AWS Cloud across devices and operating systems using a web app that runs on all major web browsers. The platform operates on a pay-as-you-go model meaning that you pay only for the services and resources you use (rather than having to settle for a package pre-determined for you).
Amazon manages the hardware, software, and updates for the AWS Cloud so you don’t have to worry about the technical side of things. So, instead of creating and maintaining services and physical data centers, you can simply buy the resources you need through the Amazon AWS Cloud.
What Can You Use Amazon Cloud For?
As noted, Amazon AWS Cloud brings together a lot of different cloud services. But you can pick and choose the one you need and scale up as you go while optimizing your spending on cloud services. Some of the best-known features of the Amazon AWS Cloud ecosystem include the following.
- Internet data storage and backup for the cloud for web applications or data archives through the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3).
- Scalable computing resources for running or developing web or mobile apps and services and other software development projects through the flexible Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).
- Big data analysis and management through advanced analytics and other services.
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for enhancing apps and services.
- Setting up and managing various types of databases including data warehousing ledger databases, and document databases.
- Connecting and managing devices to the cloud to enable Internet-of-Things functionality for your products.
- Building and testing code and automating code deployment.
- Sending short text messages or email to a large list of subscribers through the Amazon Simple Notification Services (SNS).
- Encrypting data for secure transactions and storage and other purposes with the Amazon Key Management System.
What about the advantages and disadvantages of the Amazon AWS Cloud? Let’s take a quick look at the key ones.
AWS Pros
- Huge selection of cloud products and services can make Amazon AWS Cloud the go-to solution for almost all of your organization’s cloud requirements.
- Provides you with essential computing resources at a lower cost compared to building your infrastructure, enabling you to grow your business faster.
- Fairly easy to use so that you can get started with most Amazon AWS Cloud services without having to spend too much time figuring them out.
- Enables you to analyze big data, use advanced business intelligence tools, machine learning, and AI which you may not otherwise be able to do without a major investment in architecture.
- Fast performance and good uptime.
AWS Cons
- You have to pay a fee for expert technical support.
- The computing resources you can use may be restricted in some regions.
- You may have to deal with the occasional downtime.
- Costs climb for large scale applications so that AWS may not always be more cost-effective than creating an on-premise data center.
- Migrating to the Amazon AWS Cloud from another cloud provider isn’t always straightforward and may require you to hire expert help.
The Bottom Line
Amazon AWS Cloud is one of the fastest, most powerful, and most reliable cloud computing infrastructures available. It provides great scalability and all the essential cloud computing functionality you need. If you’re looking for a complete cloud computing solution or just need a specific service, then you want to try the Amazon AWS Cloud.