AWS Government, Education, & Nonprofits Blog

Category: Education

Hour of Code 2016: The Biggest Learning Event in History

Last week, Code.org used the AWS Cloud to host the 2016 Hour of Code event, which brought coding exercises to classrooms around the world. Tens of millions of children worldwide tried coding through Code.org’s tutorials and lessons. These self-guided lessons allowed students to work at their own pace and skill-level using themes like Angry Birds, Frozen, and Minecraft.

This year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off the week by doing Hour of Code with a group of students in Ottawa. From government officials, such as the Prime Minister and New York City’s Chief Digital Officer, to athletes and celebrities, people united to bring computer science training to the classroom. Hour of Code also drives diversity in tech and computer science with close to 50% participation by girls and heavy participation by underrepresented minorities.

In Washington, D.C, AWS employees visited Lafayette Elementary School, the largest public elementary school in D.C. The volunteers helped every class in the school, from kindergarten to fifth grade, participate in the Hour of Code for the second year in a row. Working with the students, we saw kids approach the exercises timidly but end the hour saying, “We love coding!” they did not want to put their computers away.

To prepare for the high scale traffic for the largest learning event in history, Code.org scaled up its website and Code Studio product to massive scale using AWS infrastructure and features. Hour of Code 2016 ran on over 4,600 compute cores and served nearly half a petabyte of data to tens of millions of students and teachers worldwide.

“We had zero site outages or problems – everything ran perfectly. All the help from the AWS team was instrumental in our operational success,” said Jeremy Stone, Chief Technology Officer, Code.org.

Check out this infographic for more stats about how the AWS Cloud helps the Hour of Code with massive scaling, elastic demand, and secure student data.

We enjoyed getting into the classroom and meeting some future AWS Solutions Architects!

AWS Europe (London) Region Now Open

We announced our 16th AWS Region – our newest AWS Europe (London) Region. This is the third Region in Europe (joining Ireland and Frankfurt). AWS customers can use the new London Region to better serve end users in the United Kingdom. For public sector customers, this is important because customers can also use it to store data in the UK and deliver secure solutions for OFFICIAL workloads.

AWS Customers in the UK

With the public sector footprint growing in the UK, AWS customers like Transport for London and the UK Ministry of Justice (MOJ) are working with AWS to build cloud solutions that enable them to save money and improve the performance and availability of their technology infrastructure so they can focus more time on delivering innovative services to UK citizens.

For example, by moving to the AWS Cloud, the UK Ministry of Justice can use technology to enhance the effectiveness and fairness of the services it provides to British citizens. MOJ had its own on-premises data center, but lacked the ability to change and adapt rapidly to the needs of its citizens. As it created more digital services, MOJ turned to AWS to automate, consolidate, and deliver constituent services. Using AWS services including Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), and Amazon Route 53, the MOJ has been able to turn technology into an enabler for fair and effective justice.

Security & Compliance

In order to meet the special security needs of public sector organizations in the UK with respect to OFFICIAL workloads, we have worked with our Direct Connect Partners to make sure that obligations for connectivity to the Public Services Network (PSN) and N3 can be met.

Every AWS Region is designed and built to meet rigorous compliance standards including ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC3, PCI DSS Level 1, and many more. Our Cloud Compliance page includes information about these standards, along with those that are specific to the UK, including Cyber Essentials Plus. Learn more here.

Research in the Cloud

Europe has also been a hub of many of the world’s research collaborations and we recently launched the AWS Research Cloud program with the help of important Europeans institutions, like Jisc and GÈANT.

Read Jeff Barr’s post for all of the details, including the broad suite of AWS services available at launch.

Governments, educational institutions, and nonprofits are getting ready to use this new Region, which is available for use now. Get in touch with us to start building solutions today.

The New AWS Research Cloud Program: Accelerating Science and Innovation

We want to simplify research in the cloud with easy-to-use tools for researchers and research-focused students. We created the AWS Research Cloud Program for researchers working in government and education institutions (as well as their commercial counterparts) in any of the 190 countries around the world where AWS offerings are available.

We’re launching the program first in Europe, with instrumental Europeans institutions, like Jisc and GÈANT, because of its centrality in the world of science as well as to highlight the “research-obsessed” products and services created by many of our partners in that geography. Not only is Europe a hub for many of the world’s research collaborations, it’s also a source of computational tooling and techniques adopted globally. Many of these software tools can be found in the AWS Marketplace (which we extended to European vendors in July of this year), making a group of European science tech firms new global exporters. One example is Alces Flight, which has 1,150 science applications ready-to-run in an HPC cluster environment in minutes.

