AWS Organizations
A service that allows users to manage multiple AWS accounts centrally.
Description
AWS Organizations is a service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enables users to consolidate multiple AWS accounts into an organization that they can manage centrally. This service is particularly useful for enterprises or businesses that require separate accounts for different departments, projects, or teams while still wanting to maintain governance and billing oversight. AWS Organizations allows administrators to create organizational units (OUs) to group accounts and apply policies, including Service Control Policies (SCPs), to manage permissions across accounts. Additionally, it facilitates consolidated billing, enabling organizations to receive a single bill for all their accounts, which can simplify cost management and potentially reduce overall spending through volume discounts. The service supports automation through AWS CloudFormation and AWS CLI, making it easier to deploy resources across multiple accounts. Overall, AWS Organizations streamlines account management, enhances security and compliance, and simplifies billing processes for organizations operating in the cloud.
Examples
- A large corporation like Netflix uses AWS Organizations to manage its various production and development environments across different teams in multiple accounts.
- A startup may set up AWS Organizations to separate its development, testing, and production environments to enforce stricter security and compliance measures.
Additional Information
- AWS Organizations supports a hierarchical structure, allowing up to five levels of nested organizational units.
- Service Control Policies (SCPs) can be used to manage permissions across accounts, providing a higher level of control over what services and actions are allowed.