Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing service provider that allows businesses to setup their own servers in the cloud. Cloud-based solutions eliminate the need of purchasing software and hardware, thus significantly reducing costs. Amazon Web Services provides an infrastructure platform that is host to thousands of companies on a global scale. Some of the services provided by AWS include: EC2, S3, RDS and VPC services. Amazon’s EC2 service, in particular, powers quite a few major companies online and continues to be a popular option for upcoming businesses. So, let’s take a look at Amazon’s new EC2 service and some of the major sites powered by Amazon Web Services.

Amazon EC2

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is a web service that allows you to establish your own computing space in the cloud. Amazon EC2 is designed to provide a reliable and quick computing experience that allows you to configure the server capacity settings as your computing requirements fluctuate, while also keeping prices to a minimum as you only have to pay for the resources you use.

Amazon Web Services power a number of large consumer sites, including:

• Foursquare – A social network that has over 5 million daily check-ins. It uses a variety of Amazon web services, including Amazon EC2. By using Amazon EC2 services for self-hosting, foursquare saves up to 53% in overall hosting costs.
  
  
• HootSuite - A social media linking platform that allows users to publish content on multiple social media websites. It has over 2 million users and utilises Amazons EC2, Cloudfront and Route 53 to offer an efficient service to its users.
• Flippa – An immensely popular marketplace for buying and selling websites. Flippa uses Amazon Web Services to provide its 200,000 registered users with a reliable and efficient service that benefits from the flexibility provided by EC2.
• Ticketmaster – As the top ticket sales and distribution provider, Ticketmaster has over 26 million monthly visitors. To power its highly ranked E-Commerce website, Ticketmaster uses a range of Amazon Web Services that allow it to function effectively.
• Scribd – A popular online service that allows users to upload and convert documents online. Scribd utilises Amazon’s EC2 and S3 services to power the conversion services it provides and makes significant savings by using a cloud-based solution.
  
  
• SitePoint – A well-established company that provides information and services specifically for web developers and designers. SitePoint uses Amazon’s EC2 service and has benefited greatly from the cost savings and scalability perks that come with EC2. 
• Yelp – A well-known review website that allows users to post their own reviews on various consumer topics. Yelp uses a combination of Amazons EC2, S3 and Elastic MapReduce services to effectively manage and monitor the website.
  
  
• ShareThis – A content distribution application that utilises a range of Amazon Web Services to provide users with a reliable service.
• Fliptop – A company that assists companies in converting their email lists into social media profiles. Fliptop uses a variety of Amazon Web Services, including Amazon MapReduce, to cater for the millions of users who visit the website. 
• AeroDynamic Solutions – The U.S. Air Force Research Lab uses Amazon EC2 services to develop design simulations. AeroDynamic Solutions make significant savings both in time and money by utilising a cloud-based solution.

Author Info: David Veibl,  guest writer for Cloudspring, a cloud tutorial and cloud applications site with posts on AWS, Business and Virtualization.