Top 20 AWS Services Commonly Used in DevOps

DevOps teams rely on AWS services to automate workflows, improve deployment speed, and maintain scalable, secure infrastructure. From continuous integration and delivery to monitoring and container management, AWS offers a wide range of tools that support modern DevOps practices. Understanding the most used AWS services helps teams build efficient pipelines, reduce operational overhead, and deliver reliable applications faster. 

1. AWS CodePipeline 

AWS CodePipeline is a fully managed continuous delivery service that helps you automate your release pipelines for fast and reliable application and infrastructure updates. CodePipeline integrates with other AWS services like CodeCommit, CodeBuild, and CodeDeploy to provide a seamless workflow from code changes to production deployment. With CodePipeline, you can automate your applications' build, test, and deployment processes and confidently roll out new features and updates.Carousel-3.jpg  

Use Cases: 

• Continuous integration and delivery: CodePipeline automates the entire software release process from code commit to production deployment. 

• Multiple environments: Manage dev, staging, and prod pipelines with automated or manual approval gates. 

• Multi-region deployments: Orchestrate global rollouts for high-availability applications. 

• Multiple source repositories: Integrate GitHub, Bitbucket, or CodeCommit for flexible team workflows. 

• Custom actions: Extend pipelines with security scans or compliance checks before deployment. 

• Monitoring and notifications: Track execution metrics and receive alerts on pipeline failures. 

2. AWS CodeBuild 

AWS CodeBuild is a fully managed build service that compiles source code, runs tests, and produces software packages ready for deployment. CodeBuild scales automatically to handle parallel builds and integrates with CodePipeline for CI/CD workflows. DevOps teams use it to eliminate the need for provisioning build servers. 

Use Cases: 

• Parallel builds: Run multiple test suites simultaneously to reduce CI feedback loops. 

• Custom build environments: Support Docker, Node.js, Python, Java, and custom runtimes. 

• Artifact storage: Generate deployable packages stored in S3 for downstream pipeline stages. 

• Security scanning: Integrate static analysis tools like SonarQube during builds. 

• Compliance builds: Enforce coding standards and generate build reports for audits. 

3. AWS CodeDeploy 

AWS CodeDeploy automates code deployments to EC2, Lambda, ECS, and on-premises servers with minimal downtime. It supports blue/green deployments, rolling updates, and automatic rollbacks based on health checks. CodeDeploy integrates with CodePipeline for production-ready release management. 

Use Cases: 

• Zero-downtime deployments: Blue/green strategies ensure continuous availability during updates. 

• Canary deployments: Gradually roll out changes to a subset of users before full release. 

• Multi-environment promotion: Deploy from dev to staging to prod with approval gates. 

• Health monitoring: Automatic rollbacks if deployment fails, CloudWatch alarms. 

• Cross-platform support: Deploy to EC2, Lambda, ECS, and hybrid environments. 

4. AWS CloudFormation 

AWS CloudFormation is an infrastructure-as-code (IaC) service that provisions and manages AWS resources using declarative templates. CloudFormation enables repeatable, version-controlled infrastructure deployments essential for DevOps automation. Templates support JSON/YAML and integrate with CI/CD pipelines. 

Use Cases: 

• Infrastructure reproducibility: Create identical environments for dev, test, and prod. 

• Change management: Track infrastructure changes through version-controlled templates. 

• Rollback capabilities: Automatically revert to previous stack versions on failure. 

• Cross-stack references: Build complex architectures with modular templates. 

• Compliance auditing: Maintain infrastructure audit trails via CloudTrail integration. 

5. AWS CDK (Cloud Development Kit) 

AWS CDK lets developers define cloud infrastructure in familiar programming languages like TypeScript, Python, and Java. CDK synthesizes CloudFormation templates while providing higher-level constructs and logic. DevOps teams use CDK for programmatic infrastructure management. 

Use Cases: 

• Developer-friendly IaC: Write infrastructure using application code patterns. 

• Reusable constructs: Build and share custom components across teams. 

• Testing infrastructure: Unit test the infrastructure code before deployment. 

• Complex logic: Implement conditional resource creation and loops. 

• Multi-language support: Standardize infrastructure across polyglot teams. 

6. Amazon CloudWatch 

Amazon CloudWatch is a monitoring and observability service that collects metrics, logs, and events from AWS resources and applications. CloudWatch powers dashboards, alarms, and automated actions essential for production operations. DevOps teams use it for proactive incident response. 

Use Cases: 

• Real-time dashboards: Visualize the health of your application and infrastructure. 

