Starting a company is one of the most difficult things you can do. It seems to be the fashionable thing to do these days, there are success stories all over the internet, of startups being sold for millions of dollars, or creating an App that changes the world.
Very few people mention how hard it is and how many of them fail.
Fortunately, Amazon can provide tools to help small business compete with billion dollar corporations.
Amazon Web Services, or AWS, provide a range of products that move all aspects of computing into the cloud. This removes that massive initial costs of setting up IT infrastructure for a small business or start up.
There are 7 key reasons that all start-ups should use AWS.
- There are no initial investments
The cost of setting up servers and networking infrastructure can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. The specialised equipment is expensive and requires professional installation. Maintaining the equipment requires dedicated staff resources and time.By using AWS, companies are bypassing the need for physical servers in their offices altogether. AWS gives these companies the same service, with no upfront cost. Users simply subscribe and pay for the specific services they need.
- AWS allows start-ups to compete with big business
Big businesses have the spending power to create massive datacentres and use the best development tools available. Start-ups can’t compete with them in this regard. Unless they use AWS.Amazon uses some of the most advanced hardware on Earth to manage their servers. They also provide some of the best development tools available anywhere. They provide these services on pay per use plans. That means that a start-up can use the exact same tools as a market giant.
- Flexible pricing
If a company needs a small server, they still have to pay the minimum price for the hardware, which can be thousands of dollars.AWS provides pricing that gives users extreme flexibility. Your company could use a few gigabytes of storage for a few dollars, or thousands of terabytes at a higher cost.
- Easy scaling
If a start-up rapidly grows, the growth itself can kill it. Let’s say your company has an App with a few thousand users that your server can handle. If your App becomes popular very quickly, the userbase would grow to the point that your server can’t manage any longer. You would need to spend weeks building a new server setup to manage the new users.Using AWS, you would simply log into your account and purchase additional capacity. It would take a few minutes at most.
- AWS is secure
Cybercrime is a major threat to any business, not just start-ups. The difference is that most start-ups either don’t have the technical knowledge to keep their network infrastructure secure, or they don’t have the resources to do it.As with their servers, AWS uses some of the most advanced security available. An attacker would find it far more difficult to attack Amazon than they would a small server in your office.
- AWS is cloud based
Working in the cloud has a host of benefits. Your files are all saved online, which means you will never lose them if your computer gets lost or stolen. People can work on them from anywhere in the world, not just from your office. Workers can easily collaborate on files in real time.
- It’s easy
Learning how to use AWS is not nearly as challenging as learning how to install and manage your own infrastructure from scratch. Amazon makes it even easier by providing online learning materials for free.
Amazon Web Services are an excellent alternative to traditional infrastructure. If you are starting a company, you should definitely consider using it. The range of products should be able to give you everything you need to set up and run your business, easily and at a fraction of the cost of setting up your own infrastructure.