AWS Startups Blog

Video Series: The Startup Guide to AWS Services

As a founder, getting up and running on AWS, even knowing where to start can seem overwhelming. What services do you need? How do you build with best practices in mind? This series is your guide to getting started on AWS, from account setup and security, to choosing an operational model and database selection. Come explore the AWS cloud environment with us.

AWS has assembled a guide to help startup founders and developers identify products and services you need to get to MVP quickly. The Startup Guide to AWS Services series consists of seven short videos and blog posts featuring AWS Solutions Architects, with related links and training videos. Each presentation highlights the advantages to working in a cloud environment, with brief examples that pair services to use cases.

The series starts with security as the cornerstone of any startup. AWS works on a shared responsibility model, maintaining the security of the cloud, while the startup maintains security in the cloud. Building a Strong Security Foundation describes how to build security into a business, its operations, and production, from the start, while Building the Foundation for Your Cloud Environment covers managing permissions to control access.

Accelerating Your Development Journey and Rapidly Building and Delivering Your Application show how automation and analytics combine to develop your product—and startup—efficiently and securely. AWS recommends that all aspects of your business use cloud technologies to boost innovation, productivity, and security.

Automation is one hero of the AWS story. It makes speed possible with consistent, reliable processes. It also keeps a business working around the clock. Tracking analytics is another key feature. Data—securely managed—flows into the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and generates reports, turning rows of data into actionable insights. Alarms and alerts prompt the corresponding response, for example, to make and deliver more or less of a product or review pending financials.

To that end, accessibility is another core theme of the series. In the real world, someone might develop the idea for a winning app without having the skills to build, test, deploy, and update it. Even advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are packaged into AWS on a pay-as-you-go basis, making them accessible to those without prior experience. This way, startup founders and developers can focus on running their business, rather than building every element from the ground up. Advancing for Scale and Maturity identifies some uses of AI and ML in AWS products, while Choosing the Right Architecture and Choosing the Right Database cover how to choose and combine these crucial elements into a single, well-designed system.

A startup has many moving parts, each of which might call for different technologies. To build your company into a finely tuned growth engine, check out The Startup Guide to AWS Services video series. Then, start building!