Introducing AWS Marketplace!

[Hmm, this looks interesting, don’t you think? See the Related Posts link below to get the full Amazon web services presentation given at the BCS..]

Dear Amazon Web Services Customer,

Amazon Web Services is pleased to announce AWS Marketplace, an online store where customers can find, buy, and quickly deploy software that runs on AWS.

You can select software from well-known vendors including CACanonicalCouchbaseCheck PointIBMMicrosoft,SUSERed HatSAP, and Zend as well as many widely used open source offerings, including WordPressDrupal, and MediaWiki.

AWS Marketplace includes pay-as-you-go products, free software (AWS infrastructure fees still apply), and hosted software with varied pricing models.

When you find the software you’d like to purchase, you can use AWS Marketplace’s 1-Click deployment to quickly launch pre-configured server images, or deploy with familiar tools like the AWS Console. You’ll be charged for what you use, by the hour or month, and software charges will appear on the same bill as your other AWS services.

Here’s how to get started:

  • Go to http://aws.amazon.com/marketplace and search for software.
  • Learn about products, including pricing, support information, and customer reviews.
  • Launch the product in your EC2 account with 1-Click or, for hosted SaaS software, visit the vendor’s website to sign up.

If you are a software vendor interested in selling your product on the AWS Marketplace, please visit our Seller Portal and participate in a webcast on May 29th.

Sincerely,
The AWS Marketplace Team

Swallow

For and against the cloud

For: Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer: “We’ll need a new operating system. Just as we have an operating system for the PC, for the phone and for the server, we need a new operating system that runs in the internet. I bet we’ll call it Windows something. We’re going to announce it in four weeks. We might even have a trademark by then. So, for today I’ll call it Windows Cloud. And Windows Cloud will be a place where you can run arbitrary applications up in the internet that runs .Net.”

Against: Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, has warned that cloud computing is mainly “hype” and companies risk losing control of their data if they buy into such systems. “It’s just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program, or somebody else’s web server, you’re defenceless.”

+ IBM: a series of cloud initiatives, including Bluehouse.