Amazon is dropping two new features into Amazon Web Services, its cloud storage offering, and the move illustrates more than Amazon's efforts to shore up user tools, says an industry watcher.
The first is a single sign-on for customers who have multiple Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounts. Single sign-on streamlines account management and control within the AWS Management Console.
"Overall, cloud technologies continue to mature," Toby Owen, VP of product at Peer 1 Hosting, told Tech Times.
"If Amazon is releasing (and making noise about) a feature to make it easier for users to log-in to their multiple accounts on AWS, that means that their customers have multiple accounts on AWS. It shows there is real adoption out there. And, that means more market for everyone," he notes.
The new features come as competition in the cloud services space is increasing, with power players from IBM and Microsoft to startups all aiming to grab a piece of the market as adoption continues to take root.
The second feature is an early warning alert for spot instance termination. Spot instances allow users to name their price for Amazon EC2 computing, letting them bid on spare instances available and run those instances whenever they win the bid. It is a good option for enterprises needing cloud power for temporary computing jobs. Users will now get a two-minute early warning termination before an instance times out.
Such features are coming into play as vendors vie for clients and need to differentiate themselves from the competition, said Owen.
"Not everyone is right for AWS -- it's complex, takes significant time and skills to learn to use properly, and support is really only as good as the knowledge base," Owen explained.
"So, it's still important that users understand their ability to develop, manage infrastructure, etc. Or, if you need some help, then choose your technology provider based on that need, not based on a feature comparison."
In related AWS news, Amazon is kicking off a partnership with edX and offering a $1,000 AWS credit to users who pass one of two online entrepreneurship classes with edX.
