What is AWS Organizations?
AWS Organizations is a comprehensive account management service that enables businesses to centrally manage and govern their environment as they scale their use of Amazon Web Services (AWS). Designed to support businesses ranging from startups to large enterprises, AWS Organizations allows users to automate the creation and management of new accounts, apply policies across accounts for governance, and simplify billing through the consolidation of all AWS accounts within an organization. The tool is particularly vital in managing multiple accounts within AWS, ensuring compliance with organizational policies, and optimizing resource usage.
Key Takeaways
- AWS Organizations offers centralized management of multiple AWS accounts, simplifying account governance and compliance.
- It provides tools for automating account creation and establishing company-wide policies.
- Through consolidated billing, AWS Organizations facilitates cost management and optimization.
- The service supports businesses in scaling AWS usage while maintaining security and compliance.
Features and Benefits of AWS Organizations
AWS Organizations provides several features aimed at improving the efficiency and security of AWS account management:
- Account Grouping: Organize AWS accounts into a hierarchical structure, allowing better resource management and policy application.
- Service Control Policies (SCPs): Create policies to control the use of AWS services across your organization, ensuring compliance with internal and external regulations.
- Automated Account Creation: Streamline the creation of new accounts, making it easier for businesses to scale rapidly without compromising governance.
- Consolidated Billing: Manage budgets effectively by receiving one bill for all accounts, while still having detailed spend reports for individual accounts.
Who uses AWS Organizations?
AWS Organizations is widely adopted across various industries. It is particularly useful for companies that operate at scale, such as enterprise-level businesses, or those with a distributed cloud infrastructure, like digital agencies and service providers. IT Managers, System Administrators, and Cloud Architects are the primary users of AWS Organizations, leveraging it to maintain control over multiple AWS accounts, ensure compliance, and streamline operations.
AWS Organizations Alternatives
- Terraform: An open-source Infrastructure as Code software tool, Terraform allows for the automated creation of cloud infrastructure. While it provides flexibility in defining infrastructure setups, it lacks the built-in account management and billing features of AWS Organizations.
- Puppet Enterprise: This automation platform allows system administrators to manage infrastructure as code. However, it is more focused on configuration management than account governance.
- CloudCheckr: A cloud management platform that offers insights into AWS usage and security. While it provides detailed analytics, it does not offer the same level of integrated account management features as AWS Organizations.
The Bottom Line
AWS Organizations is an essential tool for any business invested in AWS infrastructure at scale. By offering centralized control, automated account management, and consolidated billing, the service streamlines complex environments, making it easier for companies to maintain compliance and optimize resources. Whether you're a startup growing your cloud presence or a large enterprise expanding your digital capabilities, understanding and utilizing AWS Organizations can lead to more efficient and secure operations.
