Technological advancement has seen significant changes across different sectors. One highly affected area is the cloud computing industry, which encompasses security, databases, computation, and storage. In recent years, Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud platform owned by Amazon.com, has revolutionized cloud computing.
Amazon Web Services has brought notable benefits to Amazon’s business portfolio. For instance, in 2021, the platform generated $14.8 billion in net sales, which accounted for around 13% of the e-commerce giant’s total net sales in the second quarter.
So, can other businesses leverage Amazon web services to enhance their growth? In this article, we look at what Amazon web services are and their applications. Keep reading to learn more.
What Is AWS Exactly?
AWS comprises various cloud computing services and products. Ideally, the most profitable sector of Amazon offers remote computing, storage, servers, security, mobile development, and email services.
This platform has three primary products, including S3 (Amazon’s storage system), Glacier (a low-cost cloud storage service), and EC2 (Amazon’s virtual machine service).
Amazon Web Service is one of the largest and most popular infrastructures in the computing world, such that it has competed out most initial cloud platforms. For instance, in 2021, AWS had more than 30% of the global market, with Azure falling second place with about 20%, while Google had 9% of the market share.
Over the years, AWS has grown significantly, with its servers being available in 81 availability zones. AWS manages to attain top security by dividing its serviced regions and diversifying the location of its data.
Top 5 Applications of Amazon Web Services
AWS services are consumed almost everywhere –from IT companies to government sectors, small businesses to large corporations. AWS has become highly popular, so it is advisable to know where to use it.
Let’s look at some typical applications of AWS.
1. Backup and Storage
Any cloud computing service will need storage and backup. Amazon’s simple storage service is one of the most reliable storage services you can find nowadays. With this service, you can store and back up your large-scale data without worrying about loss.
One of the reasons AWS storage and backup services is highly reliable is its focus on storing the data in three diverse availability zones. This strategy ensures that when one storage zone fails, your data is still safe and accessible from another zone.
2. AWS for Social Networking
In the modern-day scenario, social networking has become a critical element of business success. With digital marketing becoming a key influencer of business growth, you can achieve much success if you incorporate AWS.
AWS social networking engine, which runs on TurnKey GNU AMI stack, is an excellent tool that you can use to scale your social networking and achieve more profits. With the AWS social networking service, you can connect and engage stakeholders and customers.
3. Big Data
Most companies in recent years have faced the challenge of handling big data. Usually, traditional methods are not effective when it comes to storing large chunks of data. However, you can store data of any volume with AWS Big Data storage services.
Additionally, this service offers you scale-in and scale-out options in its unlimited data storage service, allowing you to store data even with an increased data limit. Another outstanding feature of the AWS data storage service is the ease of data access and retrieval.
4. Enterprise IT
The Amazon Web Service has become a great one-stop shop for all IT-related needs. Most of its features, including elasticity, flexibility, scalability, and secure storage, offer businesses the grounds for faster innovation.
When you use AWS for IT enterprises, you stand a great chance of being profitable in terms of time and money. Since AWS works towards offering a well-maintained cloud infrastructure, you do not have to waste any money and time hiring professionals to help you do this.
5. Websites
In the technological era, you cannot run your business successfully without a website. As cybersecurity threats increase, it is necessary to have a secure website. AWS has become a great website hosting resource for businesses.
For instance, AWS services such as Amazon Lightsail have everything you need for your business website, including data transfer, SSD-based storage, virtual machine, static IP, and DNS management.
Amazon S3, AWS Amplify, Elastic Load Balancing, AWS Lambda, and Amazon EC2 are other outstanding AWS services for building scalable and secure websites.
Popular Use Cases of Amazon Web Services
AWS services find typical use in various industries, including banking, healthcare, and business.
Here are some companies that actively use AWS:
1. Netflix
Netflix, the streaming platform, uses AWS services. Following its significant expansion to cover countries outside the U.S.A, Netflix encountered a scalability issue as viewers increased.
As such, the streaming giant needed a cloud-based platform that could withstand its growing number of viewers, and that’s when it adopted AWS services.
Now, Netflix uses Cassandra and DynamoDB to host its distributed databases, enabling the company to handle its data seamlessly.
2. Airbnb
Airbnb, the international online platform for rental homes, works by connecting individuals needing rental accommodation to those with houses to rent out. With its international reach, it has become impossible for Airbnb to handle the rising increase in streaming traffic and data from customers worldwide.
To solve this problem, the company opted for Elastic Load Balancing and Amazon EC2 services to help distribute its traffic across several EC2 instances. With these services, Airbnb avoids traffic, allowing its customers to browse the website without disruptions.
Get Started Today!
AWS has had significant influences in the cloud computing world. Notably, any business can use AWS services regardless of the scale. Therefore, the demand for AWS skills will grow in the future. If you want to be a part of this highly revolutionary cloud service, you should get started early.
So, where should you start? You can learn the skills to work through a tech apprenticeship, involving pre-training and opportunity placement to kickstart your career in tech. Apprentice Now offers an AWS certification course to get you started. Additionally, with many different opportunities to match with, you can start your journey to a career in tech today!
