Amazon Web Services (AWS) has established itself as the world’s pre-eminent and most widely adopted cloud computing platform. Its comprehensive suite of services and features caters to a diverse clientele, ranging from individual developers and small businesses to large-scale enterprises. AWS provides access to cutting-edge technologies spanning various domains, including compute, storage, databases, analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT). This extensive portfolio enables you to build and deploy a wide array of applications and solutions, addressing diverse business needs and technological challenges. The platform’s global infrastructure, coupled with its robust security measures and compliance certifications, offers a reliable and secure environment for hosting critical workloads.
Furthermore, AWS is committed to continuous innovation and regularly updates its systems and features to remain at the forefront of technological advancements and to meet the evolving requirements of its users. These updates often include the introduction of new services, enhancements to existing services, and improvements in performance, security, and scalability. This dedication to ongoing improvement ensures that you have access to the latest technologies and best practices in cloud computing, enabling you to maintain a competitive edge and adapt to the dynamic technological landscape. This constant evolution is a key factor in AWS’s continued leadership in the cloud computing market.
However, sometimes, AWS also shuts down old services and stops taking new users for the same. Eventually, the services are phased out, and support for them is discontinued. Recently, AWS stopped taking new customers for seven services in its portfolio. These services are:
- S3 Select which was used to filter the data in an Amazon S3 object using SQL statements
- CloudSearch which was used for building search engines for websites & applications
- Cloud9 which was a cloud-based IDE
- SimpleDB which was a NoSQL data store
- Forecast which was used for time series forecasting using machine learning
- Data Pipeline which was used for automating data movements and transformations
- CodeCommit which was a source control service for hosting secure Git-based repositories
Earlier in 2024, AWS stopped onboarding new customers for all seven of these services, and any plans there might have been for adding new features and upgrades to these services got shelved. The announcement for this came back in July, and read as below:
“After careful consideration, we have made the decision to close new customer access, effective July 25, 2024. Existing customers can continue to use the service as normal. AWS continues to invest in security, availability, and performance improvements for (the products listed), but we do not plan to introduce new features.”
Why were these AWS services discontinued?
By discontinuing these services, AWS likely wants to focus more on its core cloud infrastructure services like EC2 and EC3. One realization that is slowly dawning on everyone is that the idea of a one-stop-cloud-shop approach that AWS and many other cloud providers took has not been successful, at least not to the extent that it was touted to be. AWS has been a fantastic IaaS platform but beyond infrastructure to development, there is a lot of ground.
The field of software development is not a monolithic entity but rather encompasses numerous specialized domains. Backend, frontend, mobile, Internet of Things (IoT), and Web3 development represent distinct areas of expertise, not to mention industry-specific specializations such as financial services or healthcare. It is unrealistic to expect a single vendor, regardless of its size, to achieve specialization and excellence in all of these disparate domains. These areas necessitate distinct skill sets and perspectives.
Consider Cloud9 as an illustrative example. This innovative startup developed a sophisticated web-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that enabled developers to write, execute, and debug application code within a browser. This tool proved highly effective for facilitating customer workshops. Amazon acquired Cloud9 to compete with Google and Microsoft in the domain of developer tooling. However, AWS did not prove to be a suitable organizational context for this product, as this area does not represent their core specialization. Services like CodeCommit and Cloud9 did not gain much popularity, especially when compared to the other options in the market. Additionally, competition from other providers like GitHub and GitLab has been tough. Competitors provide much more robust features with their services, which definitely leads to the demand for AWS services taking a hit.
This understanding should encourage AWS to concentrate its efforts on its core competency: infrastructure. Furthermore, it should prioritize investment in its network of technical alliances and partners to facilitate the integration of value-added services from specialized vendors. This approach represents the optimal strategy for achieving a high-quality experience not only for developers but also for DevOps engineers, Site Reliability Engineers (SREs), System Administrators, Data Scientists, and other relevant professional roles.
Moving forward, AWS might focus more on specialized services and a more focused approach, moving away from everything for everyone ideology.
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As businesses undergo digital transformation, their consumption of IT systems and services undergoes a parallel evolution. Simultaneously, major cloud providers release a staggering array of features and services every year, a pace that far surpasses the traditional hardware development cycles of the past.
Those entrusted with the responsibility of architecting solutions in this dynamic environment must continually adapt and equip themselves with the skills needed to thrive in this new landscape. The role of an AWS Solutions Architect has undeniably evolved over the years, shaped by the forces of technological innovation and the demands of the cloud-native era.
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