What does a day in the life of a Solution Architect look like at AWS? Simon speaks with four SA’s from around the globe to discuss exactly that, and takes a look at how they go about assisting their customers with interesting challenges. We have also included some fun bonus content at the end, so be sure to tune in. Have a question about solution architecture? Submit it via audio here and Simon might answer it in the next Update Show! https://d1ox81nm0qxip8.cloudfront.net/index.html

Projects are often classified as cost-cutting measures or innovation initiatives that improve customer experiences. But cloud contact center service Amazon Connect is shifting that either-or mentality. With out of the box AI / ML capabilities, Amazon Connect is being leveraged by customers across industries to reach people in new ways. And the customer experience improvements are coupled with up to 80% savings compared to legacy systems. Listen to podcast and learn how customers as disparate as Intuit and Los Angeles County are gaining business benefits with Amazon Connect. Learn more and contact the team: https://aws.amazon.com/connect/

Amazon Macie is a fully managed data security and data privacy service that uses machine learning and pattern matching to discover and protect your sensitive data in AWS. Today, Simon is joined by Ryan Holland, Principal, Industry Specialist, to discuss the importance of sensitive data visibility, the customer feedback that drove the rearchitecture of Macie, and what actions can be automated when sensitive data is identified. This podcast also explores best practices for builders and security experts for inventorying, categorizing, and protecting your data across your Amazon S3 buckets. Learn more: https://aws.amazon.com/macie/ Start your 30-day free Macie trial: https://console.aws.amazon.com/macie Demonstration of Macie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8piwEQJJXdo&t=1s More on Amazon S3 Security: https://aws.amazon.com/s3/features/security/

Simon takes a walk through the latest updates!

Leave audio feedback here: https://bit.ly/2MvZPOL

Chapters

00:24 Analytics

05:04 Block Chain

05:33 Compute

11:12 Cost Management

11:38 Customer Engagement

12:10 Database

16:17 Developer Tools

18:19 End User Computing

18:41 Game Tech

19:25 Internet of Things (IoT)

19:55 Machine Learning

22:25 Management & Governance

23:46 Media Services

25:41 Mobile

26:34 Security, Identity and Compliance

30:32 Storage

Extended Shownotes: https://d29iemol7wxagg.cloudfront.net/435ExtendedShownotes.html

Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS), is a simple, serverless, set-and-forget, elastic file system that lets you share file data without provisioning or managing storage. Today, Nicki is joined by Sarwar Raza, Senior Manager here at Amazon, to learn about Amazon EFS One Zone storage classes. They explore what Amazon EFS One Zone is, who it’s for, use cases, and how to reduce storage costs by 47% compared to Amazon EFS Standard storage classes, while getting the same features and benefits.

Amazon Lightsail is a great way to get started on AWS and recently released a Containers service. Listen to this podcast to learn more about the AWS' new, easy-to-use containers service and how it differs from other AWS Container services. They dig into the benefits of Lightsail containers, who should use it, and why the team built it. Read the blog: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/lightsail-containers-an-easy-way-to-run-your-containers-in-the-cloud/ Getting Started Tutorial: https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/hands-on/lightsail-containers/?trk=gs_card Amazon Lightsail: https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/

Amazon Lookout for Vision is a new machine learning (ML) service that spots defects and anomalies in visual representations using computer vision (CV). Today Simon is joined by Anant Patel, Sr. Program Manager at AWS, to learn about this service that recently became generally available. They discuss the benefits of Amazon Lookout for Vision, who it’s for, and the kinds of challenges it can solve for industrial and manufacturing customers. More details: https://aws.amazon.com/lookout-for-vision/ Read the Blog: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-lookout-for-vision-new-machine-learning-service-that-simplifies-defect-detection-for-manufacturing/

Simon and Nicki share lots of cool new things! Leave audio feedback here: https://bit.ly/2MvZPOL

Chapters

00:31 The Alexa Customer Experience

01:48 Innovation Ambassadors Podcast

02:53 Infrastructure

03:46 Analytics

04:27 Application Integration

05:56 Block Chain

07:10 Compute

09:11 Customer Engagement

10:04 Developer Tools

10:26 Internet of Things (IoT)

12:49 Machine Learning

15:08 Management & Governance

17:17 Networking & Content Delivery

18:00 Security, Identity and Compliance

22:05 Conclusion

22:26 Nicki's Launch Podcast program

Extended Shownotes: https://d29iemol7wxagg.cloudfront.net/430ExtendedShownotes.html

Having a clear vision about the IoT solution needed to keep clean water flowing for millions of people was a big step forward for non-profit, charity:water. Of course, the execution turned out to be challenging. Charity:water first tried collaborating with leading IoT sensor manufacturers to get existing technology tailored to its specific use case, which is monitoring hand pump functionality in real-time, across remote communities. When that didn’t work, charity:water had the gumption to try to develop the solution themselves. But the org faced frustration and stalls before finding the right partner. With AWS Partner Twisthink, charity:water found a true collaborator that recognized its core business is a vital mission.Together, they developed an IoT sensor built on AWS that allows real-time monitoring of remote wells around the world, slashing repair time by years. Listen to the podcast to hear about the development process and learn about the IoT roadmap to reshape the approach to meeting the global clean water crisis.

Check out the solution and contribute: https://github.com/charitywater/afridev2-sensor

Get help developing your own IoT solution: https://aws.amazon.com/iot/

Big data and analytics play a critical role in every organization’s digital transformation. For many customers, it’s the first initiative they embark on to accelerate time to insight and pace of innovation for their business. Today, Simon is joined by Roy Hasson, Sr. Manager WW Analytics Specialist, to talk about how customers can modernize on-premises, self-managed Apache Hadoop environments running Apache Hive and Apache Spark using Amazon EMR - a fully managed, easy to use, unified analytics platform to run your Hive, Spark, Presto and other big data and ML workloads. They also discuss the EMR Migration Program, developed to help customers quickly modernize their on-premises, self-managed Hadoop environments.