We use it as a subscription table for a constantly running process that pulls reports from search engine APIs (paid search data from google, for example). Each

We use it as a subscription table for a constantly running process that pulls reports from search engine APIs (paid search data from google, for example). Each SimpleDB Item represents an account for which we want search engine reports. The Item contains all the pieces necessary to tailor the API request for a specific account. When we need data for new accounts we just add them as new Items to SimpleDB, and the reports are picked up in the next run. Cheap, available to any EC2 instance, and we never have to worry about DB maintenance or failures.