Which AWS service automates the movement and transformation of data?

AWS Data Pipeline is designed specifically for the automation of the movement and transformation of data across various AWS services and on-premises data sources. It allows users to define data workflows that can regularly copy, process, and transform data without manual intervention. This service is particularly useful for scenarios where data needs to be moved from one location to another, transformed into a different format, or aggregated for analytical purposes.

The flexibility of AWS Data Pipeline enables you to set up data-driven workflows that can accommodate a range of data processing tasks, from simple ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) jobs to more complex processing chains that involve multiple steps and dependencies. This makes it a powerful tool for managing data workflow scenarios efficiently and reliably.

In contrast, AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that executes code in response to events; while it can facilitate some data processing tasks, it does not specifically manage the movement and transformation of data in the same systematic way. Amazon S3 is primarily a storage service used for storing objects, and while it integrates with data processing tools, it does not automate data movement or transformation itself. Amazon EC2 provides scalable computing capacity but does not inherently focus on automating data workflows. Therefore, AWS Data Pipeline clearly stands out as the correct choice for