🧩Exam Guide: Cloud Practitioner
Domain 3: Cloud Technology & Services
📘Task Statement 3.8
🎯 What Is This Task Testing?
This objective checks whether you can pick the right AWS service for common scenarios across several categories:
Application Integration (EventBridge, SNS, SQS)
Business Applications (Amazon Connect, Amazon SES)
Customer Enablement/Support (AWS Support, AWS IQ, AMS, Activate)
Developer Tools (build, deploy, CI/CD, troubleshooting)
End-user Computing (AppStream 2.0, WorkSpaces, WorkSpaces Web/Secure Browser)
Frontend Web & Mobile (Amplify, AppSync)
IoT (IoT Core, IoT Greengrass)
1) 🔁 Application Integration
Messaging & Events
These services help systems communicate without being tightly coupled.
Amazon Simple Notification Service
Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) is a publish/subscribe notification service.
Use Amazon SNS When:
- you need to send alerts/notifications to many subscribers
- you want fanout (one message to multiple recipients/services)
“send notifications,” “alert many systems/users” → SNS.
Amazon Simple Queue Service
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a message queue for decoupling components.
Use Amazon SQS When:
- you need to queue work for asynchronous processing
- you want to buffer spikes and process messages reliably
“queue messages,” “decouple components,” “worker processes jobs from a queue” → SQS.
Amazon EventBridge
Amazon EventBridge is an event bus for routing events between services and applications.
Use Amazon EventBridge When:
- you need event-driven architecture (route events based on rules)
- you want to integrate AWS services and SaaS/app events with filtering/routing
“event bus,” “route events,” “trigger based on events” → EventBridge.
2) 📞✉️ Business Application Services
Amazon Connect
Amazon Connect a cloud contact center service.
Use Amazon Connect When:
- you need a customer service call center/contact center
- you want scalable inbound/outbound customer communications
“contact center,” “call center,” “customer support calls” → Amazon Connect.
Amazon Simple Email Service
Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) a scalable service for sending and receiving email.
Use Amazon SES When:
- you need to send transactional or marketing emails from applications
- you want an AWS-managed email sending service
“send emails from app,” “transactional email,” “bulk email” → SES.
3) 🧭 Customer Enablement & Support
AWS Support
Use AWS Support When:
- you need technical support plans and access to AWS guidance/escalations
- the question asks for “AWS customer support” or “support plan”
“support plan,” “technical assistance from AWS” → AWS Support.
AWS IQ
Use AWS IQ:
- you need to hire vetted AWS experts/contractors for help on a project
“hire an AWS expert/consultant” → AWS IQ.
just fyi 👇
End of support notice: On May 28, 2026, AWS will discontinue support for AWS IQ. After May 28, 2026, you will no longer be able to access the AWS IQ console
AWS Managed Services (AMS)
Use AWS Managed Services When:
- you want AWS (and partners) to operate and manage AWS infrastructure on your behalf
“outsourced operations,” “AWS runs ops” → AMS.
AWS Activate for Startups
Activate is great for when a startup wants credits, training, and resources to get started on AWS
“startup program,” “AWS credits for startup” → AWS Activate.
4) 🛠️ Developer Tools
Build, Deploy, and Troubleshoot
This group often appears as CI/CD and developer productivity.
AWS Cloud9
Cloud-based IDE for writing, running, and debugging code.
“cloud IDE” → Cloud9.
just fyi 👇
AWS Cloud9 is no longer available to new customers. Existing customers of AWS Cloud9 can continue to use the service as normal.
Now, there is AWS Kiro!
A super cool cloud IDE for writing, running, and debugging code, you should definitely expirement with Kiro whenever you get time, you currently get perpetual 50 credits per month to use the IDE. Kiro probably won't be mentioned in the exam, but I recommend that you know about it and build with it. You won't regret it.
AWS CloudShell
Browser-based shell with AWS CLI preconfigured.
“run CLI commands from the console” → CloudShell.
AWS CodeCommit
Managed source control (Git repositories).