While research is often a compute-intensive activity, we recognize that most researchers are not IT experts. This is core to the way the AWS Research Cloud Program helps researchers focus on science, rather than servers.

Today is just the start, since the program will grow over time as more and more partner offerings become available and we come up with new services (like the recently previewed AWS Batch, or new EC2 instances) that we’ll want to share with this community.

Qualified members joining the program today will receive a copy of the AWS Cloud Researcher’s Handbook with:

  • Research-driven discussions on accelerating time-to-science in the cloud;
  • A fast track to invoice-backed billing (no longer needing to use credit cards);
  • Automatic registration for the AWS Global Data Egress Waiver, which removes the worry of estimating network traffic charges;
  • Our best practices for securing your environment to ensure your research data is safe;
  • Tools for budget management that will help you control your spending and limit costs (preventing any over-runs);
  • A catalog of offerings from our partners, chosen for their outstanding products and work with scientists (like Alces Flight’s HPC clusters, CFD Direct, or BeeGFS from the Fraunhofer Institute).

There’s no cost to join the AWS Research Cloud Program and access this skills guide and catalogue of tools that will get you working, knowing that your data is safe and you’re in control of your computing costs.

Complete the form here to sign up for the program: https://aws.amazon.com/rcp

Canada (Central) Region Now Open

Our new Canada (Central) Region is now available. AWS customers in Canada and the northern parts of the United States can choose this Region for fast, low-latency access to the suite of AWS infrastructure services.

A few highlights for public sector customers in Canada:

  • The new Canada (Central) Region is carbon neutral. The new AWS Canada Region continues our focus on delivering cloud technologies to customers in an environmentally friendly way.  In fact, AWS data centers in Canada will draw from a regional electricity grid that is 99 percent powered by hydropower.
  • It supports Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) and related services. Learn more about the details and the network latency metrics in Jeff Barr’s post here.
  • Canada is also home to CloudFront edge locations in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, which is important for customers looking to deliver websites, applications, and content to Canadian end users with low latency.

Across Canada, public sector customers, such as the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation and Desire2Learn, are already using the AWS Cloud to accelerate their mission and innovating for and with citizens.

“By innovating faster using AWS, we can build better software for our customers, so they can do what they care most about: transforming the learning experience,” said Nick Oddson, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Desire2Learn.

With the new Region launch, Canadian government, education, and nonprofit organizations are able to leverage the AWS Cloud to run their applications and store their data on infrastructure in Canada.

Customers have full control of the movement of their data when using AWS. They choose the Region or Regions in which their data is kept. AWS does not relocate customer data outside of the Region specified by the customer.

Today’s launch brings our global footprint to 15 Regions and 40 Availability Zones, with seven more Availability Zones and three more Regions coming online through the next year.

Is the new AWS Canada Region a good fit for you? Talk to our team to find out.

Learning the Language of Coding: A Q&A with New York City’s Chief Digital Officer

This week, more than 100 million students in over 180 countries will participate in the Hour of Code hosted by Code.org and powered by Amazon Web Services. Developing strong computational thinking skills is important to every student to prepare them for careers in today’s innovation-driven economy. During last year’s event, over 200 billion lines of code were written (check out this infographic for more stats about how the AWS Cloud helps the Hour of Code).

To celebrate the kickoff of this year’s Hour of Code, we sat down with Sree Sreenivasan, New York City’s Chief Digital Officer, to hear his take on the importance of building a foundation of tech proficiency within today’s youth.

In this Q&A, Sree drew on what he has learned working many years in four critical industries: education, media, arts and culture, and nonprofits. He provided insight on lessons learned from his career and what organizations, such as Code.org, are able to do to grow the next generation of techies.

What were your experiences with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education growing up, and how did they prepare you for your career and working as a Chief Digital Officer for NYC, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and at Columbia University?

It is clear to me that computing skills are at the center of what we want do and what we can achieve in New York City – and what we need be competitive. There are many serious efforts in New York, including the City’s Computer Science for All program, dedicated to ensuring that New York City’s 1.1 million public school students have access to a high-quality computer science (CS) education. The goal is to put them on a pathway to college and career success – and to provide a talented workforce for businesses. There are also many initiatives and organizations, such as Code.org and Girls Who Code, whose mission is also to make these trainings accessible to all.

