Cloud 101 for the Public Sector
Getting started with AWS for government, education, nonprofits, and healthcare
Cloud computing enables public sector organizations to focus on your missions, not your IT infrastructure. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud provides a broad set of infrastructure services, such as computing power, storage options, networking, and databases, delivered on-demand and available in seconds with pay-as-you-go pricing.
Whether you’re a large agency or a small organization, learn how to start your cloud journey. Play our AWS Cloud Champion: Cloud 101 challenge to learn about the essentials of AWS.
Build your foundation
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Main Solution Areas
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Security and IAM
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Agility
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Cost
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Main Solution Areas
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AWS WHITEPAPER
Get familiar with the services that make up key solution areas like storage, database, compute, big data analytics, and more.
CASE STUDY
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) allows you to use your data to derive insights, at scale. See how the United Kingdom’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency uses the AWS Cloud to analyze data and identify areas for improvement.
WEBINAR
Storage is one of the fundamental solution areas of the AWS Cloud. Watch this webinar to learn about the different storage services AWS offers and see how educational institutions use storage services to replace their data centers, store and share files, and more.
VIDEO
Learn about the different AWS Cloud database options, their value to your mission, how to assess your organization's database needs, and best practices for getting started.
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Security and IAM
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BLOG POST
With AWS, you always own your data. Read this blog for best practices on securing that data in the AWS Cloud and get insights from security experts.
REFERENCE GUIDE
Security is our top priority. Learn about the shared responsibility model, compliance in the cloud, and services that help you keep your data secure.
BLOG POST
See how your public sector organization can use Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) with AWS Identity Access Management (IAM) to meet your IT and data security requirements.
WEBINAR
What does security mean for a new AWS Cloud user? How does it translate to a regulated environment like healthcare, government, education, or financial services? Securing your AWS account is the first place to start.
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Agility
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BLOG POST
How can the cloud help modernize your organization and help you achieve your mission faster? See what customers and industry experts have to say about what the agility of the AWS Cloud does for public sector entities.
VIDEO
When you’re serving students or citizens, downtime isn’t an option. By moving quickly to the AWS Cloud, Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, innovates faster and helps its subsidiaries do the same.
VIDEO
More agility means fulfilling your mission faster. Moving to the AWS Cloud helped human services software company Northwoods quickly get their solutions into the hands of social services employees working with vulnerable families.
BLOG POST
Agencies of any size can move fast. The U.S. Navy migrated their largest enterprise resource planning system to the AWS Cloud 10 months ahead of schedule. Now, they can more quickly achieve audit readiness and make informed, mission-critical decisions.
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Cost
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BLOG POST
Since 2013, AWS customers have saved over $300M with our cost optimization tools—and you can, too. Get familiar with these services and learn best practices for managing your cloud spending.
BLOG POST
See how federal agencies, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and education institutions are using cloud optimization tools to lower costs so they can better serve stakeholders and achieve their missions.
BLOG POST
Now more than ever, nonprofits have to stretch their funds to maximize dollars invested in their mission. With AWS, nonprofits can better understand their bills, set up budget alerts, and track usage so they only spend on resources that they need.
BLOG POST
The savings that come with cloud computing go beyond hardware and service costs. The improvements on efficiency and innovation can save millions down the road. The Institute for Competitiveness found that a 10 percent increase in Italian companies’ cloud adoption could increase the average added value produced per employee by over €47,000 per year.
“[The cloud] has transformed our ability to build new capabilities and has transformed our ability to solve seemingly impossible intelligence problems.”
– John Edwards, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
“[The cloud] has transformed our ability to build new capabilities and has transformed our ability to solve seemingly impossible intelligence problems.”
– John Edwards, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
“The reliability of AWS, along with multiple Availability Zones, gives us fantastic availability for our applications. Our data is always available for learners.”
– Mike Maloney, Former Vice President of SaaS, Security, and IT, D2L
“That’s the magic of AWS and the cloud: You can get started on your terms, all these services are built as a pay-as-you-go model—no long-term commitments. So you can think about getting started with as little as one user.”
– Andrew DeFoe, Business Development Manager – End User Computing, AWS
“Working with AWS means we can deliver greater value for public investment than if we tried to build infrastructure on our own. AWS has demonstrated its commitment to helping us innovate with disruptive technologies with a clear pathway to core operational infrastructure.”
– Nathan Cunningham, Former Associate Director, UK Data Service
Take the next step
As you get started, identifying the right projects to migrate can be overwhelming. Start small. Identify the applications that aren’t as critical or strategic to your mission, and categorize them as legacy applications. Then, try a test environment for a new project or prepare for disaster recovery needs. Experiment with these first workloads below, assess your cloud adoption readiness, get familiar with the ins and outs of AWS, and get started.
First workload
Put the basics into practice with developing and testing code, disaster recovery and simplified backups, hosting websites and web applications, and running Microsoft workloads in AWS.
Training and Certifications
Get familiar with AWS services, migration planning, security fundamentals, and cost management strategies with getting started training resources.
Cloud Adoption Readiness Tool (CART)
Assess your organization’s cloud migration readiness with a short quiz and set a path for cloud adoption success.
How to buy
Discover the steps you need to take to migrate your public sector organization to the cloud—from design to implementation.