“host private Git repos” → CodeCommit.
just fyi 👇
Back in July 2024, we announced plans to de-emphasize AWS CodeCommit based on adoption patterns and our assessment of customer needs. We never stopped looking at the data or listening to you, and what you’ve shown us is clear: you need an AWS-managed solution for your code repositories. Based on this feedback, CodeCommit is returning to full General Availability, effective immediately. - by Anthony Hayes on 24 NOV 2025
So basically, AWS CodeCommit was discontinued, but they decided to bring it back again.
AWS CodeBuild
Managed build service (compile, test, package).
“build/test code” → CodeBuild.
AWS CodeDeploy
Automates deployments to compute targets.
“automated deployments” → CodeDeploy.
AWS CodePipeline
CI/CD orchestration to automate steps (source → build → test → deploy).
“pipeline,” “automate release workflow” → CodePipeline.
AWS CodeArtifact
Managed artifact repository for software packages/dependencies.
“store and share build artifacts/packages” → CodeArtifact.
AWS CodeStar
Helps set up and manage a development project quickly (project templates/integration).
“quickly set up a dev project with CI/CD” → CodeStar.
just fyi 👇
AWS ended support for AWS CodeStar projects on July 31, 2024.
AWS AppConfig
Helps manage and deploy application configuration changes safely.
“feature flags/config deployments” → AppConfig.
AWS X-Ray
Distributed tracing to analyze and debug microservices and request flows.
“trace requests,” “find latency bottlenecks” → X-Ray.
5) 🖥️ End-User Computing
Desktops, Apps, and Browsers
Amazon WorkSpaces
Managed virtual desktops.
Use Amazon Workspaces when users need a cloud desktop environment.
“virtual desktop” → WorkSpaces.
Amazon AppStream 2.0
Stream applications to users without them installing the app locally.
“stream a desktop application” → AppStream 2.0.
Amazon WorkSpaces Web / WorkSpaces Secure Browser
Provide secure, managed access to web apps through a controlled browser experience.
“secure browser for accessing web apps” → WorkSpaces Web/Secure Browser.
Exam Friendly Distinction:
- Full desktop → WorkSpaces
- Stream individual apps → AppStream 2.0
- Secure managed browser for web apps → WorkSpaces Web / Secure Browser
6) 📱 Frontend Web and Mobile Services
AWS Amplify
Tooling and managed services for building and deploying full-stack web/mobile apps.
“deploy a web/mobile app quickly,” “frontend + backend integration” → Amplify.
AWS AppSync
Managed GraphQL service for building flexible APIs (often for web/mobile apps).
“GraphQL API” → AppSync.
7) 🌐 IoT Services
AWS IoT Core
Connects and manages IoT devices and enables them to communicate with AWS.
“connect/manage IoT devices,” “device messaging” → IoT Core.
AWS IoT Greengrass
Extends AWS to edge devices for local compute, messaging, and data processing.
“process data locally on devices,” “edge computing for IoT” → IoT Greengrass.
✅ Quick Exam-Style Summary
- Alerts/notifications to many subscribers → SNS
- Queue work for asynchronous processing → SQS
- Event-driven routing via an event bus → EventBridge
- Contact center/call center → Amazon Connect
- Send email from applications → Amazon SES
- AWS technical support plan → AWS Support
- Hire AWS experts → AWS IQ
- AWS operates your environment → AMS
- Startup credits/resources → AWS Activate
- CI/CD pipeline orchestration → CodePipeline
- Build/test code → CodeBuild
- Automated deployments → CodeDeploy
- Git repositories → CodeCommit
- Trace and debug distributed apps → X-Ray
- Virtual desktop → WorkSpaces
- Stream apps to users → AppStream 2.0
- Secure managed browser → WorkSpaces Web / Secure Browser
- Build/deploy web & mobile apps → Amplify
- GraphQL APIs → AppSync
- Connect/manage IoT devices → IoT Core
- Run IoT workloads at the edge → IoT Greengrass