Amazon Web Services – On-demand cloud computing platform

Amazon Web Services platform offers cloud computing services which are scalable, reliable, easy-to-use, flexible and cost-effective. It has been adopted globally as the most comprehensive cloud platform which offers over 150 full fledged services from the data centers established across the world. The services which are being offered range from infrastructure technologies such as storage and databases to  the latest technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Internet of Things.  It is an easy to use computing platform developed with the integration of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and packaged software as a service (SaaS).

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is service delivery through the Internet. The deliverables include applications like data storage, servers, networking, databases and software. The primitive style of keeping files on a hard drive or local storage device, the cloud based storage makes it possible to save them on a remote database. With the help of these remote databases, as long as an electronic device is accessing the web, it has access to the data and software programs to run it.

Applications of AWS services

Amazon Web services are widely used for various computing purposes like:

1. Website hosting
2. Application hosting/SaaS hosting
3. Media Sharing (Image/ Video)
4. Mobile and Social Applications
5. Content delivery and Media Distribution
6. Storage, backup, and disaster recovery
7. Development and test environments

Advantages of AWS

1. AWS allows organizations to use the already familiar programming models, operating systems, databases, and architectures.
2. It is a cost-effective service that allows us to pay only for what we use, without any up-front or long-term commitments.
3. Offers fast deployments
4. We can easily add or remove capacity.
5. We are allowed cloud access quickly with limitless capacity.
6. Total Cost of Ownership is very low compared to any private/dedicated servers.
7. Offers Centralized Billing and management
8. Offers Hybrid Capabilities

Disadvantages of AWS

1. If we need more immediate or intensive assistance, we’ll have to opt for paid support packages.
2. Amazon Web Services may have some common cloud computing issues when we move to a cloud. For example, downtime, limited control, and backup protection.
3. AWS sets default limits on resources which differ from region to region. These resources consist of images, volumes, and snapshots.
4. Hardware-level changes happen to our application which may not offer the best performance and usage of our applications.

AWS in the future

In the first quarter of 2020, AWS revenues grew by 33% compared to Q4 2019. This shows the continued growth that AWS tends to enjoy in the market. With the Coronavirus pandemic crisis, the need to move to the cloud has increased, and reports have shown that spending on cloud computing across enterprises has increased.AWS is growing with a strategic, customer-centric vision and it has become a force to be reckoned with. It is only obvious that when the future of a platform is so enviably bright, how bright would be the future of professionals who are skilled in working with this platform.