Using AWS Like A Pro

 Using AWS Like A Pro: Best Practices From Solutions Architects

I’ve been using the cloud, predominantly AWS, for around 10 years now and hold the AWS Solutions Architect Professional Certification being a certified solutions architect for over 5 years. In 2018, I got my SA-A badge and my SA-Pro badge in 2021. Further, I had the pleasure to work with AWS’ own solutions architects over the past years. This was both as a CTO for larger businesses as well as for startups. As a consultant and mentor, I helped development teams make the most out of the AWS services.The path to becoming a professional with AWS is almost identical for all people. Most beginners start off launching resources, predominantly virtual machines, through the AWS Management Console. Professionals on the other hand hardly use the console for anything and rely on CloudFormation or CDK. Let’s look at how professionals use AWS and how their approach differs to that of beginners and intermediates.

Design for AWS specifically

Most developers do not consider infrastructure when designing their applications. They build and design applications to be portable across multiple platforms even though their applications will never run on any other platform than AWS. Professional architects on the other hand will design the application specifically for AWS, leveraging the platforms full potential. A professional solutions architect will start off designing the application with a diagram and tools such as draw.io.

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