As the child of a diplomat, I lived around the world, but in my schools, computer science was not a focus.  My love of technology started with my mother, who insisted I take BASIC computing classes in high school in Fiji. She also made me learn touch typing when I was 11 years old — on a manual typewriter!

Explain the importance of coding as a language for students today, both in terms of life skills and career preparation.

The more that you are exposed to in-demand computing skills, the more likely you are to find success after school. Not everyone needs to be a coder – businesses need all kinds of skills – but all industries need smart, nimble, educated workers.  To help our kids achieve, we all need to play a role providing access to CS classes. By providing access, we are creating talent, and a workforce to keep and grow quality jobs in New York.

How can coding promote social inclusion and diversity in technology? What is its role in boosting economic development?

I see a strong connection between technology, social inclusion, and economic development. Because we want everyone to have a role in New York City’s success, we are pushing to make sure everyone has access to technology.  Our mission is to make NYC more tech-friendly, more transparent, and make sure everyone has the ability to develop skills, which will play such a big part in our success. With Computer Science for All, we are building a tech talent pipeline from K-12 to college, and beyond.

As Chief Digital Officer, you work to increase access to City-led technology initiatives, focus on outreach to the tech community, and direct citywide digital policy. What does an average day look like for you and how does technology play a role?

My job is to understand and communicate the technology and determine how we can use it to advance the mission of government’s role in promoting social justice. Right now, my work is building relationships with folks who make up New York’s technology industry, and helping to build the city’s digital landscape. While I am talking to startups and entrepreneurs to see where and how government can support them, I am also getting to know all of our City agencies, many of whom are already working with technology, social, media, and then seeing how we can support them and improve their connection to New Yorkers.

A lot of people look at NYC as traditionally a center for financial services, banking, arts and theater, but it seems like there is a new technology focus. What does the startup and tech landscape in NYC look like today?

Technology is a means to improving New York’s biggest and best industries, from fashion to food, from academia to advertising, media, finance, and real estate. Technology works with these major industries and seeks to increase opportunity in these businesses. I am excited about what we do here. There are many exciting opportunities in New York, probably the world’s biggest stage. Back to our kids, through growing our tech landscape means improving the lives of our 1.1 million schoolchildren.  Our mission-driven approach is what makes New York City so dynamic.

How are cloud and new IT models, like cloud, helping to advance or accelerate a more citizen-centric approach? 

Cloud computing is a key part of the tech infrastructure that’s going to be part of all of our lives going forward. Cloud technology helps us think about the future of education and how we deliver it. Similarly, it helps us think about the future of cities and what we have to do to deliver for our citizens.

 

 

Thank you Sree for your time and providing a glimpse into the life of a Chief Digital Officer and what NYC is doing to encourage more computer science training.

To all of those participating in the Hour of Code: happy coding! Continue to learn more about how AWS provides massive scaling for Code.org and how Code.org is able to make a global impact in this case study here.

 

AWS Public Sector Month in Review – November

As AWS re:Invent 2016 wraps up, check out the AWS Public Sector Month in Review for November featuring the recent content published for the education, government, and nonprofit communities.

Read on to see what happened this past month:

All – Government, Education, & Nonprofits

Education

Government

Nonprofits

New Customer Success Stories

Check out all of our public sector customer stories here.

Latest YouTube Videos

Upcoming Events

Attend one of the events happening in December listed below and meet with AWS experts to get all of your questions answered.

Follow along on Twitter for all of the latest AWS news for government and education.

New Office in Bahrain Opening to Build an Ecosystem to Jumpstart Cloud Capabilities

A post by Teresa Carlson, Vice President Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services

I’m pleased to announce that AWS plans to open an office in Bahrain. The office will open on January 1st in Manama and will support organizations of all sizes, from start-ups to government institutions, as they make the transition to the AWS Cloud.

Major opportunities exist for tech entrepreneurship in the Middle East. Middle Eastern organizations were among the earliest adopters of cloud services when AWS launched in 2006. The decision to open one of the first AWS offices in the Middle East, in Bahrain, speaks to the creativity, innovation, and forward thinking we see across all of the Bahrain economy from start-ups through to government institutions. We are excited to bring our team to Bahrain to help the country to grow its economy.

Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) said of the news, “The Bahrain EDB is committed to helping drive forward the development of a strong and supportive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Kingdom. This encompasses a number of areas, including access to finance, education initiatives and regulatory developments, but having the world’s leading cloud computing provider open an office in Bahrain will play a vital role. The AWS team will provide invaluable support to all Bahraini organizations as they move to the cloud.”

