It provides cost-effective cloud storage for Enterprises, that is readily accessible from anywhere. It is exceptional for on-demand computing services. It makes it fast and easy to move any existing applications to the cloud. It also provides specific database applications with the right tools built-in. I highly recommend it for any company, startup, or enterprise.
Pros
Variety of databases and tools.
Many cloud security tools support over 90 security standards and compliance certifications.
AWS Lambda lets developers run coding without provisioning or using a managed server.
Cons
Could use a simpler interface for provisioning.
Billing does not include all the information I need.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is best for backup and disaster recovery. Great for analytics and data archives. Conforms with the latest security requirements for most industries. Excellent for managing big data. One-stop solution for any IT business Fits ideally for social networking and/or gaming.
Amazon Web Services is being used internally and with clients to provide top-quality solutions that are cloud-based. The wide variety of services available allows us to customize the scale and type of solutions our clients need. Anything from web hosting to ML needs are available to us. Large and small problems are being solved through Amazon Web Services offerings.
It is of tremendous value.
Pros
Availability
Scalability
Flexibility
Cons
Web Interface
Documentation
IAM Documentation
Likelihood to Recommend
Amazon Web Services is well suited for nearly any kind of web application or cloud-connected solution you are looking to build. Amazon Web Services provides various scaling options for nearly all of its services, so you can optimize your cost by not using too much power until necessary. Amazon Web Services has a rich API to all of its services, making it very flexible and powerful from a developer perspective. The web interface to manage resources is still a little outdated, so if you have clients that are reliant upon it, you may look into other options as not to intimidate them.
We are using Amazon Web Services in various of our internal tools and also in our product. We deployed our API server over EC2. Other than EC2 we are using many other services like RDS, Load balancers, Firewall, S3, Route 53 and many other services for our different products and tools.
Pros
Starting an instance and accessing it for testing purpose, demo or production deployment its always easy.
All the things which are available over AWS are pretty well managed and easy to use.
You might find everything you required for an product and other development over AWS.
Its suitable for both either an enterprise or an startup
Various resources and documentation are available in case you struck somewhere.
Cons
Amazon market place is great but its not that straight forward to subscribe then activate it in your instance. Example Openvpn.
Sometimes its really hard to choose the correct configuration which is suitable for your product as well pocket.
You need to be experienced if you want to use AWS effectively and efficiently
Likelihood to Recommend
More suited I will say deploying your Web-server, Running some cloud applications, Deploying your micro-services, Managed database. Less suited is really hard to say but there can be some scenario where you can use free services like Google spreadsheet scripting for smaller data management and small workflows. Workflow automation is something you need multiple vendors to talk to each other at that time its preferred to go for something else.
We use Amazon Web Services in a number of ways across the entire organization. It addresses the need for flexibility and reactive infrastructure that you cant find in a bare metal environment. It is also great to POC a new design or product as it is very easy to spin up, scale, and evolve as needed
Pros
scaling
security and access management
cost tracking
infrastructure as code
Cons
UI is clunky
cost tracking is good but could be simpler or implied
Likelihood to Recommend
Amazon Web Services is really made for any type of project. They are seemingly always offering new products and features. It preforms best in a dynamic cloud native environment when you have services that need to scale up and down. On the flip side of this you'd likely be able to get better bang for you buck from other providers at fixed rates if you have steady needs/scale
VU
Verified User
Engineer in Engineering (Internet company, 51-200 employees)
We use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for hosting almost every imaginable type of application. We utilize it regularly and company-wide for trying new things as a POC as well as for mature application hosting. It is very easy for us to spin up new virtual computing environments, as needed, and on demand.
Pros
We like the native AWS RBAC authorization tools for controlling access without having to add other layers of complexity.
We like the robustness and simplicity of S3 storage services and the related APIs.
The ability to quickly provision and manage complex computing environments is 2nd to none in the industry.
Cons
Like any suite of applications they could benefit from having a team of usability experts make the products more intuitive.
Like most cloud solutions they could make it easier to understand the total costs associated with the various feature sets and related constraints.
Customer service in the technical support area could be improved - they could use a bit more of a personal touch at times.
Likelihood to Recommend
AWS is perfect for global computing and creating geo-redundant virtual stacks that can be architected for high availability. It's a great way to host mission critical applications as well as a place to try something new in a very short timeframe. Overall I have nothing bad to say about AWS services, they are robust, complete and highly scalable. Though we are a multi-cloud company, we use AWS for about 75% of our cloud hosted solutions.
VU
Verified User
Program Manager in Information Technology (Telecommunications company, 10,001+ employees)
We currently use Amazon Web Services in multiple parts of our organization. We use it for the development of our product, QA, Sandbox and UAT scenarios, as well as in our production environment. AWS allows us to reliably provide our customers with the services we have to offer. It also allows us to test the latest technologies and make future plans to develop our software to use them.
