What does AWS stand for?
| Full form | Amazon Web Services |
|---|---|
| Category | Technology & computing |
| Type | Initialism |
The initialism AWS stands for Amazon Web Services in cloud computing. It is Amazon's platform of cloud services, including computing, storage and database services.
AWS is a platform name rather than one particular server, database or application. A useful description names the service and workload. In a welding document, the same letters can instead identify the American Welding Society.
Meaning in context
- Amazon
- The company name identifies this cloud-platform meaning.
- Web Services
- The platform contains different kinds of cloud capabilities. The abbreviation alone does not identify the particular service in use.
Practical examples
Name the component
- Before
AWS is broken.
- After
Our application cannot retrieve the report file from the AWS storage service it uses.
The revised report identifies a workload and an operation. A support team can ask for the service name and observed response rather than guessing which component is involved.
Distinguish the organization
- Before
This AWS welding standard is an Amazon cloud specification.
- After
In the welding reference, AWS identifies the American Welding Society, not Amazon Web Services.
The surrounding subject selects a different organization even though the letters match.
Original illustrative examples, not quotations or reports of actual events.
Use AWS with clarity
Which AWS service and workload are we discussing?
See all guidance
Describe a workload
State the application task and the cloud service used for that task.
The application uses a cloud storage service to retrieve report files.
Report a problem
Keep the observed operation separate from a conclusion about the whole platform.
The report-file request failed; we have not established a platform-wide fault.
Resolve ambiguity
Use cloud-service clues for Amazon and welding-document clues for the society.
This document concerns an AWS cloud workload.
These are illustrative exercises. The tool prepares a draft in your browser; it does not inspect your system, change settings or confirm the facts you enter.
Documented origin and history
Amazon's own overview highlights 2006 as the year it began offering IT infrastructure services as web services.
This is an infrastructure-offering milestone. It does not establish the first person to use AWS or the origin date of every service carrying the name.
2006Infrastructure services are offered
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By AcronymIndex Editorial Team · Editorial policy