AWS CloudWatch Adds User Monitoring & A/B Testing

Amazon CloudWatch Enhancements Announced at AWS re:Invent

Introduced in 2009, Amazon CloudWatch initially served AWS customers by providing visibility into their cloud resource utilization and associated costs. During this week’s AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, Amazon’s cloud division unveiled several key improvements to the platform.

New User Monitoring Capabilities

Amazon has progressively expanded the scope of data offered through CloudWatch. A significant addition is the introduction of user monitoring functionality. With Real User Monitoring (RUM), AWS clients can proactively detect potential issues following a deployment and implement corrective measures before a widespread impact on end-users occurs.

According to a blog post by Amazon’s Jeff Barr, CloudWatch RUM facilitates the collection of metrics essential for identifying, understanding, and optimizing user experience. Implementation is straightforward: register your application and integrate a small JavaScript snippet into the header of each webpage.

While not a groundbreaking innovation in itself, this capability mirrors features long offered by companies like AppDynamics and New Relic. However, Amazon delivers a comprehensive, integrated experience for customers operating within the AWS ecosystem, providing insights into potential problems with AWS applications.

CloudWatch Evidently: A New Experimentation Tool

Another new feature is CloudWatch Evidently, a tool designed to assist developers in managing feature flags and conducting A/B tests within applications built on AWS. Instead of universally deploying updates, developers can now validate changes with a limited user group.

This allows for controlled testing to identify potential disruptions or gauge user preference for new features or design elements. Developers can define feature flags within their code and configure the parameters governing feature visibility.

Furthermore, A/B testing enables comparison of different features or designs among specific user segments to determine optimal performance and user acceptance. Similar feature flag management solutions have been available from companies like Split.io for some time.

Availability and Pricing

CloudWatch Evidently is currently available in nine Amazon cloud regions, utilizing a pay-as-you-go pricing model. CloudWatch RUM is also available now, supporting ten regions at a cost of $1 per 100,000 events collected.

Companies like Optimizely have specialized in A/B testing for a considerable period. These new additions to CloudWatch aim to consolidate these functionalities within the AWS platform.