Okay. Hello, cloud gurus,
how y'all doing Scott Pletcher here and it is a good week to be a guru indeed,
as our first ever ACG community summit is kicking off this week.
If you're not registered yet, there is still time. The link is down below.
As for AWS news, we get a new public repo for cloud formation extensions,
KMS goes multi-region and step functions get way easier to assemble.
All right, here on AWS this week.
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If you have enabled encryption at rest for your data on AWS and you
should,
chances are that you've made use of the key management service or KMS.
KMS lets you create manage customer master encryption keys,
which can then be used with many other services to keep your data encrypted and
keep those security auditors happy.
One long-time hassle with KMS is that the keys were region specific and
this was a real headache for those dealing with data across multiple regions.
Now you can replicate KMS keys to other regions.
So the same key with the same key metadata is available in whatever region you
need. It don't quite trust old AWS to generate encryption keys for you.
Multi-region keys also work with imported key material as well.
I'm not sure how you feel about cloud formation,
but I find it the most satisfying yet simultaneously the most frustrating of
all AWS services. It's extremely satisfying
when my obscenely complex template finally works,
start to finish exactly how I wanted,
but supremely frustrating trying to get it to that point in the first place.
Well,
there's a new feature out there that might help make that glittering thrill ride
of emotions A little less arduous.
AWS has announced a public registry for AWS cloud formation.
In this registry,
you can find extensions from third parties who have prebuilt components to
plug right into your templates, expect to see extensions from trendmicro,
datadog, FireEye, gremlin,
and other AWS partners over the coming weeks.
Plus we're also seeing third party resource types Start to show up out in the
registry as well.
If you're in the cloud formation club do keep an eye on this public registry,
as it might save you some time and headache.
Ever since step functions was released in 2016,
many a developer has struggled with the Amazon's states language,
a curious creation based on Jason, that didn't really scream -
This is the language you want to use for workflows. For most people,
a more procedural language approach might make more sense, but AWS said, nah,
we're good. Well,
as it turns out when your language is more like a config file than a block of
Python code,
it's way easier to build fancy tools that can generate that stuff for you,
the scenes.
And that's exactly what AWS has given us through the announcement of workflows
studio.
Workflow studio is a nifty drag and drop designer for your step functions.
That's effectively an Amazon states language generator.
The step function service is a pretty powerful way to orchestrate serverless
processes and now they are easier to build and should greatly accelerate your
prototyping. Lastly,
what comes to mind when I say the word innovation, a new biotech breakthrough,
the flying cars or childhood cartoons promised us the latest Tik Tok dance
move. Well,
the word innovation has probably secured its place in the corporate speak hall
of fame right up there alongside synergy and outside the box.
Everybody talks about it. Everybody wants it,
but very few managed to actually do it. Join me in a new,
a cloud guru series. We're calling that's innovation.
We'll look into some of the latest research in theory on innovation as a
discipline.
And we'll also include practical guidance and tools to help you put that theory
to work in your own organizations.
Plus because cloud is right here in our name will surely not going to pass up
opportunities to show you how the cloud can amplify your innovation efforts.
The premiere episode is out now on the ACG platform and our YouTube
channel linked down below. So go check it out
today. I'll be talking about innovation. What is it?
And I'll share some different types of innovation.
Maybe we make.
Use of existing capabilities and technology with a brand new business model.
This is called disruptive innovation.
What we need is to draw some bounds around our innovation efforts.
Things like a strategy and objectives will help us focus our resources,
a process,
and a way to measure that process can help us accomplish our objectives and
improve.
This now concludes the shameless self promotion portion of the program.
And it also concludes all the news I have for you all this week. Stay safe,
take care of one another and keep being awesome cloud gurus.