The cloud computing market generates $28 billion annually, and 40 percent of that revenue goes to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The next three largest providers — Microsoft, Google, and IBM — account for a combined total of 23 percent. The next 10 providers account for 18 percent of the market, leaving 18 percent for everybody else.[1]
Given this dominance, it’s not surprising that Amazon may have surpassed Google as the most feared corporate competitor. Amazon has been mentioned in 2,090 corporate conference calls with investors this year compared to 1,503 for Google. In 2016, the two companies were essentially even. Prior to last year, Google had led Amazon for over a decade.[2]
Some in the political world are unhappy with tech giants like Amazon and Google and want to see them more tightly regulated. But the brands of large technology companies remain extraordinarily popular with the general public.[3] Interestingly, the last time the tech companies suffered in the court of public opinion came when it was disclosed that they had cooperated with the government by providing private information to the National Security Agency (NSA).[4]
In the fourth quarter of 2016, Amazon Web Services accounted for 70 percent of the parent firm’s overall profit. Amazon was founded in 1994, but the Web Services were not created until 2006. AWS was "launched with little fanfare as a side business for Amazon.com." TechCrunch adds that "today, it’s a highly successful company in its own right."[5]
Footnotes:
- Statista, "Amazon Leads the Race to the Cloud," February 8, 2017
- Recode, "Amazon has replaced Google as the company that freaks out corporate America the most," October 11, 2017
- Wired, "What Tech Backlash? Google, Facebook Still Rank High in Polls," October 12, 2017
- YouGov BrandIndex, "30 days of change: Yahoo revamped," November 9, 2013
- TechCrunch, "How AWS came to be," July 2, 2016
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at the King’s College in New York and an Editor-At-Large for Ballotpedia, the Encyclopedia of American Politics. His most recent book, "Politics Has Failed: America Will Not," was published by the Sutherland Institute in May.To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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