What Is Amazon Q? Features, Pricing & Setup (2025)

Overview

In the context of strong digital transformation in Vietnam, leveraging AI technology to increase productivity and optimize development processes has become an essential requirement for every business. Amazon Q - AWS's new generation AI assistant - is opening up breakthrough opportunities for both developers and businesses on their cloud journey.

As an AWS Advanced Partner in Vietnam with over 50 AWS certified professionals, GENEXTECH SOLUTIONS is proud to bring you a comprehensive overview of Amazon Q and how to apply this technology to create a competitive advantage.

What Is Amazon Q?

Amazon Q is an AI assistant toolkit designed by AWS, launched in late 2023, and has been continuously expanding its features. Amazon Q is not just a simple code suggestion tool - it is a comprehensive AI ecosystem that helps increase productivity for both developers and business users.

Amazon Q includes 2 main products:

1. Amazon Q Developer (for Developers)

Amazon Q Developer is the successor and expansion of AWS CodeWhisperer, designed to support developers throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Key Features:

• Code Generation & Suggestions: Intelligent code suggestions based on project context, deeply integrated with IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Eclipse).

• Autonomous Agents: Perform complex tasks like implementing new features, refactoring code, or upgrading dependencies automatically.

• Code Transformation: Automatically upgrade frameworks (e.g., Java 8 → Java 17) or convert code between languages.

• Security Scanning: Integrated security scanning, detects vulnerabilities and suggests fixes.

• Chat Interface: Answers technical questions, explains code, and assists with debugging using natural language.

• AWS Integration: Interact directly with the AWS Console, CLI to manage infrastructure.

Real-world example: Amazon used Q Developer to upgrade 1,000 applications from Java 8 to Java 17 in just 2 days - a task that would normally take many months if done manually.

2. Amazon Q Business (for Business Users)

Amazon Q Business is an AI assistant for the workplace, helping employees retrieve information and complete tasks based on internal company data.

Key Features:

• Enterprise Data Integration: Connects to 40+ enterprise systems (Slack, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Salesforce, Jira, Google Drive, etc.).

• Permission-Aware Responses: Only responds based on data the user has permission to access, ensuring security.

• Natural Language Q&A: Ask questions in natural Vietnamese or English to find information across the entire system.

• Content Generation: Create reports, summarize documents, and automate tasks.

• Amazon Q Apps: Build custom low-code apps in just a few minutes.

Vietnam Case Study: ACB Securities (ACBS) implemented SMARTY - an AI investment analysis assistant built on Amazon Bedrock, integrated directly into the ACBS SMART application, providing real-time and contextual analysis for investors.

3. Amazon Q in QuickSight (Business Intelligence)

Integrates Q into AWS QuickSight to analyze data using natural language, create dashboards, and generate insights quickly.

• Service Tiers:

  • Author: $24/user/month - Connect data, create dashboards, use Q&A.

  • Author Pro: $50/user/month - Adds Generative BI, build dashboards using natural language.

  • Reader: $3/user/month - View dashboards, download data.

  • Reader Pro: $20/user/month - Adds Generative BI capabilities.

Amazon Q 2025 Pricing

Amazon Q has a per-user, per-month pricing model, making it easy for businesses to predict costs.

Amazon Q Developer Price

Amazon Q Business Price

Pricing Notes:

• Index Units: Amazon Q Business charges an additional fee for index capacity (connected data volume). This needs to be calculated before scaling.

• Enterprise Support: Pro tier includes AWS Enterprise-level Support.

• Billing: Based on actual usage, no long-term commitment.

How to Set Up Amazon Q

Hướng Dẫn Từng Bước Để Áp Dụng Amazon Q

Whether you plan to use Q Developer to supercharge your software team or Q Business to empower employees with data‑driven answers, following a structured adoption process ensures success.

Step 1: Assess Your Needs and Select a Plan

Begin by identifying who will use Q and what tasks they will perform. For developers focused on coding, start with Q Developer Free and upgrade to Pro once you hit usage limits or need advanced security and SSO. For enterprise chatbots and data analysis, evaluate Q Business Lite vs. Pro. The Lite plan offers basic Q&A and QuickSight integration at $3 per user/month, while the Pro plan adds Q Apps and advanced integrations at $20 per user/month. Calculate expected agentic requests and code transformations to choose the right tier.

Step 2: Set Up IAM and User Management

Create or update an IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS Single Sign‑On) instance to manage users. Assign each user to the appropriate Q subscription (Developer or Business, Free or Pro). The Pro plans include SSO integration via IAM Identity Center. Ensure policies allow q:InvokeAgent and other Q API actions. If you’re using Q Business, attach data source permissions so users can access only what they’re authorized to see.

Step 3: Connect Data Sources (Q Business)

For Q Business, select an index type (Starter or Enterprise) based on your storage and availability needs. Connect data sources such as Salesforce, Slack, Microsoft Exchange or S3 using AWS console connectors. Each connected data source consumes part of the index capacity; monitor usage to avoid hitting limits. Once data is indexed, Q can answer questions and generate reports across these systems.

