Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a powerful on demand cloud computing service offering compute power, data storage, networking and databases on demand in datacentres based all over the globe. The low cost and rapid deployment options of Amazon’s Cloud have drawn many customers worldwide to start using AWS in place of traditional server network infrastructure and the costs and business issues such as maintenance and backups that they present. Amazon Web Services can be used for many purposes from providing an on demand software test and development environment to IT staff, to backup and disaster recovery (ensuring georedundancy of data), to running production applications and mobile services for end users. Many well-known commercial and consumer services and applications currently run in Amazon Web Services such as Amazon.com, NASDAQ, Adobe Creative Cloud, Green Button, Obama for America, Foursquare, Pinterest and Yelp all make use of Amazon’s on demand cloud services. For further details regarding Amazon Web Services please visit aws.amazon.com.
Business Mechanix Experience:
Business Mechanix are experts at implementing and integrating solutions using Amazon Web Services. For example in 2013 Business Mechanix engaged with the New Zealand School of Education (NZSE), a large Private Tertiary organisation based in Auckland which teaches computing to TEC priority learners (Maori and Pasifika, Under 25’s) in West and South Auckland. NZSE ran computing labs using Oracle Virtual Boxes to provide Server and Desktop environments for students to practice network setup and configuration as well as to run student assessments at the end of the course. The Oracle Virtual Box setup presented challenges to NZSE as they would clog up the network, they were only accessible by students when onsite at NZSE using NZSE’s computers, and they required intensive supervision by instructors to ensure that no changes had been made to the desktop or server environment within the virtual box – this was especially critical when monitoring the Oracle Virtual Box environments for student assessments.
Business Mechanix were engaged by NZSE to replicate their on premise computing labs and assessments in the Cloud using Amazon Web Services’ Sydney based datacentre. Business Mechanix worked with NZSE to create replicable templates for each lab and assessment which can be quickly provisioned for students and turned off when finished. The online labs have meant the following for NZSE:
- Reduction of network congestion as all computing now takes place within Amazon’s Cloud
- Intense supervision of student lab and assessment environments no longer required as new environments can be rapidly provisioned for labs and assessments based upon pre-configured templates
- Students now have the ability to practice for labs and assessments offsite on their own time
About Business Mechanix:
Business Mechanix have been in operation for over 13 years where we have a reputation of being the leaders in innovation and being at the cutting edge of technology. We have developed a good relationship with Amazon which ensures that when we use Amazon we communicate with them directly to ensure projects are completed to the highest of stands. Our cloud computing work has seen us nominated for numerous awards both nationally and globally. You can trust us to make sure all your Amazon Web Services needs run as smoothly as possible.
Business Mechanix Services:
Business Mechanix offer the following services vis a vis Amazon Web Services
- Replicate a current on premise environment in the AWS Cloud
- Integrate the AWS Cloud with a current application or environment
- Create DR solutions for on premise systems
- Create a software development and test environment on demand