Advantages (And Disadvantages) of AWS

Amazon Web Services (or AWS for short) supports over 1 million businesses as well as over 200 government agencies and 5000 educational institutes. Its numbers like these that have put them amongst the top 4 powerhouses of cloud computing. But what makes AWS so successful? And is it right for you? Below we look at a few benefits of AWS and a few of its drawbacks. Lets start with some benefits.

Easy to use

Much like the website amazon has made their cloud computing interface very user friendly, with simplistic design and navigation. This is called you AWS Management Console. This console will provide you access to all your cloud computing needs, with a whole host of programs that can be integrated into the platform the system makes it easy to use and find you way around, from creating a new platform to host your new SaaS program or migrating over an existing system your AWS Management console will be able to accommodate this without issue. We do however recommend having an IT professional trained to look after the system, but due to the structure this does not require a high level of skill which makes it simple to upskill existing staff to manage.

Because your gaining access to Amazon whole web infrastructure you eliminate the need for on-premise severs and applications and can have everything looked after by the professional’s at AWS courtesy of your subscription.

Access to wide range of tools

AWS is more than just cloud storage, it comes with a wide range of tool and programs and services you can add to your package. There are currently over 70 services to choose from.

This is everything from databases, analytics, e-commerce, mobile, and networking. AWS has become an all-in-one package for all your cloud computing and IT needs for businesses of every shape and size. It provides all this on a ready to use platform to give your business the competitive edge and increase your efficiency and effectiveness. This is called an IaaS (infrastructure as a service) and means you can pick and choose the tools you need and add them to your subscription, you can then add or remove tools with ease as your companies needs change over time, all of this without the cost of upgrades or migrations that you would with an on-premise system.

Unlimited Server Capacity.

What are your cloud server demands? Huge, unlimited bandwidth for highly trafficked websites or a secure email hosting service? AWS will handle all that for you.

There’s basically no IT-based need that your business has, that AWS cannot handle. Even better, you can expand or grow as you wish, without worrying about service disruption.

If you need a solid place to store your information, this is far better than your regular competing hard drives.

And many of those who fail do so partly because of limited storage issues. That’s alarming. If all your business data and information are stored on your hard drive, you’ll end up getting crippled by a single malware or virus.

With AWS you transfer this responsibility to them and their huge team of experts.

Security and Encryption.

AWS has top of the range security and encryption to keep your data safe. With hackers using more sophisticated methods to get into data it is more important than ever to have the most up-to-date safe guards against these attacks. In an on-premise system this would mean huge amounts of time and money put into constantly upgrading the system to keep up with modern demands. With AWS they do all this for you. They keep their encryption and security up to date and that is included in your package.

AWS provides a more reliable security measure that is guaranteed to keep your data safe and secure. With 12 data centres scattered across the globe, and another 5 slated to open this year, this is as safe as it gets for your private data and information.

Managed IT Services Are Available

No matter how talented or brilliant you are, there is a limit to how many hats you can wear.

This extends to managing your company’s IT infrastructure. One of the greatest benefits of AWS is that Managed IT services are easily available and can help make running your business a whole lot easier.

It keeps your data and information secure, thus ensuring that your business runs as well as it should. With over 60 percent of all businesses shutting down after a serious information breach, you should take this very seriously.

AWS can help you do this, if you do not have the time, a reputable managed IT service provider can take over this part of your operations.

Flexibility & Affordability

One of the major benefits of AWS is its flexibility. With its infrastructure on demand, there’s basically no limit to how much you can use. AWS provides you with various options.

You can choose your preferred OS, web application platform, programming language, and so much more. The platform makes it easy for you to load any service or software you want in a virtual ecosystem.

This makes migration from existing platforms easier and eases the deployment of new ones. Apart from flexibility, you also have the option of affordability.

Imagine a wide array of infrastructure and platforms available to you, at an affordable price. That is what AWS provides and delivers. So, you can use it on an as-needed basis without worrying about costs piling up when you are not.

You would think that the cost of all these infrastructures would be through the roof. Not so. If anything, it is quite affordable. Unlike any other services that would force you to pay for all services -necessary and unnecessary-, AWS does not.

Instead, all services offered by the company are affordable and billed on a per-use basis. There are no upfront payments or contracts. This is as easy as it gets.

And it comes in handy for small businesses on tight budgets looking to grow without paying a small fortune for web services.

Disadvantages

Confusing billing.

This is a problem with most cloud services in the modern world. The billing with AWS is as transparent as can be, however this transparency is in the form of multiple lines of services and numbers that to the untrained eye can be overwhelming and confusing. This can lead to companies paying for services and storage that they don’t actually need. Our advice is that you contact your provider and talk through everything on your bill. Get educated on how it all works and learn about what you are paying for. Once you know this you can begin to make you web service work better for you, cutting out unneeded costs whilst getting more for you money in other areas too.

If this isn’t an option for you, you can always go through a re-seller of the service, you will get the exact same product but they will deal with everything for you for a fee which could be beneficial if you were already overpaying on your current contract.

Location could mean limitations.

A second downside with AWS is its limiting of resources by region. So, where you’re located or your region can determine just how many resources you’ll have access to.

Also, as a new user, AWS prevents you from using too much resource and spending a lot of money. This is a protective measure designed to prevent people with malicious intent from using its resources to launch hack attacks.

Unfortunately, information regarding the amount of resource used can be somewhat limited. However, you can always request a resource increase if you need more.

These measures are put in place to ensure the security and safety of all clients on the platform.

Regular Cloud computing problems.

Cloud computing is still in its relative infancy and is on a curve of exponential growth. This means that there are problems and issues that arise as the technology advances and the world is still learning about it.

Some of the concerns that come with migrating to cloud computing include backup protection, risk of data leakage, privacy issues, security, downtime, and limited control.

While it’s normal to be concerned about these possible problems (and yes, they can happen), the cloud computing system already has most, if not all these covered.

These problems are not just unique to AWS, they’re common among cloud computing companies generally. But, since Amazon understands the importance of securing these, your business won’t have to deal with any of that.