My take
Why I use AWS
AWS is rarely the cheapest or simplest option, but it's the broadest. For enterprise customers, regulated industries, or workloads with truly diverse needs, AWS's depth pays off - especially when paired with Terraform for sanity.
Want the broader stack philosophy? Read about how Sri picks tools or browse engineering insights.
Honest assessment
Strengths & tradeoffs
No tool is perfect. Here's what shines and what to watch for.
Strengths
- Largest service catalog of any cloud
- Mature compliance and certification coverage
- Strong global region footprint
- Deep integration between services
- Enterprise-grade IAM and security primitives
Tradeoffs (honestly)
- Cost surprises without diligent monitoring
- Console UX is dense and inconsistent
- Service sprawl makes simple things complex
- Egress fees are punitive
Fit assessment
When to reach for AWS
Pick the right tool for the job.
Best fits
Enterprise multi-account architectures
Compliance-driven workloads (HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2)
Data lakes (S3 + Glue + Athena)
Mixed workload portfolios
Serverless via Lambda + API Gateway
Not ideal for
Side projects where simpler clouds (Vercel, Fly) are faster
Cost-sensitive workloads with predictable shape
Teams without dedicated cloud expertise
Common use cases
Resources
Learn more
Curated official docs, tutorials, and writing on AWS.
Services
Where I apply AWS
Engagements where this technology shows up regularly.
Cloud Infrastructure
Modern cloud infrastructure designed for reliability, cost-efficiency, and developer velocity. From Kubernetes deployments to serverless architectures, I build platforms that teams love to ship on.
System Architecture
Strategic technical architecture that balances innovation with pragmatism. I help teams make foundational decisions that compound over time-from monolith to microservices, and everything in between.
Security Engineering
Pragmatic security that protects without slowing you down. I help teams build secure-by-default systems and develop security practices that integrate smoothly with fast development cycles.
Case Studies
AWS in production
Real engagements where this technology shaped the outcome.
Fintech Platform Modernization
Architectural transformation of a payment processing platform from a struggling monolith to a scalable, compliant services architecture.
HIPAA-Compliant Telehealth Platform
A HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform combining video consultations, EHR integration, and AI-assisted clinical documentation.
Zero-Downtime Cloud Migration
A complex cloud migration for an enterprise SaaS company, moving from on-premise data centers to AWS while maintaining 100% availability.
Browse the full case study archive.
Applications
Solutions using AWS
See how this technology is applied in real-world solutions.
Stack
Pairs well with AWS
Tools and platforms I commonly combine with this one.
Cloud Platforms
More in this category
Hyperscalers and frontend clouds where I deploy production systems.
Need help with AWS?
Whether you're starting fresh or optimizing an existing implementation, I can help you get the most out of this technology. Read more in insights or get in touch.