Pros
AWS allows us to scale up (or down) depending on our busy season. Our software has fairly predictable "busy" seasons, so this allows us to properly spend on infrastructure based on needs.
EBS Snapshots allow us to create in-time based backups. We use these as part of our DRP/BCP.
Cons
Understanding the AWS bill is very confusing. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to track what charges are for which particular service is using which feature.
The ability to tag all items, including Marketplace items for cost usage report would be especially useful. The cost usage report being more detailed when filtering by usage and cost allocation tags would also be exceptionally helpful.
Likelihood to Recommend
The flexibility that Amazon Web Services offers is nearly unbeatable in comparison to any other cloud offering. AWS is constantly making improvements on existing services while simultaneously creating new service offerings. In our environment, we have a very heavy MS SQL footprint. AWS allows us to scale up our servers to the best possible instance size based on the current needs.
We use AWS as the infrastructure provider for our entire global operations. From DNS down to database systems, we are using services powered by AWS.
Pros
Automated server provisioning.
Load balancing.
Hassle-free OS updates.
Cons
Hard to get support (even you pay extra for paid support services).
Expensive compared to the competition.
Regional outages may occur.
Likelihood to Recommend
AWS is well-suited for mid-to-large scale operations. I do not recommend them for small companies with local operations, as it may be expensive and hard to setup/provision. Companies using AWS may need extra DevOps people to manage AWS resources in order to have the right resource with the rigth price. Mid-to-large scale companies can manage AWS more effectively and leverage their services efficiently.
VU
Verified User
Executive in Finance and Accounting (Internet company, 11-50 employees)
Before my company changed hands, my department underwent training for AWS. If you are going to use AWS, I highly recommend taking the training on CBTNuggets, otherwise you will be lost. The feature that I have used is S3 storage. It is ridiculously easy to use, and very affordable.
Pros
Scales cloud services to meet the user's needs, in a nutshell you only pay for what you use.
Amazon SES is perfect for sending bulk emails, and integrates with applications already in use.
S3 storage is the most reliable cloud storage that I have used, and it is also used by several big name websites.
Cons
AWS is really difficult to use if you do not have any training.
You need to create your own backups. I cannot verify this, but a co-worker of mine stated that he did now create a back, and lost several items.
It is very expensive for everyday use. AWS is for people that have done the research, and know exactly what they need. These instances are not toys, believe me.
Likelihood to Recommend
AWS would be perfect for a small to medium size startup that does not want to put up a ton of money for IT infrastructure. AWS is NOT for someone just wanting to host a small website, as there are much cheaper alternatives for this. It is very easy to spend more than expected.
Amazon Web Services allows me to create a virtual machine running Linux so that security, availability, elasticity, reliability, and cost factors are all accounted for. Information Assurance is of top priority, including claims-based authentication, single sign-on, MEAN stack, and secure SSH access with public and private PKI infrastructure to leverage AAA best practices.
Pros
Cost: AWS's free tier enables developers to try out the service with no commitment. The resiliency of the AWS infrastructure is a great value-add.
Ubiquity: AWS networks have the availability and elasticity which not only meet the needs of developers, but also end users.
AWS is an E2E solution for deploying, managing, and continuously integrating software development.
Cons
AWS needs to improve their java-based browser SSH client. Both Azure and Google Cloud Platform far exceed AWS in this regard.
AWS lacks the ability to SSH from windows at this time without extensive modifications to the operating system.
AWS needs a trial period to demo paid features within a free tier window, not locked out of premium services.
Likelihood to Recommend
Well suited for development or disaster recovery environments. It is less appropriate for independent developers or remote work due to the lack of integration with VCS solutions such as Azure has.
Amazon Web Services is only used by the video, production and tech teams at my company. We are a non-denominational mega church with 5 campuses and we use AWS S3 to upload and manage the MP3 recordings of the message from our weekend services. I have been with this organization for over 4 years and this is one of the few weekly tasks I do that has not changed.
Pros
I love how clean the S3 interface is as well as being well laid out and easy to organize. It's simple and effective and allows me to do my post-weekend tasks easily and quickly. I'm a nerd for organization and this software hits the spot! I honestly don't have more to comment because it's not complicated, just a few clicks and violá!
Cons
I'm afraid you're going to have to go somewhere else for improvement suggestions because I have none!
Likelihood to Recommend
In my opinion, the more a company uses the web for media and broadcasting the more of a need they have for Amazon Web Services. It's great for storage and organization along with making things simple to upload and even simpler to grab an embed link. My company goes through changes every year or two but this is one thing that hasn't changed!
