EC2 or not EC2? That is the question.

Is AWS an automatic choice for infrastructure?

Having spent twenty five years in the ever-changing technology landscape, I’ve witnessed the phenomenal growth of cloud computing, spearheaded by pioneers like Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this post, I would like to offer some reflections on the value AWS brings to the table, compared with alternatives including on-premises solutions.

The Merits of AWS

AWS is an exceptionally comprehensive cloud platform, offering a broad range of services tailored for virtually every computational need. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances as the workhorse, for instance, provide scalability and flexibility that’s hard to match. The vast ecosystem around AWS, encompassing services like Lambda for serverless computing, RDS for databases, and S3 for storage, offers a seamless, integrated environment that are rightly attractive to strategists and ops teams alike.

On-Premises vs Cloud-Hosted Solutions

While the cloud offers unparalleled scalability and flexibility, on-premises solutions still have a role to play, particularly for complex systems with stringent security or compliance requirements. The cost of migrating such systems to the cloud both financially and operationally may outweigh the benefits. Moreover, on-premises solutions offer a level of control that is essential for some enterprises, especially those in regulated industries. In some cases, even after taking into account the staffing and capital outlay, on-premises can be dramatically cheaper than AWS when comparing TCO (total cost of ownership).

AWS: A Double-Edged Sword

AWS’s versatility comes with a price tag. While services like EC2 offer incredible flexibility, they can be more expensive than similar offerings from competitors such as Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure, let alone the challenger providers. More critically, the lure of AWS’s ecosystem can lead to a sort of inertia, making it progressively challenging to consider alternatives or even migrate back to on-premises solutions, should the need arise.

Special Mention: Lambda and Serverless Architectures

Lambda and serverless architectures are truly transformative, allowing organizations to focus on code and functionality rather than infrastructure management. However, not all cloud paradigms are universally applicable. For certain tasks like container orchestration or database infrastructure, on-premises may be more appropriate and cheaper. Whether it be Kubernetes (often described as cloud-native) or moving your database on-premises, its worth challenging the assumption that all your needs should be met by the plethora of services that AWS provides.

In Conclusion

AWS offers an incredibly rich and comprehensive suite of services that can accelerate your organization’s digital transformation or accelerate your time to market. However, it’s crucial to approach this value proposition with a nuanced understanding of the long-term implications, both in terms of cost and strategic flexibility. Vendor lock-in is a very real concern, as is the inertia that comes from heavily investing in a specific platform.

As technology strategists, we must carefully weigh the pros and cons of any long-term technology commitment. As AWS continues to innovate and grow, it’s essential that we remain equally agile in our thinking, ready to adapt to new possibilities without becoming unduly tethered to a single solution.

Thank you for reading. I invite your thoughts and perspectives on this subject.