AWS Services for Beginners - Benefits, Services, and Where to Get Started

Getting Started with AWS

Getting started with AWS can be daunting. For beginners, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. This article introduces readers to AWS, the benefits it offers, and lists the key services available to users.

What is Cloud Computing?

Before talking about AWS, it is important to first define cloud computing. Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet. Cloud computing enables users to access resources such as computing power, storage, and databases without the burdens of buying, owning, and maintaining physical infrastructure. 

What is AWS?

Amazon Web Services(AWS) is the world leader in the cloud computing sector, with over 16 years of experience catering to the needs of businesses across industries. It has become the world’s most broadly adopted cloud platform with millions of customers ranging from individuals and startups to large enterprises and government agencies. 

What are the Benefits of AWS?

Benefit #1 - Cost-effective

With AWS’s pay-as-you-go pricing model, users only pay for the resources they need and only for the time they are in use. This makes cost management straightforward, predictable, and easy to track. Users get to avail the latest IT resources without having to bear the costs of procuring, installing, and maintaining infrastructure.

Benefit #2 - Flexibility

AWS gives its users complete control and choice of OS, programming language, web application platform, database, and other services. The flexibility provided by AWS services  offers seamless migration of existing applications to the cloud, while also opening up the possibility of building new solutions.

Benefit #3 - Scalability and Elasticity

AWS makes scaling effortless for its users. With tools such as Auto Scaling and Elastic Load Balancing, applications can be scaled up or down based on demand. Backed by AWS’s robust and immense global infrastructure, users always have immediate access to almost limitless resources when they need them.

Benefits #4 - More Services & Features

Compared to other cloud providers, AWS provides a more robust pallet of services and features to choose from. Included in these services are conventional infrastructure technologies such as compute and storage, but there are also services that take advantage of burgeoning technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and IoT.

Benefit #5 - Reliability & Performance

AWS’s unmatched experience, reliability, and performance provide a solid foundation for users to depend on and build robust and sustainable applications at any scale. Security or performance concerns are minimized, allowing users to focus their time on building optimized environments.

Benefit #6 - Security

AWS’s core infrastructure has been built to satisfy the security requirements of military, global banks, and other high-profile organizations. AWS supports 98 security standards and compliance certifications. All services within AWS that store customer data offer data encryption. 

What Services Does AWS Offer?

This section lists the major categories of AWS services. 

Note: This is not an exhaustive list. For a complete and up-to-date list of AWS services, readers can visit the AWS Cloud Products Page.

COMPUTE

Type

Service

Usage

Instances (Virtual machines)

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Cloud Compute)

Secure and resizable compute capacity (virtual servers) in the cloud

Amazon EC2 Spot Instances

Run fault-tolerant workloads at massively discounted prices

Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling

Automatically add or remove compute capacity to meet changes in demand

Amazon Lightsail

Easy-to-use cloud platform offering everything needed to build an application or website

Amazon Batch

Fully-managed batch processing at any scale

Containers

Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service)

Highly secure, reliable, and scalable way to run containers

Amazon ECS Anywhere

Run containers on customer-managed infrastructure

Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR)

Easily store, manage, and deploy container images

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)

Fully managed Kubernetes service

Amazon EKS Anywhere

Create and operate Kubernetes clusters on on-premise infrastructure

AWS Fargate

Serverless compute for containers

AWS App Runner

Build and run containerized applications on a fully-managed service

Serverless

AWS Lambda

Run code without thinking about servers. Pay only for the compute time consumed

Edge & Hybrid

AWS Outposts

Run AWS infrastructure and services on-premises for a truly consistent hybrid experience

AWS Snow Family

Collect and process data on rugged or disconnected edge environments

AWS Wavelength

Deliver ultra-low latency application for 5G devices

VMWare Cloud on AWS

Preferred service for all vSphere workloads to rapidly extend and migrate to the cloud

AWS Local Zones

Run latency-sensitive applications closer to end-users

Cost & Capacity Management

AWS Savings Plan

Flexible pricing model that provides savings of up to 72% on AWS compute usage

AWS Compute Optimizer

Recommends optimal AWS compute resources for workloads to reduce costs and improve performance

AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Easy-to-use service for deploying and scaling web applications and services

EC2 Image Builder

Build and maintain secure Linux or Windows Server images

Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)

Automatically distribute incoming application traffic across multiple targets

Source: Compute Services - AWS Whitepaper

AWS offers the broadest and deepest functionality for compute among all cloud service providers. The following table provides a list of AWS compute services. 

