SQS provides a fully managed message queuing service that allows for asynchronous communication between distributed components of an application. It offers features like redundant infrastructure, configurable settings per queue, access control and long polling. SQS promotes loose coupling between application components by allowing them to communicate without requiring that they be available at the same time. It also enables scaling of application components independently through load sharing and asynchronous message processing. Common uses of SQS include work queues, batching operations, request offloading, and fanout patterns for scalability and reliability.