One of the goals of the office is to expand AWS Cloud Training and Global Certification programs, and upskill citizens on the opportunity that AWS technology brings. Organizations in Bahrain are already seeing the benefit of AWS to rapidly grow and serve customers around the world. Cloud 10 Scalerator, part of technology investment firm C5, is one organization that is working with new start-ups in Bahrain to help scale up their businesses by using AWS.

Andre Pienaar, Founder, C5 said, “With Cloud 10 we are creating a platform, powered by AWS, for the businesses of tomorrow to flourish. We see huge amounts of innovation coming from young, creative entrepreneurs in the MENA region and the cloud is key to fueling their growth. Having the AWS team based in Manama will help us to grow the companies we work with as well as helping to transform the region into one of the fastest growing start-up hubs in the world.”

Amazon will continue its investment in, and expansion, across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, Amazon created over 10,000 new jobs in that region. For talented individuals looking to join the team in Bahrain, or any of Amazon’s businesses around the world, visit www.amazon.jobs.

أمازون: افتتاح مكتب جديد في البحرين بهدف بناء بيئة جديدة تدفع بقدرات الحوسبة السحابية

يسرني أن أعلن قرب افتتاح مكتب جديد لـ “أمازون لخدمات الإنترنت” في البحرين بحلول الأول من يناير القادم في مدينة المنامة، والذي سيكون قادراً على دعم كل أنواع الشركات من رواد الأعمال إلى القطاع الحكومي الذين بدؤوا في استخدام الخدمات السحابية من أمازون”.

نجد الكثير من الفرص لرواد الأعمال والمؤسسات التكنولوجية في الشرق الأوسط، فقد كانوا من أوائل من بادر باعتماد خدماتنا السحابية عند إنطلاقها في العام 2006. وجاء اختيار البحرين لتستضيف أول مكاتبنا، لما نراه من تميز في الإبداع والابتكار لدى رواد الأعمال والهيئات الحكومية هناك، وهو ما يجعلنا نتطلع إلى بدء العمل والمساعدة في نهضة اقتصادها.

وقال خالد الرميحي، الرئيس التنفيذي لمجلس التنمية الاقتصادية: “نلتزم في مجلس التنمية الاقتصادية بمواصلة التطور من طريق الدعم الكامل للابتكارات وريادة الأعمال في المملكة، ويشمل هذا طرق عدة مثل التمويل والمبادرات التعليمية والتنمية التنظيمية”، مضيفاً “وبافتتاح المزود الرائد لخدمات الحوسبة السحابية عالمياً مكتباً له في البحرين سيجعله يلعب دورا كبيراً في هذه المسيرة، لما سيوفره فريق أمازون لخدمات الإنترنت من دعم كامل للمؤسسات البحرينية”.

ومن أهداف مكتب “أمازون لخدمات الإنترنت” الجديد، توسيع نطاق برنامج “شهادة أمازون للحوسبة السحابية” العالمي، بالإضافة إلى رفع كفاءة المواطنين بالتدريب على تقنيات “أمازون لخدمات الإنترنت”.

وبدأت المؤسسات البحرينية بالفعل في رؤية نتائج استخدام التقنيات السحابية من أمازون، بعدما شهدت تحسن في النمو وخدمة العملاء.

وهو ما تقدمه شركة كلاود 10 سكاليراتور إحدى شركات مجموعة ، والتي تقدم خدمات أمازون السحابية للشركات الناشئة بهدف تحسين أداءها.

وقال أندري بيينار، مؤسس شركة “سي 5”: “طورنا منصة في كلاود 10 بدعم من أمازون لخدمات الإنترنت، لتقديم الخدمات السحابية للشركات الناشئة لمساعدتها على الازدهار، لما نراه من مستقبل ملئ بالابتكارات على يد النشأ والشباب من رواد الأعمال في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، وستعمل الخدمات السحابية على ضمان هذا الازدهار والنمو”، متابعاً “وجود فريق أمازون لخدمات الإنترنت في المنامة سيجعلنا أكثر قدرة على مساعدة الشركات التي نعمل معها وضمان نموها الدائم، بالإضافة إلى جعل المنطقة واحدة من أكبر الأماكن التي يعمل بها شركات ناشئة في العالم”.

يذكر أن أمازون وفرت أكثر من 10 آلاف فرصة عمل في العام 2015، وستمضي في رحلة التوسع وزيادة استثماراتها في أوروبا والشرق الأوسط وأفريقيا.

