5 ms·

"Selling books to selling computing on demand... That was a big leap, and the most profit generating "pivot" I can think of." is it a pivot if that was the int

by jeron 9y ago

"Selling books to selling computing on demand... That was a big leap, and the most profit generating "pivot" I can think of." is it a pivot if that was the intention from the start?

joncrane 9y ago
AWS was never an intention from the start. Some Amazonian in the mid 2000s saw the opportunity, wrote a three-pager about it, Jeff Bezos agreed, and now we have AWS.
- drewmate 9y ago
  I’d be interested in reading more about this. That employee changed Amazon’s future (and indeed the future of computing in general) immensely. I hope he/she was fairly compensated and relaxing on a beach far from Seattle now.
  - philk10 9y ago
    Try this blog post - http://blog.b3k.us/2009/01/25/ec2-origins.html http://blog.b3k.us/2009/01/25/ec2-origins.html
  - pmiller2 9y ago
    I wonder what the actual likelihood of that is. The stock has increased at least 20x since 2008, so, assuming the employee had options beginning in 2004, they could have made a decent amount of money off that.
  - scarface74 9y ago
    Here you can find an interview of the Amazon CTO back in 2006. http://www.se-radio.net/2006/12/episode-40-interview-werner-vogels/ http://www.se-radio.net/2006/12/episode-40-interview-werner-...
dalbasal 9y ago
I would say so, but that's mostly semantics. Define "pivot" however you like :) But, I don't think amazon of the 90s "planned" on aws in any meaningful way.
mrkstu 9y ago
Doubtful. Too far down the pike. What Amazon is great at is turning its own infrastructure needs into revenue instead of a cost- Marketplaces (White labeling it's shopping market) AWS (Digital Infrastucture) Shipping/Transport (FBA (Fulfillment) first, now SWA (Shipping)) It also leverages revenue streams, to open new markets: Prime Shipping -> Prime Video/Music, Pantry That doesn't even include Fire/FireTv/Alexa ecosystem plays. They have been playing for keeps while others inch along with incrementalism.
- reaperducer 9y ago
  > What Amazon is great at is turning its own infrastructure needs into revenue instead of a cost Let's hope that it decides to offset the cost of all those planes hauling its boxes around the country by selling tickets to paying passengers. It could be Spirit Airlines, but without the terrible customer service, terrible conditions, and nickel-and-diming of its customers. All we want is a safe, reliable, solid, FAIRLY PRICED airline ticket. Do you hear me, Jeff? Hello? Is this thing on?
  - tjr225 9y ago
    Anecdotally, I have never had an issue flying spirit and have done so on many occasions. They have a couple cheap direct flights from KC - Detroit/Chicago (family is right in between) and seasonally Portland - Detroit that are mega cheap
    - reaperducer 9y ago
      I had a Spirit flight to Charlotte that never took off. I ended up having to cancel my trip entirely. And the interwebs are full of Spirit horror stories. Also, conventional wisdom is to not fly Spirit if you're of average height or above.
      - tjr225 9y ago
        I'm 6'1" and I've been uncomfortable on every flight I've ever been on as an adult that was coach...not really special to Spirit.

by jeron 9y ago

"Selling books to selling computing on demand... That was a big leap, and the most profit generating "pivot" I can think of." is it a pivot if that was the intention from the start?

joncrane 9y ago

AWS was never an intention from the start. Some Amazonian in the mid 2000s saw the opportunity, wrote a three-pager about it, Jeff Bezos agreed, and now we have AWS.

drewmate 9y ago
I’d be interested in reading more about this. That employee changed Amazon’s future (and indeed the future of computing in general) immensely. I hope he/she was fairly compensated and relaxing on a beach far from Seattle now.
- philk10 9y ago
  Try this blog post - http://blog.b3k.us/2009/01/25/ec2-origins.html http://blog.b3k.us/2009/01/25/ec2-origins.html
- pmiller2 9y ago
  I wonder what the actual likelihood of that is. The stock has increased at least 20x since 2008, so, assuming the employee had options beginning in 2004, they could have made a decent amount of money off that.
- scarface74 9y ago
  Here you can find an interview of the Amazon CTO back in 2006. http://www.se-radio.net/2006/12/episode-40-interview-werner-vogels/ http://www.se-radio.net/2006/12/episode-40-interview-werner-...

dalbasal 9y ago

I would say so, but that's mostly semantics. Define "pivot" however you like :) But, I don't think amazon of the 90s "planned" on aws in any meaningful way.

mrkstu 9y ago

Doubtful. Too far down the pike. What Amazon is great at is turning its own infrastructure needs into revenue instead of a cost- Marketplaces (White labeling it's shopping market) AWS (Digital Infrastucture) Shipping/Transport (FBA (Fulfillment) first, now SWA (Shipping)) It also leverages revenue streams, to open new markets: Prime Shipping -> Prime Video/Music, Pantry That doesn't even include Fire/FireTv/Alexa ecosystem plays. They have been playing for keeps while others inch along with incrementalism.

reaperducer 9y ago
> What Amazon is great at is turning its own infrastructure needs into revenue instead of a cost Let's hope that it decides to offset the cost of all those planes hauling its boxes around the country by selling tickets to paying passengers. It could be Spirit Airlines, but without the terrible customer service, terrible conditions, and nickel-and-diming of its customers. All we want is a safe, reliable, solid, FAIRLY PRICED airline ticket. Do you hear me, Jeff? Hello? Is this thing on?
- tjr225 9y ago
  Anecdotally, I have never had an issue flying spirit and have done so on many occasions. They have a couple cheap direct flights from KC - Detroit/Chicago (family is right in between) and seasonally Portland - Detroit that are mega cheap
  - reaperducer 9y ago
    I had a Spirit flight to Charlotte that never took off. I ended up having to cancel my trip entirely. And the interwebs are full of Spirit horror stories. Also, conventional wisdom is to not fly Spirit if you're of average height or above.
    - tjr225 9y ago
      I'm 6'1" and I've been uncomfortable on every flight I've ever been on as an adult that was coach...not really special to Spirit.