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Manager, IT Infrastructure and Data Center at Asian Paints
Real User
Reliable, easy to scale and deploys beautifully
Pros and Cons
  • "Feature-wise, Amazon S3 is the cheapest and it's reliable."
  • "The console could be improved - it's not very user friendly for non-technical guys."

What is our primary use case?

We have deployed Amazon S3 in two places, in Ireland and Northern Ireland. These act as storage for all the data, which is there. We have up to three servers there, one of these is an SQL server and one is Windows.

What is most valuable?

Feature-wise, Amazon S3 is the cheapest and it's reliable.

What needs improvement?

Overall, I don't think there's anything that needs to be improved.

The console could be improved - it's not very user-friendly for non-technical guys and the cost has to improve. It does not give us a clear picture of the total cost.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate it an 8.

For how long have I used the solution?

We are using Amazon S3 for three years now.

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Amazon S3
March 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable, you just have to look at cloud security more deeply because otherwise everything gets opened on the cloud.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Amazon S3 is easy to scale - scaling just comes with a cost.

Only the core IT Admin team and I are using this solution. The users do not have access to it.

How are customer service and support?

Amazon technical support is good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. If you don't know how Amazon works, it takes time to set up. Once it is set up then it is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We used integrators to deploy as Amazon recommended that at the time in India. They recommended a partner or consultant.

What other advice do I have?

Amazon deployment works beautifully.

If you know what your inside view will look like, you can cut down on your cost. 

Look at cloud security when you first configure the architecture.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
Manasa Jayaramaiah - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Great for data storage although upload speeds are sometimes slow
Pros and Cons
  • "Great for storing all types of data."
  • "The upload speed for data and documents is sometimes slow."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use of S3 is for storing data. I'm a senior associate. 

What is most valuable?

This solution is valuable in that it helps us store all types of data. It's also easy to delete data when necessary and it's very user-friendly.

What needs improvement?

The upload speed for data and documents is sometimes slow and it would be helpful if that were improved. The other issue is that downloading data is quite expensive. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for the past three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We occasionally face stability issues with respect to upload speed but it's very rare. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer support is good but it could be improved. When we raise a ticket, sometimes we have to make a follow-up call because we haven't heard back from them. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I find Amazon to be more efficient and more scalable compared to other solutions on the market. 

What other advice do I have?

I find this solution good for both structured and non-structured data, as well as data access and encryption. It reads more requests per second than other solutions. 

I rate this solution seven out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Amazon S3
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Amazon S3. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,194 professionals have used our research since 2012.
VinayKumar2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Data Engineer at Seven Lakes Enterprises, Inc.
Real User
Top 5
Provides excellent access management, is very intuitive, fast and quite flexible
Pros and Cons
  • "Easy to use, very intuitive, fast, and quite flexible."
  • "Could include some additional security features."

What is our primary use case?

We predominantly use this solution for our data storage, primarily making DB backups. I'm a lead data engineer.

What is most valuable?

The product is easy to use, very intuitive, fast and quite flexible. We can manage access and controls using Amazon policies so it's very secure and provides secure implementation methods. All those features help our day-to-day processes and functionalities. 

What needs improvement?

File versioning could be improved and I'd like to see some additional security features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any downtime in the years we've been using this product. We also have disaster recovery setups but haven't needed them.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is pretty good, we have over 100 plus users, and inherently all our applications interact with S3. We use it heavily, it's our main storage medium.

How are customer service and support?

The tech support is very good. We had some help with the configuration and some of our niche use cases and more complex aspects of the implementation. Apart from that, we've rarely needed any S3 support because the UI and the functionality itself are straightforward so you don't need to go beyond the standard documentation provided.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We're a small organization and previously had an on-prem solution that was more expensive for us with a lot of overheads. It didn't make sense to continue using it. 

How was the initial setup?

