Aws

Description

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments on a metered, pay-as-you-go basis. It is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, utilized by millions of customers, including fast-growing startups, large enterprises, and leading government agencies, to enhance agility, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation.

AWS offers a vast array of over 200 products and services, encompassing computing, storage, networking, databases, analytics, application services, deployment, management, machine learning, mobile, developer tools, RobOps, and Internet of Things (IoT) tools. Some of its most popular services include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon Connect, and AWS Lambda. These services are delivered through a global network of AWS server farms, with fees based on usage, hardware, operating system, software, and networking features chosen by the subscriber. This pay-as-you-go model allows clients to leverage large-scale computing capacity more quickly and cost-effectively than building their own physical server farms.

The AWS Global Infrastructure spans 120 Availability Zones within 38 Geographic Regions, with announced plans for 10 more Availability Zones and 3 additional AWS Regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chile, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. Each region is contained within a single country, ensuring data and services remain within that designated region, and each has multiple Availability Zones, which are isolated data centers with redundant power, networking, and connectivity. As of March 2024, AWS has distinct operations in 33 geographical regions globally, with planned launches in Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union.

AWS has a significant market presence, holding a 31% market share for cloud infrastructure as of Q1 2023, according to Synergy Research Group. The company was founded in 2006, evolving from Amazon’s internal infrastructure efforts to support its e-commerce operations. Key figures in its genesis include Andy Jassy, who mapped out the vision for an “Internet OS,” and Chris Pinkham and Benjamin Black, who reformulated the concept for compute that would become EC2.

Beyond its cloud services, the acronym “AWS” can also refer to the American Welding Society. This organization provides resources for welding professionals, including job search assistance, resume improvement tools, educational resources, certifications, and industry standards. The American Welding Society hosts events, such as a conference scheduled for September 8-11, 2025, at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

AWS is actively involved in AI innovation, with a flexible model choice being key to driving this innovation. They have welcomed OpenAI to their list of model providers available through Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker AI, offering customers more options for their business needs. AWS also develops its own AI chips, such as Trainium, designed to power generative AI. In September 2023, AWS announced a strategic collaboration with AI startup Anthropic, committing up to $4 billion and taking a minority ownership position. They also announced the general availability of Amazon Bedrock, a managed service for foundation models. In December 2024, AWS introduced Amazon Nova, its own family of foundation models for various tasks, and Project Rainier, a machine designed for the next generation of AI.

AWS has also engaged in charitable work, launching AWS re/Start in the UK to retrain young adults and military veterans in technology skills. In April 2022, AWS committed over $30 million to early-stage startups led by underrepresented founders through its AWS Impact Accelerator.