Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a part of Amazon that offers on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to people, companies, and governments. They charge based on how much you use, called a "pay-as-you-go" basis.

People often use AWS together with autoscaling, which means they can use more computing power when they need it and less when they don't, saving money. AWS provides many services like networking, storage, middleware, IoT, and tools through their server farms. This helps customers avoid having to manage their own hardware and software.

One important service is Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which lets users have virtual clusters of computers that seem real. These virtual computers can handle processing, memory, storage, and come with choices of operating systems and pre-loaded software like web servers, databases, and customer relationship management systems.

AWS delivers its services from many locations around the world. Customers pay based on what they use, the type of hardware, software, and other choices they make. AWS helps people get big computing power faster and often more affordably than building their own server farms. As of early 2023, AWS had a 31% share of the cloud infrastructure market, with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud being the next biggest competitors.

Services

Main articles: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and Amazon S3

As of 2025^[update] AWS offers more than 200 tools and services. These include ways to store and manage data, connect computers together, and run programs. Some of the most well-known services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon Connect, and AWS Lambda.

These services let people and companies build and use applications by connecting to them through special instructions called APIs. You can use these APIs through a website, special tools made for different programming languages like Python and JavaScript, or by sending direct requests over the internet.

History

Further information: Timeline of Amazon Web Services

Founding (2000–2005)

AWS began in the early 2000s. After creating a platform to help online shops, Amazon wanted to make its engineering better. They focused on making things faster and easier for their teams.

In 2002, Amazon opened its platform to developers. By 2004, over 100 applications used it. This surprised Amazon and showed that developers wanted more.

By 2003, Andy Jassy took charge of this project. He wanted to create a system of online tools to help build software faster. They chose databases, storage, and computing as the first tools to launch.

S3, EC2, and other first-generation services (2006–2010)

On March 14, 2006, AWS launched cloud storage called Amazon S3, followed by EC2 in August 2006. Many companies started using these tools and saved money.

In 2007, AWS started a contest for startups using AWS services. In 2010, all of Amazon’s online shops moved to AWS.

Growth (2010–2015)

In 2012, AWS held its first big conference. In 2013, they started a training program for computer experts. In 2014, they created a network to help companies grow.

In 2015, AWS became profitable, and its sales grew quickly.

Since 2016

In 2016, AWS became more profitable than Amazon’s retail business in North America. Andy Jassy became the CEO of AWS.

AWS kept growing, reaching $46 billion in sales by 2020. In 2018, they started a service to adjust computer power automatically. In 2022, they sent a small computer to space.

Customer base

AWS has many big customers. In 2013, they got a big contract with the CIA. By 2019, many companies in Germany and the U.S. Navy used AWS.

Significant service outages

AWS has had some times when its services stopped working. For example, in 2011, part of their storage service stopped for two days. In 2012, a big storm caused problems for some websites. In 2017, a mistake caused a big outage, but no data was lost. In 2025, many popular websites stopped working for a while. In 2026, attacks caused some regions to stop working.

Availability and topology

As of October 2025, AWS operates in 38 different areas around the world. These areas include places in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia–Pacific, and Australia and New Zealand.

Each area has special sections called "Availability Zones." These zones have their own buildings with strong power and network systems. This helps keep services running even if one building has problems. Some services can work across different zones to share the workload and avoid stopping when something goes wrong.

Pop-up lofts

AWS has special "pop-up lofts" in various cities around the world. These lofts help entrepreneurs and startups learn about using AWS. People can visit to work, relax, or find out more about AWS services.

The first pop-up loft opened in San Francisco in June 2014. Later, AWS expanded to New York City in May 2015, Berlin in September 2015, and Tel Aviv from March 1 to March 22, 2016. A loft in London was open from September 10 to October 29, 2015. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lofts in New York and San Francisco closed permanently, but the one in Tokyo stayed open with limited services.

Charitable work

In 2017, AWS started a program called AWS re/Start in the United Kingdom. This program helps young adults and military veterans learn new technology skills. AWS works with groups like the Prince's Trust and the Ministry of Defence to support people who need help finding jobs.

In April 2022, AWS shared that it would give more than $30 million over three years to help new businesses started by people from different backgrounds, including Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, and women leaders. This program gives these businesses money, training, and advice to help them grow.

Reception

Environmental footprint

In 2014, AWS aimed to use 100% renewable energy in the future. AWS has partnered with several renewable energy providers in the United States to support its regions and build wind farms. In 2021, AWS joined a pledge to reach climate neutrality for data centers by 2030. By 2022, 90% of Amazon's operations, including data centers, used renewable energy. AWS continues to grow its renewable energy capacity around the world.

Denaturalization protest

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security used software called ATLAS, which runs on Amazon Cloud. This software looked through records of naturalized Americans and picked some for extra review. This made some of AWS's employees and activists unhappy because they were concerned about working with authorities in a way that might treat people unfairly.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Main article: Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Some people, including AWS employees and shareholders, were worried about a project called Project Nimbus. They were concerned that the technology could be used to watch Palestinians too closely and collect their information without permission. They also worried it might help expand areas where Israeli people live but where Palestinians also have rights.

Work with sanctioned companies

AWS has worked with some Chinese companies that are under U.S. government sanctions. These companies have been accused of watching many people closely and treating people unfairly in China and other places.

Security incidents

In July 2025, a problem was found in a tool called Amazon Q Developer Extension. Someone had added code that could delete files and important information. AWS fixed this problem in a new version, and they said no one’s data was hurt. But some people thought AWS didn’t explain the problem clearly enough.

When a big problem happened with a tool called Log4j, AWS made quick fixes to help keep things safe. However, some experts found issues with these fixes that could let unapproved people take control of systems. AWS made new fixes in April 2022 to solve these problems.

In April 2024, experts found a problem in a part of AWS that helps manage web traffic. This could let unapproved people access important information. AWS told its customers about the problem in July 2024 and gave advice on how to keep things safer.

In 2026, some AWS buildings in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had problems after reports of drone strikes nearby. This caused some services to stop working for a while, and it might take months to fix everything completely. Some services were moved to other places to keep working.

Issues

Some people who use Amazon Web Services have talked about getting bills that were bigger than they thought. This can happen for a few reasons. Sometimes, settings are not set right, or there are problems with safety. Also, the way prices are set can be hard to understand, especially when using many different services at once. Another reason is that moving data between places can cost more than expected.

Pricing

Data transfer charges

AWS charges money for moving information between different areas called Availability Zones in the same place and also between places far apart. The cost depends on where the information comes from and goes to, which AWS services are being used, and how the network is set up. Different services have different ways of charging for this, and the way you connect—like using VPC Peering, Transit Gateway, or AWS PrivateLink—can also change the cost.