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Those familiar with online business may know Amazon is much more than a huge online retailer. The company also provides a variety of cloud hosting services for other online businesses. But if you’ve found exploring the possibilities of Amazon Web Services (AWS) a bit intimidating up until now, there’s good news.
Amazon recently announced a new introductory service called AWS Activate. The service allows startups to dip their toes into Amazon online services. Initial signup is free.
In an official news release on the company’s website, Amazon explains:
AWS Activate bundles resources in packages, designed to enable startups of different types to easily and quickly get started with AWS and successfully use the AWS platform to help grow their businesses. AWS Activate helps address startups’ needs for technology, support, knowledge sharing and additional resources that make it even easier to use the cloud to grow their businesses.
This video further explains the new service:
AWS Activate Offers Basics
Any startup can apply for the “self-starter” package through AWS Activate. Amazon says the package includes access to the AWS Free Usage Tier. It includes a year of free services the company says will allow businesses to launch new mobile apps or get familiar with AWS services without worrying about being charged for that experimental time.
Amazon says it will also include a month of one-on-one support, allowing startups to speak with support staff who can answer questions about how further services can meet business needs. The company says the self-starter package also includes Web-based training support and access to one “self-paced lab” where you can learn a new skill or feature.
In addition to the self-starter package, Amazon is also offering a portfolio package it says is designed for “startups in select accelerator, incubator, venture capital seed funds or entrepreneur organizations.”
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I think this satisfies the need for technology in today’s businesses. Let us face it. Technology can no longer operate without a database or online technology. The problem is that the learning curve is too high. Luckily, Amazon can help make things easy for them.
AWS Free Usage Tier includes a year of free services that will allow businesses to launch new mobile apps or get familiar with AWS services without being charged. This will encourage newbies to experiment on the site and see what’s being offered.
This is great news but I thought that it’s been available for awhile. We used Amazon S3 for our data storage at a start-up years ago. Recently a friend of mine was looking for a similar solution for his app development company. I’ll have to send him this to see if he knows about it.
Sounds great, but I’m wondering if there are apps such as WordPress or Drupal that live on AWS and can be one click installed.