Categories Amazon Pinpoint

Why AWS Native Tools Make Netcore Obsolete: A Cost-Saving Guide for SMBs

Office desk with a laptop showing code and AWS analytics, illustrating cost-saving tools for SMBs in a modern workspace.

AWS native tools are revolutionizing marketing operations for small and medium businesses. Small business establishments, not large corporations, accounted for 40% of total expenditure of $141 billion on AWS dominated public cloud by 2019. The numbers make sense given AWS’s cost advantages.

Small and medium businesses can use aws cloud native tools like Amazon Pinpoint and Amazon SES rather than paying premium prices for platforms like Netcore. These tools handle all marketing automation needs effectively. AWS Marketplace has economical solutions ready for quick deployment. The pay-as-you-go pricing model helps businesses optimize their spending. They can redirect resources to core activities that accelerate growth and give them a competitive edge.

This piece will show why SMBs are moving away from Netcore. We’ll get into aws-native marketing tools as alternatives and provide a practical roadmap. The goal is to help businesses transition to a more economical cloud infrastructure.

Why SMBs Are Moving Away from Netcore

Small and medium-sized businesses struggle with Netcore’s pricing structure. The company hides its pricing from public view and asks potential customers to contact them for customized quotes. Businesses find it nearly impossible to compare costs with competing solutions. This lack of transparency creates major obstacles during vendor evaluation.

Netcore’s Pricing and Feature Limitations for SMBs

Netcore’s complex pricing structure goes well beyond the advertised base rates. What looks like a detailed solution at a competitive price turns out to be a simple package that needs expensive upgrades. The final cost depends on several factors beyond the advertised rates:

  • Monthly rates change based on contract length commitments
  • Penalties apply when minimum send volume requirements aren’t met
  • Advanced capabilities need feature activation fees
  • Support tiers come with different levels of assistance
  • Overage charges kick in after hitting data storage limits

Challenges in Scaling Netcore for Growing Businesses

Netcore poses serious technical hurdles for growing businesses. Many companies see performance degradation as their user base grows, despite claims of being a flexible platform. Businesses must buy higher-tier packages to maintain steady performance when API response times slow during peak traffic.

Hosting options remain limited. ASP.NET Core works across platforms, but many providers prefer PHP, Node.js, or Python stacks. Small SaaS startups end up with fewer affordable hosting choices. Many SMBs have no choice but to opt for pricier VPS or cloud hosting solutions.

Lack of Smooth Integration with AWS Ecosystem

AWS’s ecosystem shines bright when it comes to integration capabilities. AWS works smoothly with other major providers right out of the box. Netcore’s API documentation falls short – developers often find it “limited and too technical”. This makes implementation a real challenge.

AWS native tools make perfect sense for businesses already using AWS services. Resources adjust automatically based on current and predicted traffic. Teams can activate and deactivate these resources within minutes. Operations become streamlined through automation. Teams can focus on strategic priorities instead of getting bogged down by technical maintenance.

AWS Native Tools That Replace Netcore Functions

Diagram illustrating AWS Lambda use cases in eShop architecture integrating services like API Gateway, Cognito, DynamoDB, and S3.

Image Source: Manjula Liyanage

AWS native tools can replace Netcore’s functions with better pricing and tighter AWS ecosystem integration.

Amazon Pinpoint for Customer Engagement and Campaigns

Amazon Pinpoint helps businesses connect with customers through email, SMS, push notifications, and voice. The service has simple pricing compared to Netcore’s complex model. You can run targeted campaigns and track results through complete delivery metrics. Teams can define target audiences, create message content, schedule optimal delivery times, and analyze campaign performance. The platform activates customer data immediately to improve campaign management agility.

Amazon SES as a Scalable Email Marketing Platform

Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) is a cloud-based platform that handles high-volume email automation as an alternative to Netcore’s email marketing. SES costs nothing for the first 62,000 emails each month, with a rate of $0.10 per 1,000 emails after that. The service lets you send targeted marketing campaigns, newsletters, and promotional content worldwide. SES helps maintain clean mailing lists through bounce management and provides excellent deliverability thanks to Amazon’s infrastructure.

AWS Lambda for Event-Driven Marketing Automation

AWS Lambda replaces Netcore’s marketing automation by running code without server setup or maintenance. Charges apply only when code executes in response to triggers like form submissions or social media events. This serverless approach costs less than Netcore’s subscription model, especially for seasonal campaigns, since you pay for actual usage.

Amazon SNS for Real-Time Notifications

Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) manages application-to-person notifications for SMS texts, push notifications, and email. Authorized entities can publish messages to specific subscribers through topic-based filtering. SNS responds instantly to system events and user interactions with immediate messaging capabilities.

Amazon Connect for Customer Support Integration

Amazon Connect reshapes customer service operations with its cloud-based contact center platform. The service combines intelligent routing, immediate analytics, and individual-specific customer interactions at lower costs than traditional solutions. Connect’s email features help teams prioritize, assign, and automate customer service email resolution in a unified omnichannel environment.

Cost-Saving Benefits of AWS Cloud Native Tools

Table outlining cloud cost models Pay-As-You-Go, Reserved, and Spot Instances with their best use cases for cost efficiency.

Image Source: TierPoint

AWS native tools provide more financial benefits than just reduced subscription costs compared to Netcore.

Pay-as-You-Go Pricing vs Netcore Subscription Plans

AWS uses a utility-based pricing model that charges you only for the services you use, with no need for long-term contracts or complex licensing. Small and medium businesses can stay flexible and adapt quickly to market changes without committing large budgets. Your operations can scale based on needs, which eliminates the risk of overprovisioning that comes with Netcore’s fixed subscription plans.