It's a simple deployment once you get the hang of it. We had two people managing the deployment. You can develop your own templates for repeated actions and automate repeat jobs. It's not complex. We're currently using more than 200 terabytes. We're using three different modes so we're using the solution extensively.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We were able to reduce our licensing costs by exploring the different storage classes and different lifecycle management policies. It's a very good tool to control your costs and automate a few of the routine tasks which typically take significant manual effort when you need to write ad-hoc jobs. The storage is quite cheap although there are some processes that bump up the cost. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
Co-Founder at Multitechservers
Real User
Is stable, scalable, and has multiple types of data detection
Pros and Cons
  • "Amazon S3 has multiple types of data detection. You can store data on a monthly basis, yearly basis, and long term basis."
  • "The only pain point is migrating the life cycle policy because if someone is a newbie, they cannot easily create the life cycle policy."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for static website hosting, storing data, and second data of some of the websites. We can then easily sync the data whenever we have the need to do so.

Some of our websites are 2 or 4 pages and have static content. We can simply host it by creating a bucket, putting the content of the website there, and making it available to the public with the Make Public feature.

What is most valuable?

Amazon S3 has multiple types of data detection. You can store data on a monthly basis, yearly basis, and long term basis. You can choose the Glacier feature, create a life cycle policy, and store it. This is one of the best features this solution has.

It is stable and scalable, and the installation is very straightforward as well.

What needs improvement?

The only pain point is migrating the life cycle policy because if someone is a newbie, they cannot easily create the life cycle policy. This is because there are multiple, additional ways. If I want to store data for one month, they have the option to Glacier over it. With Glacier, you have addition policies for one year or four years. The option will not be there. So you would need to use a UI process over it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it for almost the last four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I think the stability of Amazon S3 is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We currently have 40 plus users.

How are customer service and technical support?

Amazon Protect Support has been been quite responsive.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was completely straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing is pay as you go, and I'm happy with the pricing.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We didn't evaluate other options because there's no such available feature in the market at present that can compare all the things in a bucket, like S3.

What other advice do I have?

If you are a small scale enterprise that wants to host websites or data, you should go for it and use Amazon S3. 

I would rate Amazon S3 at nine on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer

PeerSpot user
reviewer1369422 - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Beneficial automation, useful CLI, and simple implementation
Pros and Cons
  • "Amazon S3 is easy to use and it is beneficial to use the CLI to make the backups. Since I use the CLI I do not have to do it on a web portal which is a big advantage because everything can be automatized. Automation can be done very well in Amazon S3."
  • "The solution could improve by having a simpler way to have the detail size of a file in the CLI to be read or understood easier. Today, it's a little raw in the way the details are presented. You have to make some scripts and some modifications to be able to see the information properly of the size of a given bucket or the size of a file."

What is our primary use case?

I use Amazon S3 mainly for daily backups of our database.

How has it helped my organization?

Amazon S3 has helped our organization because the daily backups can be done automatically with automation. We do not have to spend time on it and I am confident with Amazon S3 in its ability to recover our data.

What is most valuable?

Amazon S3 is easy to use and it is beneficial to use the CLI to make the backups. Since I use the CLI I do not have to do it on a web portal which is a big advantage because everything can be automatized. Automation can be done very well in Amazon S3.

What needs improvement?

The solution could improve by having a simpler way to have the detail size of a file in the CLI to be read or understood easier. Today, it's a little raw in the way the details are presented. You have to make some scripts and some modifications to be able to see the information properly of the size of a given bucket or the size of a file.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Amazon S3 for a long time. I used the latest version because the CLI is normally updated.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the Amazon S3 is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Amazon S3 is great.

We are a small company and we have approximately five developers that use Amazon S3. We use the solution on a daily basis for hourly backups.

How are customer service and support?

I have used the support from Amazon S3 a long time ago, I have not needed much help. When I did have contact with them there were times it took a while for a response.

