What does AWS Lambda allow you to do?

AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that enables you to run your code in response to various events without having to provision or manage servers. This means that you can focus solely on writing the code and defining the triggers that will invoke it, such as changes in data, modifications to files in Amazon S3, or events from Amazon DynamoDB, among others.

When you use AWS Lambda, it automatically scales your application by running code in response to each event. This approach allows for a pay-as-you-go model where you are billed only for the compute time you consume, eliminating the overhead of maintaining servers and infrastructure. This efficiency is a key benefit of using AWS Lambda, making it ideal for building applications that require quick responses and scalability.

In contrast, the other options focus on functionalities that do not align with AWS Lambda’s primary purpose. Building virtual servers pertains to services like Amazon EC2, storing large amounts of data relates to Amazon S3 or Amazon EBS, and providing real-time analytics is more associated with services such as Amazon Kinesis or Amazon Redshift. Thus, the first option most accurately reflects the capabilities of AWS Lambda.