AWS Managed Services (AMS) is a service from Amazon Web Services that oversees the management and operation of your AWS infrastructure.
It employs AWS professionals who apply best practices for infrastructure maintenance, including automation of tasks such as monitoring, patching, and backups.
This service represents a form of IT operations outsourcing, where AWS takes responsibility for operating and managing designated cloud services for the customer
Why use managed services in AWS
AWS managed services provide an all-encompassing approach for businesses to fully utilize AWS cloud capabilities while minimizing the need for extensive in-house cloud management expertise. This strategy not only boosts operational efficiency and security but also propels businesses towards innovation and growth.
Using AWS managed services brings numerous advantages, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency:
Operational Efficiency
AWS managed services take over the maintenance of underlying infrastructure, enabling your team to concentrate on core activities rather than daily operational tasks. This includes managing hardware and software stacks and undertaking automated functions like patching, scaling, and backups.
Resource Optimization
AWS efficiently manages large server fleets across various Availability Zones and Regions, ensuring high availability and cost-effective scaling.
Specialized Database Management
Managed databases offload the complexities of database management, allowing your focus to remain on application development.
Siplified Serverless Solutions
AWS Serveless services offer streamlined operational experiences, removing the need for capacity planning and infrastructure management.
Expert Cloud Infrastructure Management
AWS specialists, well-versed in AWS products and best practices, ensure that your cloud infrastructure is secure, optimized, and well-maintained.
Enhanced Security and Compliance
AWS managed services align with various industry standards, handling crucial security tasks and aiding in meeting compliance requirements.
Scalability and Flexibility
These services allow for effortless scaling, vital for businesses with fluctuating demands, without the hassle of managing the underlying infrastructure.
Cost Management
AWS managed services optimize resource usage and costs, helping you identify and reallocate or eliminate underutilized resources.
Reliability and Continuity
They ensure that your applications and services are highly available and reliable, with strategies in place for fault tolerance and disaster recovery.
Automated Backup and Disaster Recovery
These services often include automated backups and comprehensive disaster recovery plans, securing your data.
Access to Latest Advances
Leveraging AWS managed services means staying up-to-date with the latest technological developments without manual updates.
Proactive Monitoring and Support
Continuous monitoring aids in early issue detection and resolution, minimizing potential disruptions.
Focus on Innovation
Reducing operational burdens gives your team space to innovate and adapt swiftly to market shifts and customer needs.
What are use cases of AWS Manged Services
AWS Managed Services (AMS) provide extensive support across different operational aspects, cater to a wide range of business needs, enhancing efficiency, scalability, and security while minimizing the burden of cloud infrastructure management.
Key services and their use cases are:
Database Hosting
Amazon RDS, DynamoDB, and ElastiCache are specifically designed for fully managed database solutions, handling tasks like scaling, monitoring, and backups.
Analytics Workloads
For large-scale data analytics, Amazon EMR, Athena, and Redshift provide managed environments for Hadoop, Spark, and SQL query engines.
Serverless Container Management
AWS Fargate offers a serverless compute engine for containers, allowing you to run without managing servers or clusters.
Serverless Application Hosting
AWS Lambda for running code without provisioning servers, API Gateway for creating APIs, and Amplify for building scalable mobile and web applications.
Storage and Content Delivery
Amazon S3 for scalable object storage, CloudFront for fast content delivery network services, and EFS (Elastic File System) for managed file storage.
Enterprise Migrations
AWS Migration Hub or AWS Database Migration Service can be used to simplify and accelerate the migration process.
Secure Data Transfer and Management
AWS Transfer Family for secure data transfer protocols like SFTP, FTPS, and FTP, facilitating efficient data migration and exchange
Startups and Scale-ups
AWS offers services like AWS Elastic Beanstalk for easy deployment and scaling of applications and AWS Auto Scaling for resource adjustment.
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
AWS Backup and AWS Disaster Recovery for automated backup solutions and recovery strategies.
Compliance and security
AWS Key Management Service (KMS) and AWS Shield for enhanced security and compliance adherence.
AWS Secrets Manager for secure management of database credentials and other secrets.
E-commerce Platforms
AWS offers Amazon EC2 for scalable server capacity and Amazon S3 for storage, optimized for handling e-commerce workloads.
Data Analytics and Big Data
Services like AWS Glue for data integration and AWS Lake Formation for building secure data lakes are also key.
Application Development and Orchestration
AWS CodeBuild and AWS CodePipeline support continuous integration and delivery as part of the development process.
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) for managing message queues in distributed systems and serverless applications.
Amazon ECS and Amazon EKS for managed container orchestration services, supporting Docker containers and Kubernetes, respectively.
Web Applications and Content Delivery
AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) and Amazon Route 53 for routing and managing traffic.
IoT Applications
AWS IoT Core lets connected devices easily and securely interact with cloud applications and other devices.
Legacy System Modernization
AWS App Runner for easy deployment and scaling of containerized applications.
Hybrid Cloud Environments
AWS Outposts for bringing native AWS services, infrastructure, and operating models to virtually any data center, co-location space, or on-premises facility.
Cost Optimization
AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets for monitoring and optimizing costs.
What are AMS operations plans
You have the option to not only use individual AWS managed services but also to implement a comprehensive suite of managed services within your account or even accounts at once. These services encompass best practice features such as backups, security management, and more.
AWS Managed Services (AMS) offers two distinct operational plans to cater to different needs:
AMS Accelerate
This plan focuses on operational services like monitoring, patching, and backups, employing detective controls for effective management. It allows you to retain full control and flexibility over your AWS accounts, ensuring that you can manage your resources while benefiting from essential operational services.
AMS Advanced
This plan is designed to provide preventative controls by utilizing a managed landing zone and a robust change management system. Under this plan, your workloads are transitioned to a pre-configured multi-account landing zone, which includes comprehensive setup for authentication, security, networking, and logging, ensuring a secure and efficiently managed cloud environment.
References
What is AWS Managed Services? - AMS Advanced User Guide
Management and governance - Overview of Amazon Web Services
What is the "AWS Managed Services" or AMS?
SUS05-BP03 Use managed services - Sustainability Pillar
SUS05-BP03 Use managed services - AWS Well-Architected Framework