What is Amazon Web Services (AWS): All You Need to Know About Services, Features, and Pricing

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing platform provided by Amazon.com. It offers a wide range of services, including computing power, storage options, networking, databases, and more. AWS is known for its scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, making it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes. With AWS, companies can easily scale their resources up or down based on demand, pay only for what they use, and benefit from the security and reliability of Amazon’s infrastructure.

In this article, we’ll look at what AWS is used for, its key features, business benefits, pricing structure, and why it’s become such an important part of modern IT infrastructure. Scroll down to learn about the many facets of AWS and how it can transform your business operations.

What is Amazon Web Services used for?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is utilised for various purposes in the realm of cloud computing. It provides a comprehensive suite of infrastructure services that enable organisations to run virtually any workload.

Here is how Amazon describes their web services, taken from the official AWS website:

“Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster.”

Just as they said, AWS provides over 200 computing services. So, if you ask what Amazon Web Services is used for, you will likely receive a variety of answers. However, their primary offering is cloud computing services, which are computational capacities that are transferred via the internet—also referred to as “the cloud”.

Despite the fact that Amazon Web Services provides a wide range of services, here are some common uses for it:

  • Hosting Websites and Applications: AWS offers scalable and reliable hosting solutions for websites, web applications, and mobile apps. With services like Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service), businesses can deploy and manage their applications with ease.
  • Data Storage and Backup: AWS provides secure and durable cloud storage options for businesses to store and backup their data. Services like Amazon S3 and Amazon Glacier offer scalable storage solutions with high availability and durability.
  • Big Data Analytics: AWS offers a range of services for big data processing and analytics, such as Amazon EMR (Elastic MapReduce) and Amazon Redshift. These services enable businesses to process and analyze large datasets efficiently, uncovering valuable insights for decision-making.
  • Machine Learning and AI: AWS provides tools and services for machine learning and artificial intelligence, including Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Rekognition. These services empower businesses to build, train, and deploy machine learning models at scale.
  • Internet of Things (IoT): With AWS IoT services, businesses can connect and manage IoT devices securely, collect and analyze data from these devices, and build innovative IoT applications.

Aside from AWS, there is NetApp, an IT service provider that provides a combination of hardware, software, and services to help businesses manage data efficiently. Learn more about them in our article, “What is NetApp? Everything You Need to Know About the Data Infrastructure Leader“.

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What is Amazon Web Services used for (Image by Allcode)

Key Features and Services Offered by AWS

AWS provides a wide range of features and services to meet the diverse needs of businesses. Some of the key features include scalable cloud computing, storage options, database management, and networking capabilities. Additionally, AWS offers security and compliance tools to ensure data protection and regulatory adherence for businesses of all sizes.

Some of the most prominent offerings include:

  • Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): Provides on-demand virtual servers for running a wide range of applications.
  • Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3): Offers object storage for cost-effective and scalable data archiving and retrieval.
  • Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS): Provides a variety of managed database services, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Aurora.
  • Amazon DynamoDB: A NoSQL database service for high-performance and scalable applications.
  • Amazon Lambda: Enables serverless computing by allowing you to run code without managing servers.
  • Amazon CloudFront: A content delivery network (CDN) for delivering content with low latency and high speed.
  • Amazon CloudWatch: Provides monitoring and observability tools for your AWS resources.
  • Amazon Security and Identity Services (IAM): Offers fine-grained access control to your AWS resources.

Benefits of AWS for Business

One of the primary advantages of AWS is the cost savings it offers. 

It’s because they provide their service through a pay-as-you-go pricing model, which allows you to increase scalability to meet growing demands. AWS’s robust infrastructure also provides improved security, as do compliance certifications. 

Finally, Amazon Web Services provides a wide range of services and tools to help businesses of all sizes streamline operations and increase productivity.

So here are all the benefits of AWS

  • Reduced costs: Pay only for the resources you use, eliminating the upfront costs of hardware and software.
  • Increased scalability: Easily scale your IT infrastructure up or down based on demand.
  • Improved agility: Respond quickly to changing market conditions and innovate faster.
  • Enhanced security: Benefit from robust security features and compliance certifications.
  • Greater reliability: Enjoy high availability and fault tolerance with AWS’s global infrastructure.
  • Simplified IT management: Offload IT infrastructure management tasks to AWS, freeing up your team to focus on core business activities.

Do you have to pay for Amazon Web Services?

Yes, you have to pay to use the variety of Amazon Web Services offerings. 

AWS operates on a pay-as-you-go model, meaning you only pay for the resources you use. This eliminates the need for upfront investments and provides cost predictability. AWS offers a free tier that allows you to experiment with its services before committing to a paid plan.

The free tier includes limited usage of select AWS services for 12 months, making it a great option for those looking to test the platform without financial commitment. Additionally, AWS offers cost management tools to help monitor and control spending as you scale your usage.

This concludes everything you should know about Amazon Web Services. 

If you want to learn more about another cloud solution provider, DigitalOcean is a name you should know. For more information, see our article, “What is DigitalOcean: Use Case, Features, and Pricing“.

Conclusion

When it comes to cloud application development, data management, and scalability, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been a game-changer. Many companies in many different sectors have switched to AWS because of its affordability, scalability, reliability, and extensive service offerings. Businesses can stay ahead of the competition in today’s innovation and growth markets by using AWS to streamline their IT infrastructure, innovate more quickly, and save money.

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