Glossary · Hosting & DevOps
AWS
Overview
What AWS is
AWS is the world's largest cloud platform, run by Amazon. Instead of buying physical servers, companies rent computing resources on demand and pay only for what they use. AWS offers hundreds of services across data centers worldwide, letting a startup or enterprise launch, scale, and shut down infrastructure in minutes rather than the weeks that owning hardware once required.
Key services
Core building blocks include EC2 for virtual servers, S3 for file and object storage, RDS for managed databases, and Lambda for running code without managing servers (serverless). AWS also provides networking, content delivery, security, and machine-learning services. Teams often manage this with Docker and Kubernetes for containers and Terraform to define infrastructure as code.
Why it matters for your business
The cloud lets you scale with demand and avoid large upfront hardware costs, but AWS's breadth can be complex to configure securely and economically. On backend, app modernization, and AI consulting projects, an experienced team designs the right architecture, wires in monitoring with tools like Datadog, and automates deployments so your systems stay fast, secure, and cost-controlled as you grow.
Where we use it
Related Zen in Tech services
How our team puts AWS to work in real projects.
FAQ
AWS — common questions
AWS vs Azure: which should we use?
Both are top-tier clouds. AWS has the largest service catalog and market share and is a common default for startups and web apps. Microsoft Azure often fits organizations already invested in Microsoft products and enterprise agreements. The best choice depends on your existing stack, team skills, and specific service needs.
How much does AWS cost?
AWS is pay-as-you-go, so you're billed by actual usage (compute time, storage, data transfer, and so on) with no upfront fee, plus a free tier for getting started. Bills can grow quickly without oversight, so cost monitoring and right-sizing are important parts of using AWS well.
Do I need AWS, or is it overkill?
AWS suits apps that need to scale, handle variable traffic, or use advanced services like managed databases and machine learning. For a simple static site, a platform like Vercel or Netlify may be simpler and cheaper. Many businesses adopt AWS once they need control, scale, or specialized infrastructure.
Need AWS done right?
Book a free consultation and we’ll map the fastest, most cost-effective path for your project.
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