Nowadays, more and more businesses opt for cloud-based IT infrastructure. Not only do enterprises choose to develop new applications in the cloud, but they also tend to move their existing software there. Using cloud services isn’t just another trend. Anyone can potentially take their business to another level with cloud services. If you’re planning on adding cloud services to your enterprise applications, then you should seriously consider AWS.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the most popular provider of cloud platforms and it leaves behind four other tech giants such as Google, Microsoft Azure, IBM, and Alibaba. According to the market analysis by Canalys, AWS’ market share constituted 31.7 percent in 2018, while Microsoft Azure that was ranked as the second largest vendor had as few as 16.8 percent.
In this article, we’ll discuss what AWS is, how you can benefit from AWS enterprise applications, and how your business can benefit from developing a corporate application in this cloud. We’ll also take a look at some inspiring success stories so that you can see the real potential of infrastructure services provided by AWS.
What is AWS?
AWS stands for Amazon Web Services and it’s an on-demand cloud platform covering a wide range of cloud services. Basically, you can call it a “one-stop-shop” in the cloud computing world. You can find almost anything you need to develop and run complex applications – from data storage and compute power to machine learning, artificial intelligence, and IoT services.
The above is possible thanks to AWS Global Infrastructure consisting of 61 Availability Zones with “server farms” located in different regions. The number of data centers is an important indicator since it impacts the quality of services delivered by AWS.
The Global Infrastructure of Amazon Web Services
First and the foremost, a wide network of data centers ensures a high level of backup reliability. This ensures that there are reliable fail-safes in place in multiple locations with plenty of machines ready to kick into gear if there are any issues. Secondly, deploying your enterprise application across different Availability Zones will reduce latency, improve fault tolerance and, as a consequence, increase the level of app performance.
Amazon Web Services is a dynamic growing business unit within amazon.com data centers and is a subsidiary of Amazon. The latter launched its cloud business in 2006 so it has been on the market for 13 years already. This means that you as a client should worry neither about the reputation of this cloud platform vendor nor about its reliability.
What does Amazon Web Services actually provide?
In general, AWS is very intuitive and easy to use.
AWS provides more than 50 cloud infrastructure services delivered on an on-demand basis. This type of business model is usually referred to as an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model. It includes computing power, storage facilities, databases, and other IT resources available via the Internet. IaaS customers may use such resources instead of local physical data centers to build and run their applications.
AWS Application Example:
Let’s say you want to develop a business process management system for your enterprise. In that case you need storage, databases, and servers. All of which are customizable depending on your expectations for system functionality and software requirements.
Essentially, this gives you two options. The first is a traditional one: you do the research to define what hardware to purchase, approve the budget, and, finally, buy the equipment. The process usually takes weeks or even months and is quite costly. Not only will you have to make an upfront investment, but you also have to spend money on the proper hardware maintenance.
Alternatively, you can get virtual services in just a few clicks. All you need to do is to choose the instance type that fits your use case, the operating system you prefer and the quantity you require. You’ll get a full, real-time, administrative control over the resources almost instantly. And you can terminate instance (and, as a result, cease paying for it) at any moment once you stop using it.
It seems quite obvious that the latter option has more advantages in terms of business management, budget forecast, and risk mitigation. And AWS makes it available to enterprises of any size and from any corner of the world.
Benefits of choosing AWS for your enterprise app
Now it’s time to talk about the main advantages in greater detail. Since there are a huge number of cloud computing services AWS provides, the list of benefits is quite long. For this reason, we’ll only focus on those of them which are crucial for the development and running business applications.
Scalability
This is one of the most important benefits you get by opting for AWS. Because, in today’s fast-paced world, a business either grows or “sinks”. That’s why it’s essential that enterprise applications which are vital for your activity could scale as fast and broadly as your business needs it. AWS makes it possible because when you use cloud services, you’re not restricted by the capacity of your physical servers. The opportunities are endless and this means you can develop your business as you envisioned it without thinking about the proper IT infrastructure.
Flexibility
Using AWS requires no long-term commitments from your side. You may adjust cloud IT resources as you require it. Such flexibility creates a great environment for your experiments. Basically, you can try and test whatever you want without too much effort or compromising on quality.
Cost-effectiveness
AWS services are delivered on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. This means that you only need to pay for the cloud IT resources you use. The lower operating costs give you a significant advantage over your competitors. On top of that, you don’t have to make any significant investments in advance so the opting for AWS is completely risk-free.