• Automated alarms: Trigger Lambda functions or send notifications when thresholds are breached. 

• Log analytics: Search and analyze application logs at scale. 

• Performance insights: Identify bottlenecks in databases and compute resources. 

• Container monitoring: Track ECS/EKS cluster utilization and pod metrics. 

7. AWS CloudTrail 

AWS CloudTrail records API calls and account activity across AWS services for security analysis, compliance, and troubleshooting. CloudTrail creates audit trails that DevOps teams use for incident investigation and governance. Data is stored in S3 for long-term retention. 

Use Cases: 

• Security incident investigation: Trace unauthorized access attempts. 

• Compliance reporting: Generate audit reports for SOC2 and PCI-DSS compliance. 

• Change tracking: Monitor configuration changes across resources. 

• Troubleshooting: Correlate API calls with application failures. 

• Cost optimization: Identify unused resources through access patterns. 

8. AWS Lambda 

AWS Lambda is a serverless computer service that runs code in response to events without provisioning servers. Lambda powers event-driven architecture central to modern DevOps pipelines. It scales automatically and charges only for execution time. 

Use Cases: 

• CI/CD automation: Trigger builds, deployments, or notifications on code changes. 

• Infrastructure automation: Respond to CloudWatch alarms or CloudTrail events. 

• Serverless APIs: Build microservices without managing servers. 

• Data processing: Transform streaming data from Kinesis or S3 events. 

• Security automation: Remediate findings from GuardDuty or Config. 

9. Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service) 

Amazon ECS is a fully managed container orchestration service for Docker containers. ECS simplifies running, scaling, and managing containers with Fargate or EC2 launch types. DevOps teams use ECS for microservices and batch processing workloads. 

Use Cases: 

• Microservices architecture: Deploy hundreds of containerized services. 

• CI/CD target: Deploy container images via CodePipeline/CodeDeploy. 

• Serverless containers: Run containers without managing EC2 instances using Fargate. 

• Blue/green deployments: Zero-downtime updates with AWS ALB integration. 

• Batch processing: Run containerized ETL jobs with predictable scaling. 

10. Amazon EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) 

Amazon EKS manages Kubernetes clusters for running containerized applications at scale. EKS handles master node infrastructure while you manage worker nodes. DevOps teams standardize EKS for Kubernetes-based microservices. 

Use Cases: 

• Kubernetes standardization: Migrate from on-premises K8s to AWS-managed. 

• Multi-cluster management: Run dev, staging, and prod clusters with consistent tooling. 

• GitOps deployments: Use ArgoCD/Flux with EKS for declarative deployments. 

• Windows containers: Run .NET applications in Kubernetes. 

• GPU workloads: Scale ML inference containers across GPU instances. 

11. AWS CodeCommit 

AWS CodeCommit is a fully managed source control service compatible with Git. CodeCommit provides private repositories with fine-grained access control and integrates with CodePipeline. DevOps teams use it for secure, AWS-native version control. 

Use Cases: 

• Private Git repositories: Secure source code without third-party hosting. 

• Branching workflows: Support GitFlow or trunk-based development. 

• Approval workflows: Require pull request reviews before merging. 

• Cross-account access: Share code between dev, security, and operations teams. 

• Pipeline triggers: Automatically start builds on code commits. 

12. AWS Systems Manager (SSM) 

AWS Systems Manager provides operational insights and automation for EC2, on-premises, and hybrid environments. SSM enables secure management without opening inbound ports. DevOps teams use it for configuration management and patching. 

Use Cases: 

• Patch management: Automate OS patching across fleet compliance. 

• Configuration management: Apply Ansible/Chef recipes to servers. 

• Session manager: SSH/RDP to instances without bastion hosts. 

• Inventory management: Track software versions across environments. 

• Automation documents: Run remediation workflows on compliance failures. 

13. AWS Secrets Manager 

AWS Secrets Manager provides secure storage and rotation for database credentials, API keys, and OAuth tokens. Secrets Manager integrates with Lambda for automatic rotation. DevOps eliminates hardcoded secrets in code and config files. 

Use Cases: 

• Credential rotation: Automatically rotate RDS passwords without downtime. 

• CI/CD secrets: Inject build secrets into CodeBuild/CodePipeline. 

• Application secrets: Retrieve secrets at runtime without code changes. 

• Compliance: Centralize secret auditing and access logging. 

• Multi-account: Share secrets across AWS accounts and regions. 

