Amazons Technology Services - Assignment Example

1) Amazon provides the S3 and EC2 technology services to its S3 or the Simple Storage Service is a data storage service that lets users store data ranging from 1 byte to several gigabytes. A data storage service is a service that lets users make use of Amazon’s server facilities to store user data. As mentioned above, users can store objects ranging in size from 1 byte to 5 gigabytes and there is no limit on the number of objects stored. Amazon charges the customers for use of its storage services and the pricing structure is competitive. The EC2 or the Elastic Computing Cloud Service is designed around the concept of third party users making use of Amazon’s computing power to power their applications and hence can be considered an authentic cloud computing application that lets users use Amazon’s servers for services ranging from user testing of software to performing mission critical tasks. There are many advantages of using Amazon’s technology services to users of these services. For instance, the users need not invest in expensive hardware and storage devices or ramp up their computing power facilities. These can be done using Amazon’s infrastructure by paying for the services alone. In this way, users of Amazon’s Web Services of AWS stand to gain in terms of the benefits afforded by these services. The disadvantages to business users are that there are issues concerning the downtime and outages that occur sometimes leading to loss of business for these consumers. Further, the absence of Service Level Agreements or SLA’s with Amazon means that they cannot enforce the contractual obligations with Amazon in the same way that makers and users of software bind each other to terms and conditions. Amazon’s services are simple to use, flexible, scalable, fast and reliable. If we take each of these advantages into consideration, we find that Amazon’s services rely on the linkage between the Amazon’s web services with the S3 and the EC2. The interoperability between the different web services is a source of competitive advantage to Amazon. Further, the fact that Amazon’s services are flexible and scalable according to the needs of the customers makes them robust as well as reliable. Though the last point is debatable considering that there have been several instances of outages with Amazon products, nonetheless, AWS and the services provided by Amazon come with backup facilities designed to restore the data for your applications in case of failure. The kinds of businesses that are likely to use Amazon’s services or the AWS are the medium and the small sized companies who do not have the capacity to invest in expensive infrastructure and need to ramp up their applications to the level demanded by the business needs. Hence, these businesses are likely to benefit from Amazon’s pricing model and its huge infrastructure to drive their application needs. 2) The concepts of capacity planning, scalability and TCO or Total Cost of Ownership apply to this case in so far as the use of AWS (Amazon Web Services) is considered by the users. Since the users of AWS can ramp up their scale of operation significantly, the concept of scalability is important from the point of view of both Amazon and the users. The users can meet their additional infrastructure requirements by making more use of AWS and Amazon can likewise provide these services to the customers by charging them more. Hence, one advantage of using AWS is that scaling up the operations is easy from the point of view of ease of use as well as the costs involved. Usually when businesses want to scale up their operations, they need to invest in critical infrastructure. However, for users using AWS this is taken care of by Amazon which provides these services at marginal additional cost. Capacity planning is likewise tied to the concept of planning for additional capacity to be brought on board and hence users of AWS can hope to plan for additional capacity or existing capacity using the pricing models offered by Amazon. Capacity planning entails projected use of assets and resources over a longer period of time and hence the users of AWS can indulge in capacity planning with the aid of Amazon and its model of outsourcing of infrastructure capacity. When companies indulge in capacity planning, they are making decisions as to how much infrastructure they need and the future demand for such services in the time frame under consideration. And it is here that Amazon with its scalable model and dynamic pricing can help the users in capacity planning. By using AWS or Amazon Web Services, the users can plan ahead for their capacity needs and hence ensure growth in their businesses. Finally, the concept of TCO or Total Cost of Ownership can be applied to Amazon and the users by calculating the cost of services that Amazon provides and the cost of the same from the point of view of the users. The TCO for users would be less from a marginal point of view when they use AWS and for Amazon, the TCO would be dynamic depending on the kind of services that the users demand from Amazon. 