AWS Re:Invent 2015 is now a memory -- a good memory for Amazon Web Services fans and a bad memory for AWS’s competition.
Other providers in the market hoped that AWS would slow down or stumble. That’s not happening -- AWS had the right list of cloud services from the start, and it's been expanding them in the right order as the latest Re:Invent has shown, from the Internet of things to improvements in container management.
Once upon a time, some of us thought AWS would have trouble getting into Global 2000 companies because its sales approach did not mesh well with enterprises that required a high-touch selling process. But AWS adapted, and now AWS is systemic to most cloud strategies in large corporate IT shops. Four years ago, who'd have thunk it?
What is the secret to AWS’s success? Here are two reasons:
- AWS does not rest on its laurels. Despite the success of S3 storage and EC2 computing, AWS also released hundreds of other cloud services. Those services may be good or bad, but the continuous innovation means AWS always has fresh ideas, which resounds with its small-business and enterprise customers alike.
- AWS remains fast and innovative. Big companies always slow down eventually. Look at the the other larger enterprise software providers. The culture becomes stagnant, and the smarter, more innovative people leave for work that’s more fun. Knowing that, AWS took steps to cultivate a culture that functions like a lot of little startups. Although it’s not for everyone, it attracts those who need to keep moving and look to move fast.
The market is still growing and continues to have a huge potential. AWS will own a lot of the market in the future, as it does today. Other innovative cloud providers such as Google and Microsoft, who are respectively in second and third place behind AWS, are finding their niches. They will see rapid growth over the next few years, along with AWS. In fact, they may enjoy faster growth rates than AWS, though they will still trail AWS in market share.
History is unfolding in front of us, as we watch the cloud providers make their moves to reinvent IT. AWS is at the forefront of that historic shift.