Amazon workspaces
Amazon Workspaces

In comes Amazon Workspaces. Just in case you're bored with my writing, I'll give you a preview of my conclusion:
It's a no-go for me, and my team.
What are the benefits?
So, on the surface, this looks like a pretty good idea. Amazon provides an environment that is designed for various computer environments. You open a remote desktop session, and interact with a computer in the cloud. Performance is good, there are multiple configurations to choose from, and you have access to this thing from anywhere you've got internet access on any device you might have at hand. Sounds great, right?
What is this thing in practice?
For me, everything else was downhill.
Pricing
We did a little quick math. My organization pays $X per Lenovo desktop. I know the retail price, I'm sure the corporate price is much better, but I'll just look at what I know. Anyway, we pay $X to buy a dev laptop. Amazon, annually, charges more per dev box image subscription. Sure, it's not more per year, but it's that same price every year. I've been working on my current laptop for three years. Going through Amazon, my organization would have had to purchase the same laptop at a slightly higher price, 3 times over.
Specs
Ok, so, if my company is willing to pay the dollars, who am I to argue? The specs on the image are much more of a problem.

Wrap up
As I mentioned before, this thing is a no-go for me. Does it perform well? Can I access it anywhere? Is it stable and reliable? Who cares? If I can't run the tools I need, if my devs can't run the tools that they need, there's no need for further conversation.
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