إذا أردت أن تكون واحدا من فريق أمازون في البحرين أو أي من شركاتها حول العالم، قم بزيارة www.amazon.jobs.

تيريزا كارلسون، رئيس قسم القطاع العام العالمي، أمازون لخدمات الإنترنت

The AWS Public Sector Partner Program – Quickly and Easily Find Partners

The AWS Public Sector Partner Program (PSP) recognizes partners with solutions and experience in helping government, education, and nonprofit organizations around the world achieve their missions.

AWS has developed strong relationships with partners that deliver public sector specific solutions, and we’re thrilled to provide our customers with access to this network. At launch, the AWS PSP recognizes almost 400 APN Partners with experience and readiness to support government, education, and nonprofit customers.

What does this mean for public sector organizations?

Whether you are a K-12 school, a nonprofit focused on the environment, or a justice and public safety organization – ask for an authorized public sector partner and we will help connect you with the right partner for your needs. Qualified partners will be vetted within categories, including government, education, and nonprofits.

“Participation in the AWS Public Sector Partner Program will take one of our most important strategic relationships to the next level,” said Jeff Ray, President and CEO of Ellucian. “AWS cloud infrastructure helps our solutions reach their full potential with the security, extensibility, scalability, and availability that colleges and universities demand. Through our close work together, Ellucian and AWS are changing the way higher education achieves student success – and we look forward to accelerating and building on the tremendous impact we are having on campuses the world over.”

“We take pride in supporting a diverse set of clients, especially those with such unique missions as our government, education, and nonprofit clients,” said Hemant Datta, co-founder and COO of JHC. “We do not take it lightly that such organizations are trusting a portion of their innovation and enterprise strategy to JHC for implementation. The recognition as a launch partner for the Public Sector Partner Program will continue to drive our key strategic relationship with industry-leading AWS.”

What does this mean for APN Partners?

Joining this program helps APN partners build and accelerate their AWS public sector business. We enable partners to accelerate their business growth on AWS through alignment with our public sector sales, marketing, partner, and bid teams. Through the program, partners receive a designation as a public sector partner in our APN Partner Solutions Finder and eligibility for further benefits.

“Participation in the AWS Partner Network has expanded our business potential, enabling success with government clients such as the Department of the Interior, the State of Washington and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau – as well as a new contract for cloud services with the National Association of State Procurement Officials,” said Mark Forman, head of global public sector at Unisys. “Working with AWS, we are providing cloud-based, mission-critical solutions to these and other government clients around the world. We are proud to have been named as a member of the AWS Public Sector Partner Program, continued recognition of Unisys’ approach to delivering more efficient and cost-saving cloud services to government.”

Interested in reaching government, education, and nonprofit customers around the world? Learn more about how to join the AWS Partner Network in the APN blog here.

Prepare for re:Invent 2016: What Every Public Sector Attendee Needs to Know

With AWS re:Invent 2016 in less than a week, we are sharing what every public sector attendee needs to know before touching down in Las Vegas for the week of November 28 – December 2, 2016.

As the largest gathering of the global Amazon Web Services community, there’s a lot to navigate!

Mark your calendar for some of the public sector highlights throughout the week.

Monday, November 28, 2016

1:00 – 6:00 PM PT: Public Sector Pre-Day Track – This four-session track will feature sessions focused on topics important to customers with sensitive workloads, such as governance strategies, compliance regulations, and AWS GovCloud (US). Hear directly from public sector customers on how they use the cloud to tackle complex compliance and security requirements, such as HIPAA, FERPA, and CJIS. And attend a panel on modernizing government in the cloud featuring the three largest federal agencies – Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. See agenda here. We will also be repeating some of these sessions on Tuesday.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

4:00 – 5:00 PM PT: Women of the Cloud Cocktail Hour – Calling all women! You are invited to join the AWS Public Sector team for cocktails on Tuesday, November 29 from 4:00 – 5:30 PM PT at the RockHouse Bar at the Venetian. This social event is intended to help you connect and build a network of women at re:Invent. Whether you are an engineer from a non-profit, a technician from the government, a marketer from a large company, or anything in between – join us! We look forward to seeing you there.

