8 Benefits of AWS

As companies continue moving to the cloud, options for cloud-based services and platforms continue to proliferate, and few options meet as broad a range of business needs as Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Running your applications on AWS can help you move faster, operate more securely, and save substantial costs, all while benefitting from the scale and performance of the cloud.

We rounded up eight of the awesome benefits that you can take advantage of when you use AWS.

1. AWS is Easy to Set Up and Use

If you've never used cloud services before, setting up AWS shouldn't intimidate you. Getting started is simple, no matter which product category you're using.

Amazon offers documentation and tutorials for running a virtual server, storing files, deploying and/or hosting a website, running a database, and more. The AWS Management Console also enables users to manage services simply and intuitively, with options for a command line interface and APIs.

Jeremy Cioara's AWS: Core Real-World Functions course shows how to quickly get started with AWS.

2. More Cost-Effective Than Other Options

Most of the benefits on this list relate to the cost-effectiveness of AWS. For example, you'll save money with AWS based on uptime and productivity-increasing benefits. Not only that, but AWS also has lower entry costs. A startup or small business can begin reaping the rewards of the cloud without having to invest much upfront. And the beauty of AWS is that you pay only for what you use, with no long-term contracts.

3. AWS Can Scale Up or Down

The pay-as-you-go model and existing infrastructure of AWS means that you'll be able to take advantage of nearly unlimited scalability. No, really. Netflix uses AWS. If that's not a good enough benchmark, know that AWS adds more capacity every day.

As your organization grows and changes, services and resources can be quickly added and subtracted. Overall cost to the individual business is less variable than with other models, because you're using the service in aggregate with a huge existing customer base.

4. Everyone Gets the Same High Level of Security

Moving to the cloud doesn't mean less security. That's a fallacy. But neither is the cloud perfectly safe. Don't trust anyone who tells you it is. The best you can do is mitigate your risks, and Amazon has done quite a bit of risk mitigation. With AWS's security model, you're not outsourcing every security decision. Whether you're a single user or a large enterprise, AWS provides the same world-class security.

All data is stored in secure AWS data centers that meet compliance and data residency requirements. You'll need to learn the essentials of Amazon Web Services so you can properly configure AWS for your business and your clients.

Jeremy Cioara also has another AWS Certified Solutions Architect course with four Nuggets dedicated to AWS security.

5. Uptime All the Time

Working in the cloud doesn't automatically prevent downtime, but as a consumer you can have a reasonable expectation of high performance and minimal issues. AWS topped Google and Microsoft in terms of cloud uptime in 2015, and consistently delivers on their SLA guarantee of 99.95% uptime.

6. Flexible Services for Diverse Needs

Whether you're migrating from another cloud service or simply reorganizing your organization's IT infrastructure, you have choice and flexibility with AWS. You'll benefit from being able to use the operating system, programming language, database, and other software and services that work best for your environment. This flexibility will help you deploy faster and maintain agility over time. Other advantages like scalability and cost all tie in to the overall flexible nature of AWS.

Ben Finkel goes into considerable depth about individual tools in his latest AWS course: Essential Tools

7. Business Productivity Benefits

Scalability, flexibility, security, and cost-effectiveness are great on their own, but wait, there's more. They also enable business efficiency and productivity to increase. According to an IDC report quantifying the business value of AWS, "improved performance and faster deployment of applications with AWS mean that users are more effective at their jobs, pushing up productivity levels." It's true. AWS can bring your infrastructure costs down as well as man-hours with the right training.

8. Ongoing Benefits: AWS Gets Better Over Time

The IDC report set out to identify long-term benefits of using AWS, with the central theme being that IT becomes able to focus on strategic, higher-level projects instead of routine daily tasks. And while that benefit was validated, the report also determined that all the benefits of AWS increase the longer you use it.

Saving money, enhancing productivity, enjoying first-rate scalability, flexibility, and reliability and increasing all of these benefits over time?

Seems like today is a great day to get started with AWS!