STORAGE

AWS storage is used by millions of customers across the globe to increase agility and reduce storage costs. The following table provides a list of AWS storage services.

Service

Usage

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Object storage built to retrieve any amount of data from anywhere

Amazon S3 Glacier

Low-cost archive storage in the cloud

Amazon Elastic Block Storage (EBS)

EC2 block storage volumes

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)

Fully-managed file system for EC2

Amazon FSx

Launch, run, and scale feature-rich and highly-performant file systems with just a few clicks

AWS Backup

Centralized backup across AWS services

AWS Snow Family

Physical edge computing and storage devices for rugged or disconnected environments

AWS Storage Gateway

Hybrid storage integration

AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS)

Scalable, cost-effective application recovery to AWS

Source: AWS Cloud Products

DATABASE

AWS offers fully-managed purpose-built database services supporting diverse data models including relational, key-value, in-memory, ledger, document, time series, graph, and wide column databases. The following table provides a list of AWS database services.

Service

Usage

Amazon DynamoDB

Managed NoSQL database

Amazon Aurora

High performance managed relational database

Amazon Redshift

Fast, simple, and cost-effective data warehousing

Amazon RDS

Managed relational database service for MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and MariaDB

Amazon ElastiCache

In-memory caching service

Amazon DocumentDB

Fully managed document database

Amazon Neptune

Fully managed graph database service

Amazon Keyspaces (for Apache Cassandra)

Managed Cassandra-compatible database

Amazon Timestream

Fully managed time series database

Amazon MemoryDB for Redis

Redis-compatible, durable, in-memory database service for ultra-fast performance

Source: AWS Cloud Products

CONTAINERS

Containers are small packages of software that contain the necessary elements to run in any environment. AWS offers multiple tools for developing applications with containers including container registry, orchestration, and compute services. Users can securely store and manage their container images, leverage orchestration that manages when and where containers run, and use flexible and powerful compute engines to power containers. The following table provides a list of AWS container services.

Service

Usage

Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS)

Highly secure, reliable, and scalable way to run containers

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)

The most trusted way to run Kubernetes

AWS Elastic Container Registry (ECR)

Easily store, manage, and deploy container images

AWS Fargate

Serverless compute for containers

AWS App2Container

Containerize and migrate existing applications

AWS Copilot

The easiest way to launch and manage containerized applications on AWS

Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS

Managed OpenShift in the cloud

Source: AWS Cloud Products

DEVELOPER TOOLS

AWS developer tools help build, test, and deploy applications with ease. The following table provides a list of AWS developer tools.

Service

Usage

AWS Command Line Interface (CLI)

Line Interface Unified tool to manage AWS services

AWS CodeBuild

Build and test code

AWS CodeCommit

Store code in private Git repositories

AWS CodeDeploy

Automate code deployments

AWS CodeArtifact

Secure, scalable, and cost-effective artifact management for software development

AWS CodePipeline

Release software using continuous delivery

AWS CodeStar

Develop and deploy AWS applications

AWS CloudShell

Command line access to AWS resources and tools directly from a browser

AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK)

Model cloud infrastructure using code

AWS Cloud Control API

Manage AWS and third-party cloud infrastructure with consistent APIs

AWS Cloud9

Write, run, and debug code on a cloud IDE

Amazon CodeGuru

Find your most expensive lines of code

AWS Device Farm

Test Android, iOS, and web apps on real devices in the AWS cloud

Amazon Corretto

Production-ready distribution of OpenJDK

AWS Tools and SDKs

Tools and SDKs for AWS

AWS Fault Injection Simulator

Improve resiliency and performance with controlled experiments

AWS X-Ray

Analyze and debug applications

Amazon CodeCatalyst (Preview)

Unified software development service for faster development and delivery on AWS

Source: AWS Cloud Products

MEDIA SERVICES

AWS offers one of the most comprehensive and functional range of media services to help media companies create, transform, and deliver high-quality digital content. The following table provides a list of AWS media services.

