I think this is hyperbole. Noone said he deserves all the credit - just that this guy's thinking was the missing ingredient that catapulted Amazon's IT departme

I think this is hyperbole. Noone said he deserves all the credit - just that this guy's thinking was the missing ingredient that catapulted Amazon's IT department to be at the forefront of a new industry. There were many big IT departments like that around, but theirs was the first to productize at such a level.