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Harvard Business School Publishing Link: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/699827
Amazon Web Services Questions
The Amazon Web Services case fits well with the content about competitive advantage that you are reading in
chapter 3. Please feel free to use that chapter’s content as you answer the questions from the case study. The
questions are based on the content of the case study. You should approach the analysis of the case by reading
through the case and answering the questions that I provide below. Please do not include material about Amazon
beyond the case study dates – the case ends in 2008.
Feel free to use chapter 3 to help frame your answers about competitive advantage but you do not need to consult
any other literature to respond to the questions:
What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)?
What needs did Amazon fulfill for their customers when AWS was launched?
Draw a timeline for the company (AWS) from 2003 to 2008 and identify how their services grew over that time period.
Why is AWS so important to Amazon as a company?
During the 2003 – 2008 period, did they make a profit?
What is the projected value of the cloud services market that is cited in the case study?
Who are the main competitors to AWS and which of these competitors are also customers of AWS?
How did they use traffic and other data from Associate sites to drive sales?
Do you believe their low price for services to AWS customers helped or hindered the company?
How did Amazon use AWS for competitive advantage (please consult chapter 3 to respond to this question) and
comment on the relationship they established with:
Customers
Suppliers
Competitors
Please answer the questions as an individual assignment.