Security
Security is one of the most critical requirements to any enterprise application. All AWS’ data centers are highly secure, so you don’t have to worry about data leaks and similar issues. You can also increase the level of data protection by adding an additional layer of security and taking advantage of an encryption feature.
Reliability
Whatever enterprise application you want to create, it’s important to make it high-performing and resilient. With AWS, you can build a reliable system that is able to recover from infrastructure failures automatically. But the greatest thing is that with AWS, your coding team can validate recovery strategies by testing the way the system would behave in case of disruptions. This reduces the risk of negative consequences triggered by a system failure.
AWS products that will level up your enterprise app
We already mentioned that Amazon Web Services offers a large number of cloud products and solutions. That’s why it might be quite challenging to choose the ones that fit your business needs. But the good news is that AWS has a perfectly categorized menu so you can start with exploring the solutions filtered by industry, your organization type, or a use case. Alternatively, you can select separate products from the service type of your interest.
For the purpose of this article we won’t discuss all the different alternatives. We’ll focus on the most popular and innovative services AWS offers.
AWS EC2
The abbreviation stands for “Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud”. And, as the name suggests, it’s the cloud compute capacity customers may use to build and run their apps. This is furthered through their RIs, or Reserved Instances.
AWS Migration Hub
Amazon Web Services offers a whole range of products and solutions that help its customers migrate from on-premises hardware to the cloud smoothly. AWS Migration Hub is just one of them and it allows you to track the migration process.
By the way, you don’t have to necessarily move all your software to the cloud at the same time. For AWS customers, it’s possible and common to combine usage of local physical servers and cloud compute power.
AWS IoT
AWS IoT is not a single service, but the category of products that will allow you to build IoT solutions for a wide range of smart devices. From AWS IoT Core that is a cloud service letting customers connect different devices to Amazon FreeRTOS that is an operating system built specifically for microcontrollers, AWS offers everything you need to make your IoT application work fast and flawlessly.
Amazon Sumerian
This AWS service is aimed at helping companies develop VR & AR applications in the easiest way possible. It allows customers to create a lifelike 3D environment that is full of virtual habitants.
Besides the above products and solutions, AWS also provides Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) services, as well as services that allow customers to build blockchain networks and robotics applications. So you can be sure that even your most innovative ideas may become a reality with AWS.
AWS customers: success stories
AWS is indeed a trusted cloud service platform with millions of satisfied customers, including big brands like Expedia, Atlassian, GE, and Adobe. So if you still have doubts if AWS can really make a difference, read these success stories for some inspiration.
Airbnb
If you travel a lot, you’ve probably heard of Airbnb, a marketplace that connects property owners with travelers seeking for apartments or rooms to stay. The app was released in 2008 and now it has about 4.5 million places to rent in more than 81,000 cities worldwide.
The company started using AWS in 2009. The main reason was the necessity to continuously increase the number of virtual servers as the application was becoming more and more popular. That’s why it was important for Airbnb to choose a provider that would allow the company to enlarge cloud infrastructure as needed quickly and without putting too much effort into this task.
General Electrics
GE is a global corporation operating in a number of industries – from manufacturing to aviation and oil & gas. Unlike Lyft and Airbnb, it doesn’t own any application for a broad audience of users. However, it has advanced internal systems such as ERP that require many data centers to work properly. For this reason, GE decided to migrate to the cloud. Reportedly, this decision allowed the corporation to decrease its number of physical data centers from 34 to 4.
Why choose an AWS partner for your next project?
Here, at millermedia7, we’re proud to be one of the AWS Partners. AWS Partner Network (APN) is a program focused on providing all kinds of support to companies that build AWS-powered solutions.
Why is it a wise decision to work with an APN member? Well, this is a matter of competency. Amazon Web Services partners have access to training resources and possess expertise specifically on AWS products. If you want to take full advantage of Amazon Web Services and get a top-notch solution, you should choose among those service providers who are currently APN members.
Amazon Web Services fits enterprise application development perfectly
As you can see, your business can benefit greatly with AWS enterprise applications. AWS is a cloud infrastructure vendor that offers a wide range of products and solutions delivered over the Internet.
With AWS services, you can build practically whatever enterprise application you want in a cost-effective way. At the same time, you can be sure that AWS-based solution is secure, scalable, and reliable. And if you are looking for professionals that will help you migrate to the cloud or develop a high-performing business app, AWS partner is your best choice.
Want to create the next solution for your business with an AWS Partner? Contact us!