Service

Usage

AWS Elemental MediaPackage

Video origination and packaging

AWS Elemental MediaConvert

Convert file-based video content

AWS Elemental MediaLive

Convert live video content

AWS Elemental MediaConnect

Reliable and secure live video transport

AWS Elemental MediaTailor

Video personalization and monetization

AWS Elemental MediaStore

Media storage and simple HTTP origin

Amazon Interactive Video Service (IVS)

Build engaging live stream experiences

Amazon Elastic Transcoder

Easy-to-use scalable media transcoding

AWS Elemental Appliances & Software

On-premises media solutions

Amazon Kinesis Video Streams

Process and analyze video streams

Amazon Nimble Studio

Accelerate content creation in the cloud

Source: AWS Cloud Products

BUSINESS

AWS offers a selection of services that facilitate business operations. The following table provides a list of AWS business services.

Service

Usage

Amazon Chime

Frustration-free meetings, video calls, and chat

Amazon Chime SDK

Real-time messaging, audio, video, and screen sharing

AWS Wickr

Protect enterprise communication with end-to-end encryption

Amazon WorkDocs

Secure enterprise document storage and sharing

Amazon WorkMail

Secure email and calendaring

Amazon Connect

Omnichannel cloud contact center

Alexa for Business

Empower your organization with Alexa

Amazon HoneyCode

Build mobile & web apps without programming

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES)

High-scale inbound and outbound email

Amazon Pinpoint

Multichannel marketing communications

AWS Supply Chain (Preview)

Mitigate risks and lower costs with an ML-powered supply chain application

Source: AWS Cloud Products

SECURITY

AWS offers a wide range of security services to help users protect their data and cloud environment of unwanted exposures. The following table provides a list of AWS security services. 

Service

Usage

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Securely manage access to services and resources

AWS Certificate Manager

Provision and manage SSL/TLS certificates with AWS services and connected resources

AWS Detective

Investigate potential security issues

Amazon Security Lake (Preview)

Automatically centralize your security data with a few clicks

AWS Network Firewall

Deploy network security across your Amazon VPCs with just a few clicks

AWS Artifact

On-demand access to AWS’ compliance reports

AWS Shield

DDoS protection

Amazon Cognito

Identify management for your apps

AWS Firewall Manager

Central management of firewall rules

AWS Audit Manager

Continuously audit your AWS usage to simplify how you assess risk and compliance

AWS Secrets manager

Rotate, manage, and retrieve secrets

Amazon Verified Permissions (Preview)

Fine-grained permissions and authorization for your applications

AWS Directory Service

Host and manage active directory

AWS Security Hub

Unified security and compliance center

AWS WAF

Filter malicious web traffic

Amazon Key Management Service (KMS)

Managed creation and control of encryption keys

AWS CloudHSM

Hardware-based key storage for regulatory compliance

AWS Single Sign-On (SSO)

Cloud single sign-on (SSO) service

AWS Resource Access Manager

Simple, secure service to share AWS resources

Amazon GuardDuty

Managed threat detection service

Amazon Inspector

Automated and continual vulnerability management for Amazon EC2 and Amazon ECR

Amazon Macie

Discover and protect your sensitive data at scale

Source: AWS Cloud Products

DATA ANALYTICS

AWS provides a broad selection of data analytics services to help businesses address all their data analytics needs including data storage, data movement, data lakes, big data analytics, streaming analytics, business intelligence, and machine learning (ML). The following table provides a list of AWS analytics services. 

Service

Usage

AWS Glue

Simple, scalable, and serverless data integration

Amazon Athena

Query data in S3 using SQL

AWS Data Pipeline

Orchestration service for periodic, data-driven workflows

Amazon DataZone (Preview)

Unlock data across organizational boundaries with built-in governance

Amazon FinSpace

Store, catalog, prepare, and analyze financial industry data in minutes

AWS Lake Formation

Build a secure data lake in days

Amazon EMR

Hosted Hadoop framework

Amazon CloudSearch

Managed search service

Amazon Kinesis

Analyze real-time video and data streams

AWS DataExchange

Find, subscribe to, and use third-party data in the cloud

Amazon QuickSight

Fast business analytics service

Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK)

Fully managed Apache Kafka service

Amazon OpenSearch Service

Search, visualize, and analyze up to petabytes of text and unstructured data

AWS Clean Rooms (Preview)

Match, analyze, and collaborate on datasets without sharing or revealing underlying data

Amazon Redshift

Fast, simple, cost-effective data warehousing

Source: AWS Cloud Products

MACHINE LEARNING

AWS offers the deepest and most purpose-built set of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) services. The following table provides a list of AWS machine learning services. 

