What do we get asked about AWS the most? (Amazon Web Services (AWS) FAQ)

AWS is a secure public cloud platform. It can be configured to suit your specific needs. Solutions possible within Amazon Web Services include Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). The range of tools available in AWS can be used for many different purposes including virtual computing, AWS application hosting, storage and networking.

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As the world’s most popular public cloud service, AWS is used by many of the largest organisations in the world to host their applications and data.

Amazon was one of the first companies to deliver a global scale public cloud option that could be accessed by businesses of all sizes from large enterprises through to digital start-ups and SMEs.

The range of options available within AWS mean that it can be configured to meet almost any needs.

A public cloud is one which is hosted in a third-party datacentre. AWS is a public cloud service, but that doesn’t mean your data is not secure.

Properly configured, a public cloud environment in AWS is subject to very stringent access controls, and many large organisations including banks use public cloud technology for their hosting as it can be certified for compliance with ISO requirements.

IG CloudOps can help with security and risk audits as part of our CloudOps software

AWS VMs (Virtual Machines) are the building blocks of your cloud environment.

Essentially a Virtual Machine is a replication of a specification of computer that is hosted on a more powerful server.

Virtual Machines can be configured to a range of different specialisations that are suited to different tasks such as database hosting, front end web servers, or application hosting. At the start of any migration to AWS, it’s important to fully understand the way in which you plan to use the platform so that the correct virtual machines are selected and built into your solution.

Choosing the wrong virtual machine for a job can have significant implications on the level of performance your application can achieve as well as the overall cost of hosting it.

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AWS Managed Services are a suite of additional professional actions that are handled by your cloud partner (such as igroup). These services will usually include support, development, maintenance, and optimisation.

The main benefit of using a certified partner for AWS is that it allows you to extend the knowledge available within your organisation and get access to specialist skills and the latest insights into getting the most from the platform.

At IG CloudOps we offer a fully managed solution for our clients that includes our CloudOps software which monitors your environment for any issues and also scales the amount of resource you have available to meet your needs – this helps to reduce your costs.

The cost of your monthly AWS subscription takes into account the amount of use you have and the types of virtual machines that have been configured.

Ongoing monitoring of your usage of AWS can help to reduce costs because it identifies which services are costing more than they need to.

At the start of your usage of AWS, it is important for your AWS partner to design an environment that is correctly suited to your needs, and to review the deployment regularly as your usage evolves.

One approach to reducing AWS Costs is simply to scale back the machines you specify to a lower level, however this can impact performance. A better solution is to scale on demand – this means looking at your usage patterns and specifying a lower power machine at times when your staff are not accessing data and returning to the correct level during peaks.

Our CloudOps software does this automatically for our clients.