Serverless Architecture Reduces Infrastructure Costs

The largest longitudinal study shows companies using AWS serverless technologies cut their yearly costs by 35%. These savings come from maintenance costs dropping by 54%, infrastructure setup costs decreasing by 48%, and application development expenses reducing by 19%. Your business pays only when functions run instead of maintaining servers that sit idle.

Unified Billing and Resource Sharing Across Services

AWS Organizations gives you consolidated billing at no extra cost. You get one complete bill for multiple accounts and share volume pricing discounts through combined usage. Small and medium businesses can track expenses for multiple services easily through the unified Billing and Cost Management console.

Free Tier and Budget Alerts with AWS Budgets

New users receive $100 in credits and can earn another $100 by completing specific tasks. AWS Budgets watches your usage and alerts you at 85% of Free Tier limits, giving you excellent cost control. Ready to start saving? Sign up with CampaignHQ today.

How SMBs Can Transition from Netcore to AWS

Diagram showing AWS cloud migration architecture with replication agents, servers, EC2 instances, and secure data transfer protocols.

Image Source: AWS

AWS provides immediate benefits and economical marketing automation solutions for SMBs looking to switch from Netcore. You can start your trip to AWS today with CampaignHQ and see these advantages yourself.

Step-by-Step Migration from Netcore to Amazon Pinpoint

Set up an AWS account and Amazon Pinpoint to get started. Pinpoint lets you connect with customers through multiple channels – push notifications, emails, SMS, and voice messages. Your first task is to define audience segments using application-reported data or import existing segments from other systems. The next step is to create messaging campaigns that deliver custom content based on your schedule.

Data Import and Contact List Management in AWS

Amazon SES gives you resilient infrastructure to manage your contact databases. Each contact list can have multiple topics (interest groups). You get one contact list per AWS account, and it supports up to 20 topics. Here’s how to move your Netcore contacts:

  1. Upload contacts to Amazon S3 in CSV or JSON format
  2. Use CreateImportJob operation to import up to 1 million contacts at once
  3. Set subscription priorities for each contact

Setting Up Email Workflows with Amazon SES

Amazon SES helps you create email workflows after importing your contacts. The ListContacts operation finds subscribers for specific topics, while the SendEmail operation sends your campaigns. SES handles unsubscribe management by:

  • Generating bounce events for messages sent to unsubscribed contacts
  • Adding footer unsubscribe links with the {{amazonSESUnsubscribeUrl}} placeholder

Monitoring Campaigns with CloudWatch and Cost Explorer

CloudWatch and Cost Explorer work together to track your campaign success. CloudWatch monitors delivery rates, bounces, and user engagement. Cost Explorer shows detailed AWS spending patterns. This combination helps you measure marketing impact and control costs effectively.

Conclusion

Moving from Netcore to AWS native tools gives SMBs the most important chance to find budget-friendly marketing solutions. AWS offers transparent pricing models that do away with hidden costs and scaling limits found in Netcore. Without doubt, AWS has built a complete ecosystem that meets all marketing needs. This ecosystem combines Amazon Pinpoint for customer outreach, SES for email marketing, Lambda for automation, SNS for notifications, and Connect for customer support.

The money you save goes beyond simple subscription costs. You pay only for what you use with pay-as-you-go pricing. The serverless setup cuts down infrastructure costs by removing idle server expenses. On top of that, AWS’s unified billing makes financial management easier across multiple services. Budget tracking becomes straightforward and available to everyone.

SMBs that use Netcore now should look at the step-by-step migration path we covered earlier. A successful switch needs proper planning, data transfer, workflow setup, and performance tracking. Want to see these cost savings yourself? Sign up with CampaignHQ today and begin your AWS migration trip with expert help.

This change to AWS native tools means more than just saving money. Your business gets the flexibility, scalability, and uninterrupted integration it needs to grow. SMBs can now put their money into core business activities instead of expensive marketing platforms. This gives them an edge over competitors in their markets. The days of expensive, unclear pricing are gone. AWS native tools now give modern SMBs the freedom and clarity they need.

FAQs

Q1. How can AWS native tools help SMBs save costs compared to Netcore?
AWS native tools offer pay-as-you-go pricing, eliminating the need for long-term contracts or complex licensing. This allows businesses to pay only for services they actually use, reducing overprovisioning risks and providing more flexibility to scale operations up or down as needed.

Q2. What AWS services can replace Netcore’s marketing automation functions?
AWS offers several services that can replace Netcore’s functions, including Amazon Pinpoint for customer engagement and campaigns, Amazon SES for email marketing, AWS Lambda for event-driven marketing automation, Amazon SNS for real-time notifications, and Amazon Connect for customer support integration.

Q3. Is it difficult to migrate from Netcore to AWS for marketing operations?
While migration requires careful planning, AWS provides a straightforward process. Steps include setting up Amazon Pinpoint, importing contact lists to Amazon SES, establishing email workflows, and using CloudWatch and Cost Explorer for monitoring campaigns and costs. With proper guidance, the transition can be smooth and beneficial.

Q4. What are the main advantages of using AWS’s serverless architecture for marketing?
Serverless architecture significantly reduces infrastructure costs by eliminating the need to maintain idle servers. Businesses only pay for function invocations, resulting in lower maintenance costs, decreased infrastructure setup efforts, and reduced application development expenses. This can lead to substantial savings, especially for seasonal campaigns.

Q5. How does AWS handle email list management and unsubscribe processes?
AWS SES offers robust list management capabilities. You can create a contact list with multiple topics, import existing contacts, and specify subscription preferences. SES automatically manages unsubscribes by issuing bounce events for messages sent to unsubscribed contacts and adding footer unsubscribe links to emails.