Introduction

AWS Amplify is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of building, deploying, and managing cloud-enabled applications. In this article, I will share my experience of using AWS Amplify, highlighting its features, use cases, advantages, and disadvantages.

AWS Amplify Review Image

The only thing we want to highlight is the Authentication is much better to handle using 3rd party services like Clerk or other providers if you are a small team and want quick integration of things unless you want to have complex system of performing operations.

And also we faced few issues while using AWS amplify

We won't be able to write complex queries on table data like that of SQL Stored Procedures.
There are lot of issues related to data mismatch/ stale data between Dynamo DB and AWS Amplify portal in few cases in the case of Graphql API.
In many cases, if the data is large, subscriptions won't work properly.
Sometimes you feel that it is better to write your own set of APIs
In the case of Amplify Gen 1, we found it to be hectic to edit the Schema, which fails many times.
The Versioning will definitely cause lot of hectic work for developers if you are using any state management tool in the client side.
The Data migration will become massive overhead if you want the data to shift from AWS Dynamo DB to other SQL Databases.

Features

AWS Amplify offers a range of features designed to streamline application development and deployment. Some of the key features include:

Authentication: Provides user authentication and authorization capabilities.
Data Storage: Allows for easy integration with databases and data storage solutions.
API: Simplifies the creation and management of REST and GraphQL APIs.
Hosting: Offers a fully managed hosting service for web applications.
Analytics: Integrates with analytics services to track user behavior and application performance.

Use Cases

AWS Amplify is suitable for a variety of use cases, including:

Web and Mobile Applications: Ideal for building scalable and secure web and mobile applications.
Real-time Applications: Suitable for applications that require real-time data synchronization and updates.
Content Management Systems: Can be used to build custom content management systems with ease.
Serverless Applications: Supports serverless architectures, making it perfect for building applications without managing servers.

Review on AWS Amplify

Advantages

Here are some of the advantages I found while using AWS Amplify:

Advantage	Description
Ease of Use	The CLI and UI make it easy to set up and manage various AWS services.
Integration with AWS	Seamless integration with other AWS services like S3, DynamoDB, and Lambda.
Fast Deployment	Enables quick deployment of applications with a few commands.
Scalability	Automatically scales the backend resources based on the application needs.
Security	Built-in security features like multi-factor authentication and data encryption.

Disadvantages

Despite its many benefits, AWS Amplify has some drawbacks:

Disadvantage	Description
Learning Curve	Initial setup and configuration can be challenging for beginners.
Cost	Costs can quickly escalate with increased usage and additional services.
Vendor Lock-in	Heavy reliance on AWS services can make it difficult to switch to other providers.
Limited Customization	Some aspects of Amplify's managed services offer limited customization options.
Debugging	Debugging issues in a serverless environment can be more complex compared to traditional setups.

Conclusion

Overall, AWS Amplify is a robust platform that greatly simplifies the development and deployment of cloud-enabled applications. Its ease of use, integration with AWS services, and powerful features make it an excellent choice for many projects. However, potential users should be aware of the associated costs and the initial learning curve.

Additional Resources

For more information on AWS Amplify, you can refer to the following resources:

My Review of Using AWS Amplify