AWS Consulting Service
Cloud Application Development on AWS
Build production AWS applications using Lambda, ECS, EKS, API Gateway, AppSync, and EventBridge with multi-account architecture, least-privilege IAM, and IaC from day one.
What is cloud application development on AWS?
Architecture-first. Security by default. Code you own.
Cloud application development on AWS is the process of designing and building production applications on AWS compute, data, and networking services using serverless functions (Lambda), containers (ECS Fargate, EKS), REST and GraphQL APIs (API Gateway, AppSync), event-driven messaging (EventBridge, SQS, SNS), and managed data layers (RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB). Forged Concepts designs the architecture before writing the first line of infrastructure code: multi-account AWS Organizations with Control Tower for isolation, least-privilege IAM with no wildcard policies, secrets in Secrets Manager rather than environment variables, and Terraform or AWS CDK modules your team owns. The result is a cloud application with the architectural foundations to scale, pass audits, and be maintained by future engineers who weren't in the original design meeting. Founded in 2018, Forged Concepts has built cloud-native applications across multi-tenant SaaS, HIPAA-regulated healthcare, PCI DSS-scoped fintech, and FERPA-compliant education each with the account isolation, least-privilege IAM, and audit trail that compliance requirements demand.
Day 1
Code in your repo, not ours
Zero
Wildcard IAM policies in production
Multi-Account
Isolation as standard
100%
Infrastructure defined as code
What we deliver
Every layer of your AWS application, production-ready.
- REST, GraphQL, and WebSocket APIs (API Gateway / AppSync) REST APIs with Lambda proxy integrations and WAF protection, GraphQL APIs with real-time subscriptions, WebSocket APIs for bidirectional features.
- Serverless functions (Lambda) and container workloads (ECS Fargate / EKS) compute choice driven by your workload's latency, throughput, and operational profile, not a default template.
- Event-driven architecture (EventBridge / SQS / SNS) decoupled service communication with replay capability, dead-letter queues, and observability built in from the start.
- Multi-account AWS Organizations with Control Tower. Non-production environments (dev and staging) share an account to keep costs down, with production isolated separately. Accounts can be split further when the workload warrants it.
- Data layer (RDS / Aurora / DynamoDB) with encryption and backups relational, NoSQL, and caching layers selected for your workload with KMS encryption at rest and automated backup schedules.
- Security-first IAM (least privilege) + Secrets Manager no wildcard policies, no shared credentials, secrets rotated automatically and never stored in environment variables.
- Reusable Terraform / CDK modules checked into your repos every resource version-controlled, peer-reviewed, and runnable by your team after the engagement ends.
How we work
Four steps from blank page to production handoff.
Architecture design + tech stack selection
We map your workload requirements to AWS services before writing a line of infrastructure code: compute model, API pattern, data layer, IAM structure, and multi-account layout. You get a written architecture document before implementation begins.
Infrastructure provisioning (multi-account, VPC, IAM, IaC)
We build the AWS foundation: Organizations, Control Tower, account structure, VPC networking, IAM baselines, and Terraform or CDK modules for every resource. All code lands in your repository via pull requests from day one.
Application build + integration
APIs, Lambda functions, ECS or EKS services, event-driven flows, and data layer integrations are built and wired together. Every integration is tested in staging before any change touches production.
Testing, observability, and handoff
We configure CloudWatch dashboards and alarms, distributed tracing with X-Ray, and runbooks for every operational procedure. We walk your team through the architecture in a recorded session and hand over complete ownership.
Code you own
No proprietary tooling. No vendor lock-in. No black boxes.
All Terraform modules, CDK stacks, and CI/CD pipeline configuration live in your repository from day one. No proprietary tooling, no vendor-specific abstraction layer, no lock-in to Forged Concepts. When the engagement ends, you have everything you need to understand, extend, and operate your own environment. Your engineers can read every resource definition, run every plan, and modify every module without coming back to us.
That is the standard for every Forged Concepts engagement not a premium add-on.
Version-controlled
Every AWS resource is a pull request. Rollback is a git revert. Drift is detected automatically.
Peer-reviewed
All infrastructure code goes through code review before merge the same standard as application code.
Runnable by your team
Documented, modular, and designed to be understood by engineers who weren't in the original design meeting.
Who this is for
The situations that bring teams to this engagement.
