AWS Well-Architected Framework Checklist: what does a consultancy evaluate in your environment?
Many companies migrate to AWS, get the application up and running, and never again review whether that environment follows the best practices recommended by AWS itself. The Well-Architected Framework exists precisely for this: it is the set of principles that AWS uses to evaluate whether an architecture is secure, reliable, efficient, and has costs under control. Understanding the six pillars helps you know what to expect from an evaluation of this kind.
What is the Well-Architected Framework?
The Well-Architected Framework is a methodology created by AWS itself to review cloud architectures based on six pillars. It is not a product, it is a structured checklist that certified architects use to identify risks, waste, and improvement opportunities in an existing environment.
Companies that go through a Well-Architected Review often discover problems that never showed up as incidents, but that represent real risk, in addition to finding concrete cost reduction opportunities. Operational excellence
This pillar evaluates how the company runs, monitors, and improves its cloud operation processes. A consultancy looks at whether there are automations for repetitive tasks, whether there is visibility into what is happening in the environment, and whether the team can respond to changes without depending on manual, error-prone processes.
Security
The security pillar evaluates the protection of data, systems, and assets in the cloud. This includes identity and access management, encryption of data in transit and at rest, network segmentation, and the ability to detect and respond to security events quickly. Reliability
Reliability measures the system’s ability to recover from failures and meet expected demand. This includes concepts such as redundancy across availability zones, backup and disaster recovery strategies, and recovery testing. A reliable environment does not depend on luck to stay online.
Performance efficiency
This pillar evaluates whether compute, storage, and network resources are correctly sized for the workload. A consultancy checks whether the company is using the appropriate instance type, whether the architecture scales automatically when necessary, and whether there are performance bottlenecks that could already have been resolved.
Cost optimization
This is the pillar that usually generates the most visible and quickest return. The evaluation identifies idle resources, oversized instances, unused volumes, and opportunities to use more economical purchasing models, such as reserved instances or Savings Plans, without compromising performance.
Sustainability
The framework’s most recent pillar evaluates the environmental impact of the cloud workload, encouraging the efficient use of resources as a way to reduce the energy consumption associated with the operation.
How does a Well-Architected Review work in practice?
The evaluation begins with interviews and a technical assessment of the current environment, cross-referencing what exists today with the best practices of each pillar. The result is a report with the identified risks, prioritized by impact and urgency, along with concrete correction recommendations. Companies that are already AWS Advanced Partners, such as CloudDog, have access to the official AWS program to conduct these reviews, which often includes additional benefits for the end customer, depending on the project’s eligibility.
Why is it worth going through this evaluation?
In addition to reducing technical and security risks, a Well-Architected Review usually pays for itself quickly through the cost savings identified. It is an objective way to know whether the environment your company built on AWS really follows the recommended best practices, or whether there are gaps that will only appear at the worst possible moment.
CloudDog is an AWS Advanced Partner and has already conducted more than 400 cloud projects. Learn about our AWS Cloud Consulting service and schedule a Well-Architected evaluation of your environment with our certified architects.