14. Amazon EventBridge 

Amazon EventBridge is a serverless event bus that routes events between AWS services, SaaS applications, and custom apps. EventBridge enables event-driven architectures for DevOps automation. Supports schema registry for typed events. 

Use Cases: 

• Cross-service integration: Route CloudWatch alarms to Lambda remediation. 

• SaaS integration: Receive GitHub webhooks or Stripe events. 

• Event replay: Reprocess historical events for debugging. 

• Fan-out patterns: Route a single event to multiple targets. 

• Schedule automation: Trigger daily/weekly maintenance workflows. 

15. AWS Step Functions 

AWS Step Functions coordinates multiple AWS services into serverless workflows. Visual workflow designer supports error handling, retries, and parallel execution. DevOps uses Step Functions for complex orchestration beyond Lambda timeouts. 

Use Cases: 

• Saga pattern: Coordinate distributed transactions across microservices. 

• ML workflows: Orchestrate data processing, training, and inference pipelines. 

• Approval workflows: Human-in-loop processes for production changes. 

• Error recovery: Automatic retries and dead-letter queues. 

• State machine sharing: Reuse workflows across teams and applications. 

16. Amazon X-Ray 

Amazon X-Ray provides distributed tracing for microservices and serverless applications. X-Ray generates service maps and latency traces across Lambda, API Gateway, and ECS. DevOps teams use it to debug performance issues in complex architectures. 

Use Cases: 

• Latency analysis: Identify slow database queries in distributed apps. 

• Service dependency mapping: Visualize microservices interactions. 

• Error tracking: Trace failed requests across service boundaries. 

• Custom annotations: Add business metadata to traces. 

• Sampling rules: Control trace volume in high-traffic applications. 

17. AWS Config 

AWS Config continuously monitors and records AWS resource configurations. Config evaluates resources against rules and compliance frameworks. DevOps uses Config for governance and drift detection in infrastructure-as-code environments. 

Use Cases: 

• Compliance monitoring: Track PCI-DSS and HIPAA resource configurations. 

• Drift detection: Alert when CloudFormation stacks diverge from templates. 

• Security baseline: Enforce encryption, MFA, and IAM policies. 

• Change tracking: Timeline view of resource configuration changes. 

• Remediation: Trigger Lambda functions to fix non-compliant resources. 

18. AWS Inspector 

AWS Inspector automatically assesses applications for vulnerabilities and deviations from best practices. Inspector scans EC2 instances, Lambda functions, and container images. DevOps integrates Inspector into CI/CD for shift-left security. 

Use Cases: 

• Continuous vulnerability scanning: Weekly assessments of production fleets. 

• Container security: Scan ECR images before ECS/EKS deployment. 

• Lambda assessment: Identify runtime vulnerabilities in serverless code. 

• Compliance reporting: Generate CIS benchmark assessment reports. 

• Pipeline integration: Block deployments with critical vulnerabilities. 

19. Amazon GuardDuty 

Amazon GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious activity and unauthorized behavior. GuardDuty analyzes CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS logs using ML. DevOps uses findings for security automation. 

Use Cases: 

• Threat detection: Identify crypto-mining, reconnaissance, or credential exfiltration. 

• Compromised credential detection: Alert on suspicious IAM access patterns. 

• Automated response: Trigger Lambda suppression or incident workflows. 

• Multi-account aggregation: Centralize security findings across AWS Organizations. 

• Suppression rules: Reduce noise from known benign activities. 

20. AWS Proton 

AWS Proton is a delivery service for serverless and container-based applications. Proton enables platform teams to define templates that application teams consume. DevOps uses Proton to standardize delivery while maintaining developer velocity. 

Use Cases: 

• Platform standardization: Enforce security and compliance across teams. 

• Self-service delivery: Developers deploy approved templates without tickets. 

• Environment management: Separate dev/staging/prod per application. 

• Template versioning: Update platform templates without breaking apps. 

• Multi-runtime support: Standardize Fargate, Lambda, and ECS delivery patterns 

Conclusion 

Adopting DevOps practices is essential for modern software development, and Versich leverages AWS's comprehensive suite of AWS DevOps services to help teams build, test, deploy, and monitor cloud-native applications. From infrastructure automation with CloudFormation to continuous delivery with CodePipeline, we deliver expert implementation of these tools. Services like Lambda and X-Ray enable serverless application development alongside real-time performance monitoring, perfectly suited for SaaS organisations. 

Versich accelerates your AWS DevOps services adoption, with cloud-native pipelines to increase productivity, ensure audit-ready compliance, and transform software delivery from weeks to hours. Partner with us to operationalize your DevOps infrastructure