Step 4: Install Q Developer in Your IDE or CLI

If you’re adopting Q Developer, install the Q extension or plugin in your IDE (e.g., Visual Studio Code). You can also access Q via the AWS Console or CLI. Use the chat interface to ask for code suggestions or debugging help. Start by submitting simple tasks, like “Add a logging function to this Lambda,” to see how the assistant responds.

Step 5: Experiment with Agents and Q Apps

Test Q Developer’s agents by asking for a code upgrade or automated refactor. For Q Business Pro, explore Q Apps: ask Q to create an HR onboarding app or a meeting scheduler. Evaluate how well Q handles multistep tasks and note any overages or performance issues.

Step 6: Monitor Usage and Optimize Costs

Use AWS tools (CloudWatch, Budgets, Cost Explorer) to track agentic requests, code transformation lines and index usage. If you’re nearing quotas, consider upgrading to Pro (Developer) or purchasing additional index units (Business). For Q Business, categorize queries by team to understand ROI and adjust subscriptions accordingly.

Amazon Q Optimization: Best Practices for Cost & Security

1. Cost Optimization

• Pilot before rollout: Test with a small group (5-10 people) to measure benefits and costs (especially index costs) before deploying company-wide.

• Smart Tier Allocation:

  • Core dev team: Use Q Developer Pro ($19).

  • Staff: Use Q Business Lite ($3).

  • Power Users (IT, PM): Use Q Business Pro ($20).

• Monitoring: Use AWS Cost Explorer to track monthly Q costs. Set up CloudWatch Alerts for "Index Units" costs.

2. Security & Compliance

• Data Privacy: Amazon Q does NOT use your business data (both code and documents) to train public models. Your data is encrypted and completely private.

• IAM Best Practices: Always follow the principle of least privilege when creating an IAM Role for Q Business to connect to S3 or other services.

• Use ACLs: Always enable the "Access Control Lists (ACLs)" feature when configuring data sources. This is key to ensuring that employee A cannot see employee B's documents.

6. Amazon Q App in Vietnam

• Financial Services (Banking, Securities):

  • Use Case: Investment Analysis Assistant, similar to ACBS SMARTY.

  • Benefits: Real-time market analysis, personalized investment recommendations, compliance with SSC regulations.

• E-commerce & Retail:

  • Use Case: Customer Support Automation.

  • Benefits: Integrate Q Business with order data (from Shopee/Lazada API), automatically answer questions about order status, return policy.

• Manufacturing:

  • Use Case: Legacy Modernization.

  • Benefits: Q Developer helps modernize legacy code to microservices. Q Business helps store documents, operating procedures for factory engineers.

• Startups & SMEs:

  • Use Case: Rapid Prototyping.

  • Benefits: Q Developer (Free Tier) helps non-technical founders build MVPs quickly. Cost-effective and easy to scale to Pro when the team grows.

FREE Cloud Security Assessment từ GENEXTECH

To kick-start your AWS & Amazon Q journey, GENEXTECH offers a FREE Cloud Security Assessment worth $5,000, including:

✅ Infrastructure status assessment

✅ Security compliance check

✅ Cost optimization recommendations

✅ Amazon Q readiness assessment

✅ Migration roadmap (if needed)

Contact now:

• 📞 Hotline: +84 38 569 4657

• 📧 Email: innovate@genextech-solutions.com

• 🌐 Website: https://genextech-solutions.com

7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Amazon Q

Q1: Does Amazon Q support Vietnamese? Yes. Amazon Q Business can understand and answer questions in Vietnamese, as well as process Vietnamese documents. Q Developer primarily uses English for technical queries but can understand Vietnamese comments in your code.

Q2: What is the actual cost of deploying Amazon Q for a team of 20 developers? If all use Pro Tier: $380/month (20 users x $19). However, you can combine: 5 core devs using Pro ($95) and 15 other devs using Free ($0). On average, a team of 20 devs can save thousands of dollars per month in labor costs, delivering a clear ROI.

Q3: Will Amazon Q replace developers? No. Q is an augmentation tool, not a replacement. It helps developers code faster, with fewer bugs, and focus on complex architectural decisions, instead of repetitive tasks.

Q4: How to ensure code from Q does not violate a license? Q Developer has a Reference Tracking feature. If a code suggestion matches an open-source code snippet, it will notify you and display the license info (e.g., MIT, Apache) for you to decide. The Pro tier also includes IP Indemnity (legal protection).

Q5: How long does it take to set up Amazon Q?

• Q Developer (IDE): 5-10 minutes to install and log in.

• Q Business (Basic): 1-2 days to set up IAM Identity Center and connect 1-2 data sources.

• Q Business (Production): 2-4 weeks (with partner support like GENEXTECH) to connect multiple complex systems, fine-tune ACLs, and train users.

Q6: What is the difference between Amazon Q and ChatGPT/Copilot? The main feature of Amazon Q is that it is designed for the enterprise. Q Developer understands your entire project and your AWS system. Q Business understands internal data and respects each employee's access rights. ChatGPT and Copilot (standard versions) do not have these security and enterprise integration features at this level.

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