You're building a SaaS product and need SOC 2 compliance from the architecture up, not retrofitted six months before your audit.
Your Lambda functions are growing into an unmanageable tangle of shared IAM roles and hardcoded environment variables.
Your API was designed for one customer and now needs multi-tenancy account isolation, per-tenant data, and audit logs.
Everything lives in one AWS account: dev, staging, and production all sharing IAM and resources.
Your team knows the application but has never designed multi-account AWS architecture or multi-tenant IAM.
You need HIPAA, PCI DSS, or FERPA-compliant infrastructure, not just a checklist of services you're allowed to use.
Your IaC exists but only one person understands it, and that person is leaving or already left.
Forged Concepts has built cloud-native applications for SaaS, healthcare, fintech, and education companies. Senior engineers only. The person writing your Terraform is the person on your call.
FAQ
Common questions about cloud application development on AWS.
What is the difference between AWS API Gateway and AWS AppSync?
API Gateway is AWS's managed REST and HTTP API service best for REST APIs, webhooks, and proxy integrations. AppSync is AWS's managed GraphQL service best for applications that need flexible queries, subscriptions (real-time updates), and a single API endpoint for multiple data sources. Forged Concepts implements API Gateway for REST APIs and AppSync for GraphQL-first applications, particularly SaaS products with complex data requirements.
What is AWS EventBridge?
AWS EventBridge is a serverless event bus that routes events between AWS services and applications. Instead of services calling each other directly, they emit events that other services subscribe to, decoupling producers from consumers. EventBridge is the backbone of event-driven architectures on AWS: order placed → payment processed → inventory updated → notification sent, all without the services knowing about each other.
What is AWS Control Tower?
AWS Control Tower automates the setup of a multi-account AWS environment with governance guardrails: pre-configured SCPs (Service Control Policies), CloudTrail logging, Config rules, and account vending for new environments. It enforces the security baseline across every account in your AWS organization without manual configuration. Forged Concepts uses Control Tower as the foundation for new multi-account environments.
Should I use serverless (Lambda) or containers (ECS/EKS)?
Lambda is ideal for event-driven workloads, APIs with variable traffic, and background processing no servers to manage, and you pay per invocation. ECS Fargate is better for long-running workloads, consistent traffic patterns, and applications that need more control over the runtime environment. EKS (Kubernetes) adds portability and the Kubernetes ecosystem but increases operational complexity. Forged Concepts recommends Lambda-first for new API workloads and ECS for services that don't fit the Lambda execution model.
What is least-privilege IAM?
Least-privilege IAM means every service, function, and user has exactly the AWS permissions it needs nothing more. A Lambda function that reads from one S3 bucket should not have s3:* permissions. Forged Concepts audits IAM policies, removes wildcard actions, and scopes resource ARNs to the minimum required. This reduces the blast radius of any compromised credential or misconfiguration.
Do you build multi-tenant SaaS applications?
Yes. Forged Concepts designs the tenant isolation model that fits your compliance and scale requirements: account-per-tenant (strongest isolation, higher overhead), VPC-per-tenant (strong isolation, shared account), or shared infrastructure with app-level isolation (most cost-efficient, requires careful application design). The isolation model affects SOC 2 scope, cost per tenant, and operational complexity.
What IaC tools do you use?
Forged Concepts primarily uses Terraform for infrastructure as code it has the most mature module ecosystem, multi-cloud support, and is familiar to most platform teams. AWS CDK is used for teams with strong TypeScript or Python engineering backgrounds who want to define infrastructure in code rather than HCL. Both result in version-controlled, reviewable infrastructure definitions that your team owns.
What AWS services do you build on?
Compute: Lambda, ECS Fargate, EKS, EC2. APIs: API Gateway (REST/HTTP), AppSync (GraphQL). Messaging: EventBridge, SQS, SNS. Data: RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, ElastiCache. Storage: S3. Security: IAM, Secrets Manager, KMS, WAF. Networking: VPC, ALB, CloudFront, Route 53. DevOps: GitHub Actions, Terraform, AWS CDK, CodePipeline. Observability: CloudWatch, X-Ray, Datadog.
Ready when you are
Need senior AWS expertise without building a full internal team?
Forged Concepts helps growing companies improve AWS performance, control cloud costs, modernize infrastructure, and build with confidence. If your team needs stronger cloud architecture, better operations, or a clearer path forward on AWS, let's talk.