Wednesday, November 30

6:30 – 7: 30 AM PT: Public Sector Breakfast – [NOTE THE TIME CHANGE] – Our AWS Worldwide Public Sector Breakfast will feature Teresa Carlson, Vice President of AWS Worldwide Public Sector, to share important public sector updates alongside the Defense Digital Service, American Heart Association, and Ellucian. These public sector leaders at the forefront of innovation will each take the stage to discuss the impact they are making with the cloud in the government, education, and nonprofit communities. Changing the world is no easy task. From tackling heart disease to running national security systems to removing barriers to achieve student success – all these missions have something in common: the cloud is propelling them to results they did not think possible. Join us for this hour-long breakfast dedicated to the unique challenges, needs, and successes of the public sector around the world.

6:30 – 9:00 PM PT: Public Sector Reception – You won’t want to miss our reception at Drai’s Nightclub at the Cromwell, Wednesday, November 30 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM with a full dance floor and private use of the pool and pool bar. The theme is the ’80s! Bring your legwarmers and Members Only jackets!

Thursday, December 1

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Diversify Tech: Building the Future IT Workforce – In this session, learn about efforts to diversify IT, from programs in high schools all the way up to diversity among top-level executives. Regardless of where you are in your career, this session will share stories of the changing tech landscape. By sharing successes and failures, speakers candidly discuss how everyone can help in changing the ratio to attract a more diverse workforce and create a culture of inclusion. Bring your questions, network with peers, and be inspired by both women and men making an impact in nonprofit, enterprise and government sectors.

Other important events and activities during the week:

  • Find Public Sector sessions listed in the session catalog which is frequently updated with the latest sessions available
  • Public Sector “Lounge”: space open where public sector attendees can find each other – Palazzo suite – 3rd floor – Monday through Wednesday.
  • If you are looking for more opportunities to network, check out some of our additional activities here:
    • LATAM Networking Breakfast – 7:00 AM– 8:30 AM PT – Galileo 902
    • EMEA Networking Lunch – 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM PT- Galileo 902
    • LGBTQ & Diversity Reception – 7:00 PM– 8:00 PM PT Hall G at the Venetian

Follow along at @AWS_Gov and @AWS_Edu for an inside look into the public sector sessions.

Watch this video on what’s happening where on the re:Invent campus.

Not All or Nothing: How to Make Progress without Breaking the Bank

The implementation of highly scalable, easy-to-deploy technology is transforming the public sector, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Organizations begin their cloud adoption journeys in many ways. Some start with pilot projects and others jump into mission-critical programs, but they are all starting with an existing infrastructure. Adopting cloud doesn’t mean scrapping it all and starting over.

First, let’s define hybrid IT architecture. A hybrid IT architecture allows organizations to simplify the migration and management of applications by integrating on-premises environments with a commercial cloud. This means that a move to the cloud does not necessarily mean ripping everything out – it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Customers may choose to implement hybrid operations with AWS in order to be secure, scale, and take advantage of the breadth of services and the depth of features available in AWS.

At our 2016 AWS Public Sector Summit, we hosted a panel that explored how organizations are using cloud while building on their existing technology and lessons they’ve learned along the way. Check out some of the advice straight from our government customers, James Graham, Director Enterprise Content Management (ECM) & Enterprise Data Management (EDM), U.S. Department of Treasury and Dan Thomas, Chief Engineer, DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, as well as key APN partners on how to begin your path to a hybrid IT architecture.

  • Determine key drivers. For most organizations, you should determine what your key drivers are. Does cost matter most? Agility? Security? Speed? These drivers will decide what makes sense for your organization and whether you invest in physical hardware or make the decision to go to the cloud.
  • Be pragmatic. Figure out what you want based on your key drivers. If speed is your goal, then pinpoint where you want to move fast and where you don’t need that speed. If you are operating on premises, it may make sense to continue running in your own data center for awhile, but if you want the self-service agility benefits of the cloud, then it may be time to start moving applications.
  • Don’t be afraid to experiment. The cloud can give you the extra agility to experiment, even in a highly regulated industry. A hybrid approach allows you to make changes to interfaces and product offerings, and iterate more quickly. Cloud can give you the extra agility you may not have on premises.
  • Look at capacity and capability. If you need to burst capacity, going to the cloud may be the best way to burst, especially if you have a seasonal or one-time demand. And when you have new requirements, you can see if that capability can come from the AWS Marketplace instead of requiring a home-grown application.

Watch more of our session videos from the AWS Public Sector Summit here. And watch the AWS Public Sector Summit Highlights video below.

If you are interested in simplifying the migration and management of applications by integrating your on-premises environments with the AWS Cloud, please visit our “Hybrid Cloud Architectures with AWS” page for more details.

And if you will be attending re:Invent, then make sure to check out the hybrid sessions below: