AWS story: How Amazon revolutionised cloud computing

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is now one of the world's most essential cloud platforms, serving millions of customers and providing technology solutions for almost every industry. However, before AWS became a cloud giant, its founders had to endure a long road full of challenges, experiments, and strategic decisions. In this article, we take a detailed look at the AWS story—from the birth of the idea through its development to its global success.

The origins of AWS: A problem that became an opportunity

The AWS story began with Amazon's internal issues. In the early 2000s, the company operated primarily as an e-commerce platform, but rapid growth required the engineering team to scale IT systems continually. These processes were costly and time-consuming, which led the team to think about how to simplify IT infrastructure management.

One of the key moments was the realization that many of the technology problems Amazon faced were universal and also affected other companies. So Amazon decided to turn its internal tools into commercial products that external customers could use. This change of perspective was the beginning of AWS.

The first steps: From APIs to the cloud

In 2002, Amazon released its first API, which allowed developers to use part of the company's infrastructure. This was the first step towards building a cloud platform. However, the real revolution did not come until 2003, when Andy Jassy - one of Amazon's key leaders - unveiled a plan to create a comprehensive cloud services platform.

The vision was to provide scalable, flexible, and affordable computing resources for businesses worldwide. Jassy convinced Amazon's management to invest in developing this idea, resulting in the official launch of Amazon Web Services in 2006.

AWS official launch: groundbreaking services

AWS launched in 2006 with two key services:

1. Amazon S3 ( Simple Storage Service), a platform that enables cloud storage with high scalability and availability.
2. Amazon EC2 ( Elastic Compute Cloud) is a service that allows customers to rent computing power on an ‘on-demand’ model.

These two products revolutionized the use of IT infrastructure. They allowed companies to avoid costly investments in their hardware and only pay for the resources they used. The pay-as-you-go model became the cloud industry standard.

Dynamic development of the offering

Since its launch, AWS has steadily developed its offering, introducing new services tailored to the needs of different industries. A few key moments in the history of AWS are:

• 2007: Amazon S3 and EC2 become available worldwide, enabling global customers to use AWS services.
• 2009: Introduction of Amazon CloudFront, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) service that improves the speed of web content delivery.
• 2012: AWS Marketplace enables businesses and developers to buy and deploy applications easily.
• 2014: Launch of AWS Lambda, a serverless service that lets you run code without managing servers.

Building a global infrastructure

A key element of AWS' success has been building a global infrastructure. Amazon has invested billions of dollars in developing data centers around the world. This allows AWS to offer services in different regions, ensuring low latency, high availability, and compliance with local regulations.

By 2024, AWS has more than 30 regions (Regions) and more than 100 Availability Zones, making it one of the most comprehensive cloud providers in the world.

AWS today: the cloud computing leader

Today, AWS is the largest cloud provider, serving millions of customers, including startups, corporations, and government agencies. AWS customers include Netflix, NASA, Spotify, and Airbnb. AWS offers more than 200 different services, including:

• Data storage: Amazon S3, Amazon Glacier.
• Computing power: Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda.
• Databases: Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB.
• AI and ML tools: Amazon SageMaker, AWS DeepRacer.
• IoT solutions: AWS IoT Core.

With its broad portfolio, AWS can meet the needs of both small startups and large corporations.

Critical moments in the history of AWS

1. 2006 - Official launch of AWS with S3 and EC2 services.
2. 2012 - Introduction of AWS Marketplace.
3. 2014 - Launch of AWS Lambda, which ushered in the serverless era.
4. 2016 - AWS reaches $12 billion in annual revenue.
5. 2021 - Andy Jassy becomes CEO of Amazon and AWS, which generates over $60 billion in revenue.

Challenges and competition

Despite its dominant position in the market, AWS faces increasing competition. The main challenges come from companies such as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, which are also rapidly developing their cloud platforms. AWS is committed to innovation, constantly introducing new services and technology solutions to maintain its leadership position.

AWS and the future of technology

AWS is continually investing in the development of new technologies such as:

• Quantum computing: AWS Braket.
• Artificial intelligence: Machine learning tools, chatbots, data analytics.
• Blockchain: Amazon Managed Blockchain.
• Hybrid solutions: AWS Outposts.

The company is also involved in renewable energy and carbon neutrality initiatives in response to growing societal and regulatory expectations.

Summary

The AWS story is about vision, innovation, and determination. From humble beginnings as Amazon's in-house utility, to a global cloud leader, AWS has changed how businesses use IT. With its flexibility, wide range of services and global infrastructure, AWS has not only revolutionised the technology market, but has also become the foundation of the modern digital economy.