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If AWS was ever found to be "leaking" information to Amazon the retailer/logistics company from the services that it sells, it would be the end of AWS. They ar

by rswail 8y ago

If AWS was ever found to be "leaking" information to Amazon the retailer/logistics company from the services that it sells, it would be the end of AWS. They are certified under HIPAA and PCI/DSS in terms of their isolation of customers data from other customers and their infrastructure management. Anyone who thinks they would deliberately attempt to steal customer data is beyond paranoia.

andy_ppp 8y ago
I think it's fine to be paranoid about such things, I personally wouldn't give all my data to Amazon in this way and the services terms and conditions can easily change.
ignoramous 8y ago
What might happen is AWS might reveal "insights" or KPIs that might help its parent company Amazon, though I think it is highly unlikely since Amazon and AWS are in different businesses (as of now at least... as they converge around AI for Alexa/Robotics/Logistics, things might get interesting). It happened to 3p sellers on Amazon whose sales performance were indicators for Amazon to start AmazonBasics and other private-label offerings specifically targeted toward regions, market segments, and products with none of the downsides (survey the market, popularity index, demand forecasting, demographics) and all of the upsides (like getting preferential treatment in search result, upselling via various Amazon channels, homepage placement etc).
- stef25 8y ago
  Haven't supermarkets been doing this for ages? For example noticing that more people are buying gluten free pasta that costs 3x the price of normal pasta and then deciding putting out their own brand GF pasta that's just 2x the price. With a bit of effort anyone can find products on Amazon that sell well (there's services that will do this) and then try to compete with those products. Amazon undoubtedly has more insights than those services provide, but that's probably not what makes or breaks their Basics products. Their strength is probably their manufacturing costs being much lower than the average 3p startup seller and the brand itself. I don't know why by I love these Basics lines that are being produced by Amazon, Zalando etc. They're positioned perfectly between "brands that are overpriced" and "Chinese brands selling probably crap products with probably fake reviews". I have Amazon basics towels, camera tripod, water filter, toiletry bag and more.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > With a bit of effort anyone can find products on Amazon that sell well (there's services that will do this) and then try to compete with those products. Amazon undoubtedly has more insights than those services provide, but that's The fact that they can make sure it makes is prominent in any search result in the category, even for a competing product, is what makes it, combined with the fact that it's the one thing on Amazon you can be 100% sure isn't counterfeit, size no one else can sell it so there is no risk of commingling. It's nice that Amazon has found a way to trade on the unreliability of their own marketplace, and to leverage dominant market power in online into marketshare in any particular product market they choose. Great for Amazon, that is; not so sure it's good for anyone else.
    - hopler 8y ago
      Worse, by monitoring transactions, they know exactly how shitty (er, "Basic") a product can be before returns outweigh sales, without paying the cost of experimentation with their own manufacturing.
tramGG 8y ago
Paranoid or not, why would I trust a potential competitor with the centralization and management of all my information?
- dx034 8y ago
  The reason to be cautious is because they could raise prices or cancel your contract at their will. But as long as you are able to change providers by the time the current contract expires (which can be several years for large corporate clients), you're fine. A reason not to use AWS as a competitor of Amazon is that you wouldn't want to give them cash they can invest in their other business lines.
hopler 8y ago
Funny you mention AWS, because the strategy you describe is exactly how the Amazon Basics line is built, by usurping marketplace sellers.

by rswail 8y ago

andy_ppp 8y ago

I think it's fine to be paranoid about such things, I personally wouldn't give all my data to Amazon in this way and the services terms and conditions can easily change.

ignoramous 8y ago

What might happen is AWS might reveal "insights" or KPIs that might help its parent company Amazon, though I think it is highly unlikely since Amazon and AWS are in different businesses (as of now at least... as they converge around AI for Alexa/Robotics/Logistics, things might get interesting). It happened to 3p sellers on Amazon whose sales performance were indicators for Amazon to start AmazonBasics and other private-label offerings specifically targeted toward regions, market segments, and products with none of the downsides (survey the market, popularity index, demand forecasting, demographics) and all of the upsides (like getting preferential treatment in search result, upselling via various Amazon channels, homepage placement etc).

stef25 8y ago
Haven't supermarkets been doing this for ages? For example noticing that more people are buying gluten free pasta that costs 3x the price of normal pasta and then deciding putting out their own brand GF pasta that's just 2x the price. With a bit of effort anyone can find products on Amazon that sell well (there's services that will do this) and then try to compete with those products. Amazon undoubtedly has more insights than those services provide, but that's probably not what makes or breaks their Basics products. Their strength is probably their manufacturing costs being much lower than the average 3p startup seller and the brand itself. I don't know why by I love these Basics lines that are being produced by Amazon, Zalando etc. They're positioned perfectly between "brands that are overpriced" and "Chinese brands selling probably crap products with probably fake reviews". I have Amazon basics towels, camera tripod, water filter, toiletry bag and more.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > With a bit of effort anyone can find products on Amazon that sell well (there's services that will do this) and then try to compete with those products. Amazon undoubtedly has more insights than those services provide, but that's The fact that they can make sure it makes is prominent in any search result in the category, even for a competing product, is what makes it, combined with the fact that it's the one thing on Amazon you can be 100% sure isn't counterfeit, size no one else can sell it so there is no risk of commingling. It's nice that Amazon has found a way to trade on the unreliability of their own marketplace, and to leverage dominant market power in online into marketshare in any particular product market they choose. Great for Amazon, that is; not so sure it's good for anyone else.
  - hopler 8y ago
    Worse, by monitoring transactions, they know exactly how shitty (er, "Basic") a product can be before returns outweigh sales, without paying the cost of experimentation with their own manufacturing.

tramGG 8y ago

Paranoid or not, why would I trust a potential competitor with the centralization and management of all my information?

dx034 8y ago
The reason to be cautious is because they could raise prices or cancel your contract at their will. But as long as you are able to change providers by the time the current contract expires (which can be several years for large corporate clients), you're fine. A reason not to use AWS as a competitor of Amazon is that you wouldn't want to give them cash they can invest in their other business lines.

hopler 8y ago

Funny you mention AWS, because the strategy you describe is exactly how the Amazon Basics line is built, by usurping marketplace sellers.