3) The companies that I have selected for analysis (upon searching the internet for companies providing utility computing services) are Dell, HP or Hewlett-Packard and newScale, Inc. These companies have a different business model as compared to Amazon and among the three companies that are being surveyed; only newScale, Inc. comes close to the business model of Amazon. The other two companies Dell and HP are primarily providers of utility computing for large scale customers or customers at the upper end of market that need utility computing on a grand scale as opposed to Amazon that can service clients at all levels. The reason for Amazon being able to scale up from lower end to higher end is that it primarily offers a web based model of utility computing that makes it easier for clients of all sizes to capitalize on the opportunities provided by Amazon. Whereas both Dell and HP service larger clients on a turnkey basis which means that they make use of extensive infrastructure support to service these customers. Among the companies surveyed, both Dell and HP provide the entire gamut of services associated with utility computing and cloud computing and the services range from data centre management to cloud computing and storage virtualization etc. The third company surveyed, newScale, Inc. provides services that are geared to towards retail or individual customers whereas Dell and HP primarily deal with corporate clients that are mid-sized and large sized. Amazon, on the other hand, has a highly scalable business model that can service companies of all sizes. If I were launching a web start-up business, I would chose Amazon over the other companies for web services as Amazon has the capability to service all kinds of businesses and further, a web start-up would benefit from the TCO being lesser in the case of Amazon. For instance, Amazon’s dynamic pricing model and provision of services that have the small businesses in mind makes it easier for web start-ups to benefit from Amazon’s services. If I were working for a larger company, I would choose either of Dell or HP as their business model is suitable for larger companies. Further, Amazon has a record of outages and downtimes for which it is still finding solutions to overcome the same. Hence, my choice for utility computing, if I were working in a large company would be influenced by these factors. Amazon’s Web Services use the client/server architecture and grid computing and cloud computing to run their services. This provides the clients with flexibility in choosing the OS (Operating System) as either Windows or Mac and also provides them with the option of using the Software as a Service (SAAS) model. The point here is that customers of Amazon’s services can utilize the benefits of AWS that is multi-platform as well as choose the hardware configuration that best suits their needs. This combination of flexibility and adaptability offered by Amazon is indeed its USP or Unique Selling Proposition as far as its services are concerned. 4) If I were thinking of launching a web-based start-up and would like to use AWS’ for S3 and EC2, the use of these services would be on the lines of servicing for data storage (back end) and computing power (front end). Any web based company that has the online presence business model has a requirement for data storage and it is here that S3 can be used to good effect. Usually, web based start-ups need data storage running into the terabytes and with Amazon’s dynamic pricing model, my company would certainly be at an advantage when using S3. Further, S3 combines the benefit of lower TCO with scalability which means that capacity planning can be smooth when using AWS. The fact that Amazon’s AWS is tightly integrated with the web based model of computing would make the process easier for web based start-ups. A web based start-up can also use EC2 for its computing functions. Since Amazon has built up huge computing power and is ready to provide the same for a fee, web based start-ups need not invest in expensive infrastructure and only need to ensure that they pay for the computing power provided by EC2 and in the process gaining several benefits. The computing power provided by EC2 can be used to power the processes and functions needed by web based start-ups on the front end of the application. Hence, a web based start-up can make full use of the capabilities provided by S3 and EC2. Of course, the issues that plague AWS from time to time like outages that result in downtime need to be addressed as well. Hence, my web based start-up would have some spare computing and storage capacity with which I can manage during the downtime. However, the absence of an SLA (Service Level Agreement) would hinder my operational factors to an extent. Hence, my web based start-up would be well advised to factor in these as a means of hedging against possible outages. Finally, as pointed out in the previous sections, a web based start-up is the ideal customer for AWA and S3 and EC2 provided by Amazon as the business model of Amazon is tailored for the start-ups. References Cloud Automation and Management Software for IT as a Service. (2010, Oct 03). Retrieved Oct 06, 2010, from NewScale.com: http://www.newscale.com/index.html Data Storage Products and Solutions. (2010, Oct 01). Retrieved Oct 06, 2010, from HP.com: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/prodserv/storage.html Laudon J and Laudon K. (2010). Management Information Systems, Managing the Digital Firm. New York: Pearson. Servers, Storage and Network Switches. (2010, Oct 02). Retrieved Oct 06, 2010, from Dell.com: http://www.dell.com/us/en/enterprise/enterprise/ct.aspx?refid=enterprise&s=biz&cs=555&~ck=mn Read More