I would rate the technical support of Amazon S3 a three out of five.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

The main difference from other solutions I have used is Amazon is the leader, and it has a very large number of zones and capacity, while others can be smaller and can have different options. Not all the options that are available in Amazon S3 are offered by other competitors, but for the main features, most of them are working fine. I have been evaluating two different solutions, one from a French cloud-based company called Scaleway, and the other is peer-to-peer storage.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was simple. Creating a new bucket and deploying it is very straightforward. To make the script deploy a new bucket takes approximately one hour. 

I would rate the initial setup of Amazon S3 a four out of five.

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation ourselves and we have two developers that do the maintenance of the solution.

What was our ROI?

The return on investment has been very good because the backups of our database are critical for our business to operate.

I would rate the return on investment of Amazon S3 a four out of five.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of the Amazon S3 is reasonable. There are not any licensing costs, they have a pay-as-you-use model. 

When backups are more than 6 months old, I would recommend keeping less of them and storing the remaining ones in Glacier (long-term, cheaper storage).

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated other options.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to others is to separate the buckets project, not to put everything in the same bucket, and be sure to implement IAM rules to avoid problems between users and not to lose any backups. The implementation process is important. 

I rate Amazon S3 an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
Senior architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
A file-storing system that provides sharing capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the sharing capabilities."
  • "I would like there to be more support without needing to use Transfer Family."

What is our primary use case?

We use Amazon S3 for a file storing system. The solution is cloud-based.

We're working with 10-15 applications.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the sharing capabilities.

What needs improvement?

I would like there to be more support without needing to use Transfer Family. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Amazon S3 for about five years but not at my current organization.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability as eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have also used Azure.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is okay.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.

I would recommend Amazon S3 if you have the use case for it, but Azure provides a similar service.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
Solution Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
The solution is simple and affordable to use and the setup is straightforward as well
Pros and Cons
  • "The users have nothing to worry about as the solution is well established."
  • "They should improve in the area of metadata curation."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution to store deployment logs and tech information.

What is most valuable?

The solution is simple and affordable to use. The solution's API Integration requests are straightforward; we just have to integrate and acquire the service.

What needs improvement?

They should improve in the area of metadata curation. Sometimes we open metadata via open source or ground stations in the area. They should design some features with improved performance where we can gain insights as well. It will help in maintaining the solution considering the cost.

It would be great if they get a new feature with the QV mechanism.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for seven or eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution's stability as a ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a very scalable solution. I have 100-300 colleagues using the solution.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was straightforward. We had an engineer help us establish configuration between the backend and the object. We had to work on the permissions, and the rest was easy. 

What about the implementation team?

We have an in-house engineering team. They are skilled in doing the entire setup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's worth the price considering its functionality.

What other advice do I have?

I advise others to have a support team. They should ensure the best practices for transferring the use history from AWS onto other applications via the cloud. It's very easy to find those actions. Most importantly, they must be very careful about the solution's security. They should plan the automation model right, ensuring to maintain the surface area for security. Otherwise, they have nothing to worry about as the solution is well established.

I rate the solution as a ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
reviewer1975647 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solutions Architect at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
A very strong internet storage solution, with great archival capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "We find the archival capabilities of this solution quite valuable, because we can have set policies of exactly when, and what to archive."
  • "We would like to see improvement in the ability to moves files within this solution. At present the process is not straightforward, and requires us to download files to our micro service service before then uploading into the solution. In addition, the transfer bit rate for the process is very slow."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution as readily available internet storage.

What is most valuable?

We find the archival capabilities of this solution quite valuable, because we can have set policies of exactly when, and what to archive. 

What needs improvement?

We would like to see improvement in the ability to moves files within this solution. At present the process is not straightforward, and requires us to download files to our micro service service before then uploading into the solution. In addition, the transfer bit rate for the process is very slow.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been working with this solution for around five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have found this to be a very stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a very scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

We have found the technical support for this product to be pretty good.

What other advice do I have?

We would recommend potential users of this solution to ensure they have micro-services in place, in order to carry out data transfers.

We would rate this solution a 10 out of 10.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Amazon S3 Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Amazon S3 Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.