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I think beyond it simply being difficult to compete with AWS and Microsoft, the more specific reason is that those providers (plus the smaller ones that are pro
by Aqueous 11y ago
I think beyond it simply being difficult to compete with AWS and Microsoft, the more specific reason is that those providers (plus the smaller ones that are probably also thriving) all support pretty much any language / configuration you can throw it them, so the barrier of entry is too high. For a new PaaS start-up to compete you'd need automate the provisioning and deployment of dozens of different languages out of the gate, or support at least one of these stacks much, much better than any of the existing PaaS too, such that it makes it the obvious choice for that language. WPEngine would be an example of a PaaS that specializes in a single stack better than any of the multi-stack players. Heroku too started off as a PaaS specialist for Ruby on Rails, and now has expanded to supporting many languages and configurations. If you specialize you have a shot at besting AWS or Azure - if your goal is to support all of the existing stacks plus new ones, then forget it.
- lnanek2 11y agoNot to mention you have to beat their prices too. AWS and Microsoft are expected to keep prices low to keep out competition.
- analognoise 11y agoOr are they leveraging their resources to provide a capable service at a lower cost? Two huge players (and other competition) seems like a healthy space, unless they're colluding.
- icebraining 11y agoColluding to keep prices low? Usually it's the other way around.
- saryant 11y agoNot actually arguing that this is what's happening, but they could collude to keep prices low so that the resulting small profit margin doesn't provide any room for newcomers. Straight out of the Standard Oil playbook actually.
- icebraining 11y agoThe argument against Standard Oil was that it kept prices low until their competitors went out of business or were cheap to acquire, and then raised prices as a monopolist. Simply keeping prices low to keep the competition away is just competitive markets working - there's no benefit to consumers in the entrance of new suppliers if they will offer the same product at the same or higher price.
- analognoise 11y agoIirc Walmart was found NOT to be a monopoly because after they depressed prices, they stayed low. Ianal, ymmv on these statements.
- MCRed 11y agoI've priced this out and I don't think that AWS prices are "low". I think it would be easy to set up a PaaS and undercut AWS. The challenge to doing that, though, is the need to build software, the cost of marketing it so people are aware of it, etc.