With the Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Invent conference just days away, those of us with passes are geared up to go with our schedules fully mapped out, armed with our best guesses for which mystery artist will perform live at the re:Play party. We're also excited to learn about all the cool things that people are doing with AWS. Remember that every amazing story you hear will have begun with the same first step in the cloud - someone created an AWS account.

The API-driven, automated magic doesn't happen until you have created an AWS account, an IAM user, and some API access keys. This must be done manually for each account you create. Small organizations may only have a few accounts, but it's not uncommon for larger shops to have dozens or hundreds. They all need to be set up consistently to avoid problems.

One way to ensure you don't paint yourself into a corner is to create your AWS accounts using a standardized process that includes naming conventions and follows best practices. After working with more than a few enterprises to optimize their account strategies and structures I decided to document what works best end-to-end, and why each step is needed.

Enjoy this registration-free white paper on your flight to Vegas, and don't forget to pack an extra suitcase in your suitcase for all the swag.

http://scalesec.com/posts/AWSAccountSetup-BeyondTheBasics.html

See you there!

--Aaron

Aaron Wilson is Founder and Principal of Scalable Security, a security-first consulting organization and AWS partner. Learn more at scalesec.com.