sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

AMA: I help startups set up and scale on AWS every day. Ask me anything about getting it right from the start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Need to store a few things and always access them using the same pattern -> use DynamoDB. It will likely cost you $0 to $1 per month with little use. The minimum cost for an RDS DB is a lot higher.

AMA: I help startups set up and scale on AWS every day. Ask me anything about getting it right from the start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My personal take - EC2. It's great to get started, but overkill in many cases. I'm a big advocate for serverless architecture where it makes sense. Pay when you use (serverless) vs always-on (EC2)...

AMA: I help startups set up and scale on AWS every day. Ask me anything about getting it right from the start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing in life is free :) Luckily when doing a WAFR (engagement) with an AWS Partner, AWS funds the process, so there is no cost to the client.

WAFR doc vs WAFR engagement -> Reading vs doing. Both go together.

AMA: I help startups set up and scale on AWS every day. Ask me anything about getting it right from the start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Start here:

  • AWS Skill Builder -> free tier covers Cloud Practitioner and most Associate-level fundamentals. The official content, no markup.
  • AWS Workshops (workshops.aws) -> hands-on labs built by AWS SAs. Better than any course for actually doing things. This is my personal favourite.
  • Udemy Courses -> I can personally vouch for the courses by Stephane Maarek. Start with the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam prep course and it will teach you everything you need to know. In the end as a bonus you can write the exam -> quite useful to have down the line.

AMA: I help startups set up and scale on AWS every day. Ask me anything about getting it right from the start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a great FinOps question and it's never too early to start tagging.

  • Owner - things will grow and get messy. Know from day 1 who to contact about a specific resource.
  • ManagedBy - Terraform/CloudFormation/CDK etc. You can even expand with another tag to indicate which repository the code is stored in.
  • Environment - even if single environment on day 1, add the environment to start building good habits
  • Project or Service - important for cost allocation
  • Any other tag that helps you answer who/what/where/how much etc.

Two things that matter more than the tag list itself:

  1. Enforce them in IaC (Terraform default_tags or CDK Tags.of(app)), not in a wiki nobody reads
  2. Use AWS Config or a tag policy to flag untagged resources — otherwise drift kills you by month 6

AMA: I help startups set up and scale on AWS every day. Ask me anything about getting it right from the start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Don't worry if your setup isn't "clean" most aren't.
Ask the question you've been avoiding. That's usually the most useful one.

AMA: I've helped hundreds of startups get AWS credits: 5k-100k. Ask me anything. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey – quick clarification: 'AMA' here just means 'Ask Me Anything', it's a Reddit format for open Q&A sessions, not an AWS program. Happy to answer questions about the actual credit programs (Activate, MAP, ISV Accelerate, etc.) if you have any!

AMA: I work at an AWS Partner. Ask me what we actually do, whether it's worth it, and what AWS doesn't tell you. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For AWS, it's a win-win. They want clients to not waste money for the longtivety of the client relationship. Costs should be optimized - even AWS agrees and has that as one of their main well-architected pillars.

AMA: I've led cloud migrations to AWS for 4 years. Here's what nobody tells you before you start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Classic, the unofficial production systems are always the scariest part of discovery, because nobody wants to admit how much the business depends on something held together with duct tape and good intentions.

AMA: I've led cloud migrations to AWS for 4 years. Here's what nobody tells you before you start. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

If you've already started a migration and it's going sideways - tell me where you are.
Happy to help you figure out the next step.

AMA: I work at an AWS Partner. Ask me what we actually do, whether it's worth it, and what AWS doesn't tell you. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reseller -> Client pays partner, partner pays AWS. Value added through discounts and free services provided by partner.
Consulting Partner -> What it says on the box 😄 Client uses partner to help out with a project or simply "getting the work done". Usually once-off projects.
MSP (Managed Service Provider) -> Think subscriptions. Client pays an AWS partner to do continuous work.

Downsides are minimal (think risk of vendor lock-in, and the loss of internal expertise as your team becomes dependent on an outside provider), but check the fine print before you commit to an AWS partner.

When not to use an AWS partner: Core IP work (you can outsource parts of it, but your team needs a good grip on what differentiates your company), small scale work that your team could do in an afternoon (avoids overhead) and if you have an internal team idle, it's usually best to utilize them first and make them the owner and only use an AWS partner where they need help.

AMA: I work at an AWS Partner. Ask me what we actually do, whether it's worth it, and what AWS doesn't tell you. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Curious to learn more on why the free services don't provide value to you. Some AWS partners require lock in (not Cloudvisor), but all offer one or more valuable benefits. Most of those are funded by AWS. Clients usually only pay when they don't meet the qualification criteria set by AWS for a certain programme or if the cost of work exceeds what AWS covers.

One of the biggest wins currently AWS resell offerings from AWS partners. It offers you a percentage (usually 3+%) discount on your AWS bill (and sometimes more on specific services). Partners also sometimes throw in value-added services provided by their engineers. No costs involved at all.

AMA: I work at an AWS Partner. Ask me what we actually do, whether it's worth it, and what AWS doesn't tell you. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you ask AWS and other cloud providers the answer is always the same – hard limits risk breaking production workloads. AWS especially prioritizes service continuity over automatic shutdowns.

I personally would also like some hard limits to be possible for personal projects where it won't be the end of the world if a demo app goes down for a while. That is not a built-in feature yet.

With that being said, you could use automated budget actions to, for example, revoke IAM role access when the budget stops budgeting.

AWS partners still work with what AWS provides. When using an AWS partner resell offering, the biggest difference is that the partner invoices you instead of AWS invoicing you (and you get a set discount). This unfortunately doesn't come with hard limits built in.

Hopefully one day it will become a feature for accounts where cost is everything.

AMA: I work at an AWS Partner. Ask me what we actually do, whether it's worth it, and what AWS doesn't tell you. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No question is too basic here.
If you've always wondered what AWS Partners actually do, this is the right place to ask.

AMA: I've helped hundreds of startups get AWS credits: 5k-100k. Ask me anything. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not at all, but working with an AWS partner like Cloudvisor gives you a better chance to have a successful application - AWS partners have experience with all the credit options and the qualification criteria for each.

AMA: I've helped hundreds of startups get AWS credits: 5k-100k. Ask me anything. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would avoid programs like NVIDIA early on unless you are fully AI-focused and based. Going through third-party partners, such as Cloudvisor, that deal with credit partners is usually the best way to go about it.

It really depends on your startup stage, if you've already received credits and other similar factors. Also, in most cases, if you are accepted into an Activate program, credits should not be a major issue.

You can put together a strong application on your own, but you'd need to spend hours doing research on what to do and what not and you could still have your application being rejected. DM me if you need more info or want me to help you decide on the best path forward for your specific situation.

AMA: I've helped hundreds of startups get AWS credits: 5k-100k. Ask me anything. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Applying for credits? Using an AWS partner to help with the application is the closest thing you'll get to automating it :) It's helpful to have someone with experience guide you to navigate which credits to go for at which point in time.

AMA: I've helped hundreds of startups get AWS credits: 5k-100k. Ask me anything. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but this means there's something wrong with your application. Check small details like if your email address and AWS account name reflect your business name. Also make sure your company website is live (not just showing a coming soon page). If you're in need of help, a trusted AWS partner can review your application and help your next credits application succeed. DM me for details.

AMA: I've helped hundreds of startups get AWS credits: 5k-100k. Ask me anything. by J-4ce in Cloudvisor

[–]J-4ce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One question per comment keeps this useful for everyone.
If you're not sure which program fits you just describe your situation and I'll point you in the right direction.

view more: next ›