Within the dynamic role of a business owner, knowing how well your Amazon Web Services (AWS) is performing should be a small but important part of your overall management responsibility. As such, ideally you need to understand the importance of server efficiency, and how it can affect your overall objectives for business growth.
So when members of your I.T and financial teams raise questions about poor server speed, wasteful management, and a lack of available budget for new hardware, you should strive to be on the same page in terms of understanding both the financial and technical pressures – especially, as the decisions you make might contain a level of investment, risk, and perhaps a change in server procedures!
Why the need for AWS learning?
Sometimes when an AWS issue arises, you might receive an unclear description of the problem from your I.T manager, along with a recommended solution. Yet, if you don’t have the background knowledge to understand these issues, or haven’t had AWS explained to you, it’s likely that any suggestion involving a solution like server Automation, Scheduling, or On-Demand control, won’t mean much to you.
Sometimes, you need to understand it for yourself.
For beginners new to AWS, the seemingly overwhelming amount of technical knowledge required to understand ‘The Cloud’ might seem daunting, but it needn’t be with the right support. So to contribute meaningfully to the wider conversation with your team, sometimes it means hitting the books. Or in our case, the internet.
To help you through this, we’ve already done some of the hard work, and curated a specialised AWS resources list (below), for beginners like you. So we’ll save you from wasting valuable time on unproductive internet searches, and quickly bring you up-to-speed on all things Cloud related.
Our Top 3 AWS Resources:
#1 Articles
The majority of AWS knowledge available on the web is mostly produced in article formats, so it’s also a great place to start as a beginner. You just need to know where to look.
A great ‘grass-roots’ article that we’d recommend is “The Beginners Guide to the Cloud”, from Mashable – a popular website that specialises in digital news content. However, while Mashable isn’t exactly a go-to resource for extended cloud information, this article does a fantastic job of clearly explaining what the cloud is.
For more in-depth reading, your next stop should be visiting specialised Cloud websites such as TechTarget, and Cloud Pro, both providing comprehensive resources for AWS information, with up-to-date news, cloud analysis, and a selection of in-depth case studies.
Latterly, Amazon themselves also provide some relevant content, which evidently leans their way, but nonetheless is a worthwhile destination for anything AWS related. So, in addition to reading though these suggested resources, perhaps try some of your own searches, and explore the results.
#2 Videos
For all you visual learners, AWS video tutorials offer a great alternative to written copy. Unsurprisingly though, YouTube remains the best place to find content, with a large amount of accessible and content rich videos available for AWS beginners.
In this regard, the frequently updated and official ‘Amazon Web Services’ channel produces some great content here. With two videos in particular – “What is Cloud Computing?” and “What is Amazon Web Services?” providing simple and easy to understand introductions into the AWS field.
An alternative to Amazon that we also recommend is CBT Nuggets – specialists in online training for system admins, DevOps and network engineers. They have an exceptional popular channel with over 75k subscribers (23k more than Amazon), and amongst producing other video tutorials, have a great playlist dedicated solely to AWS. Try viewing their video “What is AWS?” for a different explanation of the system.
#3 Podcasts
Lastly, the third suggestion in our AWS resources list are podcasts, perfect for supplementing the information you have gained above. Podcasts are a fantastic medium for passive learning, consumable on the go, and great for keeping yourself (and your I.T team) up-to-date.
In particular, the Cloud Computing Weekly by David S. Linthicum – a thought leader within the cloud industry, has an accumulation of 62 broadcasts, focusing on all things Cloud and an invaluable resource for boosting your knowledge.
Additionally, the Enterprise Initiatives podcast from Mike Kavis – a principal architect at Cloud Technology partners, covers some more in-depth topics such as DevOps, PaaS, and the IoT, but nonetheless offers great information when you’re ready for it. These podcasts are also available through both SoundCloud and iTunes, so there’s no reason to miss out.
AWS Explained
If you’re now feeling more confident about AWS, and looking to grasp the larger issues at hand, then take a look at Cloud Machine Manager (CMM). An on-demand software tool that automates and schedules server activity, for cloud cost-efficiency, and flexible control from a single to hundreds of servers.
