Every time a new object is added to a specific Amazon S3 bucket, the company needs an automated email alert and a database record inserted. Which design is the MOST operationally efficient way to achieve both tasks?

This design is most operationally efficient because S3 event notifications directly trigger when an object is added, eliminating polling. Using an SNS topic as the target allows for fan-out, meaning a single S3 event can trigger multiple actions. One SNS subscription can directly send an email, and another can invoke a Lambda function for database insertion, cleanly separating concerns and leveraging managed services. Incorrect options: CloudWatch alarms are for metric thresholds, not direct S3 object creation events, making it an inappropriate and inefficient trigger. Polling S3 every minute with EventBridge is inefficient and introduces latency, as it doesn't react immediately to object creation. While two separate S3 event notifications targeting two Lambda functions would work, using SNS for fan-out is generally more scalable and manageable for multiple subscribers to the same event, especially if more actions are added later.