Most people know Amazon because it has cornered the e-commerce market. And that certainly is true — online shopping and Amazon have become almost synonymous in recent years. However, the truth is that much of Amazon’s income comes from an entirely different source. The Amazon Simple Storage Service is one of the bulwarks of Amazon’s revenue streams. This business-oriented storage service powers much of the world’s cloud computing requirements. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know for an introduction to Amazon Simple Storage Service.
What is Amazon Simple Storage Service?
Amazon’s product is one of the many variants of cloud storage available. But before we discuss what makes Amazon’s variant so special, let’s first ensure a good understanding of cloud storage benefits.
Before cloud storage, businesses that needed to host large amounts of data had to buy physical hardware, including servers, cabling, and other infrastructure for data storage. Along with the equipment, they’d also need to hire experts to serve as administrators over this particular function. When cloud storage was introduced, businesses could outsource hosting copious amounts of data. They could pay a cloud provider instead of buying the hardware and training the employees.
Thus, Amazon Simple Storage Service is a cloud storage service that allows businesses to exchange on-premise data storage for easier online storage. The primary factors of storage quality differentiate Amazon’s benefits from those of competitors: its dependability, low cost, flexible pricing model, high security, and easy data transfer.
Amazon Cloud Storage Options and Cost
Now that you know what this service is, your next question is probably how much it will cost. When it comes to Amazon Simple Storage Service pricing, there are a few different options that you can choose from.
There is the Amazon S3 for frequent and infrequent access. Regular access will come at a higher cost since more infrastructure needs to be built. Another option is Amazon Glacier. This option is for rare access that also does not require high data transfer speeds, allowing for significant cost savings.
Other options for increased redundancy include more backups and, thus, more security. You can also choose region-specific hosting (if you want to keep all your data in-country). Amazon S3 storage costs are quite flexible, and you can choose a pay-as-you-go model rather than flat pricing for storage you may or may not use.
Amazon Storage, Made Simple
There you have it. Equipped with this guide to Amazon Simple Storage Service basics, you should be far better informed about whether this cloud service is the right option for your business. For more tech advice, check out the rest of the articles on the website!