Service

Usage

Amazon Monitron

Reduce unplanned equipment downtime with predictive maintenance and machine learning

TensorFlow on AWS

Open-source machine intelligence library

Amazon Lookout for Metrics

Automatically detect anomalies in metrics and identify their root cause

Amazon DevOps Guru

ML-powered cloud operations service to improve application availability

Amazon SageMaker

Build, train, and deploy machine learning models at scale

Amazon Lex

Build voice and text chatbots

AWS DeepComposer

ML enabled musical keyboard

Amazon Textract

Extract text and data from documents

Amazon HealthLake

Securely store, transform, quert, and analyze health data in minutes

AWS Deep Learning Containers

Docker images for deep learning

Amazon Personalize

Build real-time recommendations into your applications

Amazon Lookout for Vision

Spot product defects using computer vision 

Amazon Fraud Detector

Detect more online fraud faster

AWS Panorama

Improve your operations with computer vision at the edge

Amazon Kendra

Reinvent enterprise search with ML

Amazon Forecast

Increase forecast accuracy using machine learning

Amazon CodeGuru

Find your most expensive lines of code

AWS Inferentia

Machine learning inference chip

AWS DeepLens

Deep learning enabled video camera

Amazon Transcribe

Automatic speech recognition

Apache MXNet on AWS

Scalable open-source deep learning framework

AWS Deep Learning AMIs

Deep learning on Amazon EC2

Amazon Translate

Natural and fluent language translation

Amazon Elastic Inference

Deep learning inference acceleration

Amazon Augmented AI

Easily implement human review of ML predictions

Amazon Lookout for Equipment

Detect abnormal equipment behavior by analyzing sensor data

PyTorch on AWS

Flexible open-source machine learning framework

AWS DeepRacer

Autonomous 1/18th scale race car, driven by ML

Amazon SageMaker Ground Truth

Build accurate ML training datasets

Amazon Rekognition

Analyze image and video

Amazon Polly

Turn text into life-like speech

Amazon Comprehend

Discover insights and relationships in text

Amazon Omics

Transform omics data into insights

Amazon Bedrock

Build and scale generative AI-based applications using Foundation Models (FMs)

Source: AWS Cloud Products

BLOCKCHAIN

AWS provides two key blockchain services that help simplify and accelerate the development of blockchain and ledger applications.

Service

Usage

Amazon Managed Blockchain

Create and manage scalable blockchain networks

Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB)

Fully managed ledger database

Source: AWS Cloud Products

Conclusion & Where to Get Started

AWS has cemented its position as the clear market leader in the cloud computing sector. An increasing number of companies across multiple industries are recognizing the importance of the accessibility, flexibility, and cost benefits that AWS provides.

Readers interested in learning more about AWS can visit the Getting Started with AWS guide to gain additional insights, deploy their first applications, and gain access to the AWS community.

Before migrating to the AWS cloud, companies may need to assess whether they have the necessary expertise to effectively navigate the world of AWS and the vast range of possibilities it offers. The easiest solution for most businesses is to partner with an AWS-recognized partner like TrackIt to ensure that the right solution is deployed with the right choice of services that match their exact requirements.

About TrackIt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBiJ156cA2I

TrackIt is an international AWS cloud consulting, systems integration, and software development firm headquartered in Marina del Rey, CA.

We have built our reputation on helping media companies architect and implement cost-effective, reliable, and scalable Media & Entertainment workflows in the cloud. These include streaming and on-demand video solutions, media asset management, and archiving, incorporating the latest AI technology to build bespoke media solutions tailored to customer requirements.

Cloud-native software development is at the foundation of what we do. We specialize in Application Modernization, Containerization, Infrastructure as Code and event-driven serverless architectures by leveraging the latest AWS services. Along with our Managed Services offerings which provide 24/7 cloud infrastructure maintenance and support, we are able to provide complete solutions for the media industry.