What does AWS stand for? In tech it almost always means Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing arm of Amazon. It rents out computing power, storage, databases and networking over the internet, so a company can run its apps on someone else's servers instead of buying its own.
In a welding shop or a trade school, the same letters usually mean the American Welding Society, the group behind many welding codes and certifications. Weather offices use AWS for an automatic weather station. The setting around the letters decides which meaning is in play.
Quick facts
Stands for
Amazon Web Services (tech)Other meanings
American Welding Society; automatic weather stationType
InitialismHow to say it
"A W S"Used in
Job posts, IT tickets, resumes, trade schoolsRelated terms
Cloud, SaaS, API, region
What does AWS stand for? Three common answers
| Field | AWS stands for | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Amazon Web Services | Job listings, resumes, developer docs, outage news |
| Welding and trades | American Welding Society | Welder certifications, building codes, trade classes |
| Weather | Automatic weather station | Forecast offices, airports, farm and road sensors |
Ranked by how often people mean it, the cloud service comes first by a wide margin. If the text also mentions servers, accounts or developers, it is the tech meaning. If it mentions certified welders or a weld test, it is the society.
What Amazon Web Services does
The platform started in the mid 2000s and is now one of the largest cloud providers. A customer signs up for an account, chooses services and pays for what it uses, often by the hour, the second or the gigabyte. That model is what people mean by cloud computing.
- Compute: virtual servers that run apps and websites.
- Storage: space to keep files, backups and media.
- Databases: managed systems that hold customer records, orders and logs.
- Networking: tools that connect those pieces and send traffic to users.
The service runs in data centers grouped into regions around the world. A business can pick a region close to its customers so pages load faster. Many of the apps on your phone talk to servers hosted this way, through an API.
How the AWS acronym shows up at work
In a job post: "Three years of experience with AWS required. Certification a plus." The employer wants someone who can build and manage systems on the cloud platform. The certification refers to exams the company offers at several levels.
You will also see the letters in IT tickets ("the AWS bill went up this month"), in outage news ("several apps went down during an AWS problem") and on resumes in a skills list. Software sold this way is often described as SaaS, and a lot of it runs on cloud platforms like this one.
The welding meaning of AWS
The American Welding Society is a professional group for welding. It publishes standards that tell engineers and inspectors how welds on bridges, buildings and pipelines should be made and tested. It also runs certification programs, so a welder can show an employer proof of skill.
On a trade school flyer: "Earn your AWS certified welder card in 12 weeks." Here the letters have nothing to do with computers. The card shows the student passed a weld test under the society's rules.
How to say and write AWS
- Speak each letter separately: "A W S."
- Capital letters, no dots between them.
- Write "an AWS account," not "a AWS account," since the name starts with the sound "ay."
- On first use in a formal document, spell it out once: "Amazon Web Services (AWS)."
For more on why some letter sets are read as words and others are not, see what is an acronym.
Terms that sit next to AWS
Cloud work comes with its own alphabet soup. Four neighbors of AWS:
- SaaS: software as a service, apps you use in a browser by subscription.
- API: application programming interface, how programs ask each other for data.
- URL: the web address a cloud app lives at.
- SSD: the fast storage drives inside many data center servers.
Dozens more are collected in the tech acronyms hub.
Questions people ask
In computing, what is AWS?
It is Amazon Web Services. It is a cloud platform that rents computing power, storage and databases to businesses and developers.
What does AWS stand for in welding?
In welding, AWS means the American Welding Society. It writes welding standards and runs welder certification tests.
Is AWS the same as Amazon?
It is part of Amazon, but it is a separate business line. It sells cloud services to companies rather than goods to shoppers.
How do you pronounce AWS?
Say each letter: "A W S." The letters are never blended into one syllable.
What does an AWS certification mean?
In tech, it means the person passed an exam on the cloud platform. In the trades, an AWS certification shows a welder passed a test under the welding society's rules.