AWS Public Sector Blog

This week, the BBC and other media outlets published inaccurate stories attempting to connect the AWS bid for the US Department of Defense’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Contract to a UK-based investment firm called C5 Capital (C5). To be clear, neither C5 nor any of its subsidiaries are involved in AWS’ JEDI bid. At no time, past or present, has Amazon or AWS ever invested in C5, its private equity fund, or any related portfolio companies. C5 has never been a teaming partner or subcontractor, nor lobbied on behalf of AWS in order for AWS to obtain government contracts. Any suggestion to the contrary is false. Below are simply the facts so people aren’t confused.

When it comes to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), there’s still ambiguity and uncertainy in the industry about how to effectively comply with it and how aggressive enforcement of it will be. Some organizations have made progress towards compliance despite this, while others have taken a “wait and see” approach.

AWS EdStart members are transforming education in every corner of the globe. Read on for more about three of our members – ArcLab, Lightbulb Education, and Yellowdig. Each of these EdTechs rely on AWS to create a more student-centric learning experience.

Developed jointly by Singapore’s five polytechnics, PolyMall is a one-stop portal to access online learning content across multiple sectors and disciplines. In PolyMall, students are able to access high-quality learning resources at their fingertips for an engaging online learning experience. PolyMall provides a common platform for the five polytechnics to share online learning packages among both students and staff.

Data can be a powerful driver in solving social issues. The AWS Cloud Credits for Research Program seeks to remove barriers and enable researchers to do their best work, bringing them closer to the answers. DrivenData and the Data Science for Social Good Fellowship are two entities using research credits to make a difference for society.

Amazon today announced the Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative to promote sustainability research, innovation, and problem solving by making key data easily accessible and even more widely available. The Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative leverages Amazon Web Services’ technology and scalable infrastructure to stage, analyze, and distribute data, and is a joint effort between the AWS Open Data and Amazon Sustainability teams.

From Cape Town, South Africa to Herndon, Virginia, Amazonians hosted over 140 events across the globe with over 1,760 employees volunteering their time to teach an Hour of Code to over 28,000 students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Employees across Amazon volunteered for Hour of Code to help inspire the workforce of tomorrow.

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) is an important part of the federal government’s cybersecurity strategy, and it’s getting a boost in visibility since the House passed the Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act (H.R. 6443). Among other things, this Act directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and provide the capability to collect, analyze, and visualize government-wide information relating to security data and cybersecurity risks and to make these program capabilities available for use by any federal agency.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 is a fully managed application streaming service that lets students access the applications they need for class through a browser. It doesn’t matter whether they’re using Macs, Chromebooks, or PCs, or whether they’re in the classroom, the library, a cafe, or at home. For example, Cornell University uses AppStream 2.0 to deliver CAD/CAM applications to its engineering students without the need for computer labs.

To celebrate Computer Science Education week and the Global Hour of Code, AWS Educate has launched a new experience for students between the ages of 14-17. Students now have access to a new website experience and three new badges with learning content to discover and grow their cloud expertise. The website offers a dynamic, streamlined navigational experience so students can easily dive into interactive challenges and hands-on activities. Teachers can also access supplemental guides for the challenges that map to core computer science principles, enabling both students and teachers to explore, invent, and build.