Click here to subscribeWhy Amazon still leads Web 2.0 - On EC2
Amazon has been around for (what seems like) ages now. They’ve were here before Tim O’Reilly came up with the definition of Web 2.0. However, they still are by our standards the company providing the most compelling services out there: first with Mechanical Turk and S3, and now with the new EC2.
Techcrunch had the exclusive in the story detailing the new service. According to TC, here’s the gist on EC2:
Users of the service can setup a server instance which is hosted with Amazon, and then access and use the servers they setup just like any other. With EC2 there would no longer be a requirement to source and setup physical hardware and the virtual server instances are charged back to the user based on the CPU, storage and bandwidth usage.
I suggest you read the full post and the detail pages at Amazon Web Services, but this is huge for small companies willing to deploy new services without investing in machines with resources they may not need.
Why is Amazon the best of Web 2.0?
Amazon leads Web 2.0 because apart from targeting consumers on their own store (user-centric and user-generated content has been in since almost day 1 - and undoubtedly what gives Amazon the lead in online selling), they’re targeting developers building services - and the way they do it is huge.
Most developers face a serious problem when building a service: when buying server infrastructure, they usually don’t use everything they pay for in the first few months. Services like S3 and now EC2 allow them to buy and pay only for the infrastructure they need, minimizing expenses and maximizing availability. Smart.
Not everyone will go for this solution, naturally. As Tiago (our IT infrastructure guy) argued earlier in a discussion about this service, most managers still prefer to know how much they’ll spend on a monthly basis - but personally, I think smart developers will make great use of this new service. We’ll see.
Now, if only we could get our hands on one of those beta accounts. I’m definitely wondering if this is a suitable solution to scaling Goplan. Anyone listening? Thanks.
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[...] Nik Cubrilovic, who is a smart guy and runs a Web-based backup company called OmniDrive, has the details at TechCrunch. Apparently (warning: I am not a hardware guy), companies can effectively create a virtual server structured in any way they wish and then upload that image to Amazon’s equipment — that is, its S3 network — and then their service treats that virtual server as though it was just down the hall in a machine room. Users are charged for CPU usage and bandwidth at what appear to be fairly competitive rates (although Nik has some concerns there). We Break Stuff likes it. [...]
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