In part one of this series, located HERE, we discovered what AWS offers. In this second installment, we discuss the advantages of using AWS. Let’s get started.
Advantages of using AWS:
AWS carries all the advantages that a conventional cloud-hosting platform provides, along with some unique aspects that make it an indispensable and
unmatched tool for startups and SMBs. To paint you a realistic picture, in a survey carried out by Pacific Crest, 50% of the 300 SMBs reported AWS as their choice of cloud service. And this is not surprising considering the so many advantages AWS offers:
1. Growth:
AWS is designed keeping the growth of businesses in mind. All the services offered by Amazon are completely scalable. You can start from choosing the cheapest available pricing for your needs. Once you grow, AWS takes care of the demand surges. The pay-per-use model ensures that there is a linear relationship between your business profits and cloud-hosting expenditure.
2. Performance
With AWS, you use an infrastructure which is hosted on world-class data centers and servers. When you first setup your cloud infrastructure, AWS allows you to choose a location to set-up your virtual IT infrastructure. This location may either be closest to where the majority of your users are or where your developers and administrators are based. This allows you to optimize your services for either your user base or for your developers in the development phase.
3. Security & Compliance
AWS offers extra layers of security to address the misuse of resources, which is highly likely using a resource as AWS, where you can set up and erase production servers with just a mouse-click. There are obviously, many recommended practices such as not to create a super-user with unlimited access and allocating users to groups with varying levels of permissions. Additionally, AWS offers MFA (Multi-factor authentication) both in hardware form, wherein it comes as a key fob manufactured by a third-party, Gemalto and in virtual form, through MFA apps by Google and Amazon on all the mobile platforms.
4. Integration:
With AWS, it is super easy to integrate your app or web development program. AWS offers enhanced compatibility with your applications by supporting numerous languages in it’s SDK program such as iOS, Java, Android, .NET, PHP, Ruby, etc.
5. Learning Curve:
While a certain degree of IT background sure helps to accelerate the development process, the learning curve is a lot smoother, shorter and user-friendly. You can develop and deploy applications in a matter of days that would take you months to develop conventionally. For small businesses, which prefer the DIY method or do not have the resource to employ the services of a developer, this is a deal-breaker. Moreover, AWS boasts of a large global community where members help each other and even share pre-designed instances.
6. Cost
Lastly, the most important feature of AWS is the low cost of the services. It is a pure pay-per-use model and you are not bounded by any contract or long-term commitment while deploying a service.
Moreover, to offer a more transparent system, AWS provides a monthly calculator, where you can calculate the costs of the deployments you use by adjusting the network usage and storage levels used. Based on this estimate, you can decide whether or not to deploy a service. The ‘Spot instances’ allow you to deploy services at a highly discounted rate if you are fairly certain of your usage levels. These and the many additional cost-reduction features make it a perfect tool for SMBs.
AWS is one of those cloud-computing solutions available to small businesses which allow you to grow while not compromising on the features. It is not surprising that AWS is the favorite of the majority of the small and medium-sized businesses and even used by popular companies such as Netflix and Spotify. If you are still relying on in-house IT infrastructures, make sure that you check out AWS and boost your results.