Visiting Amazon CTO: Flexibility is key to success

Flexibility in customer relations is the key to the success of Amazon Web Services, visiting Amazon Chief Technology Officer Dr. Werner Vogels said Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, Vogels said Amazon requires no commitment from users of its Cloud computing platform, even though its clientele includes US government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and successful Internet businesses, such as Instagram and Pinterest.

Traditionally, Cloud providers have ruled customer relationships, locking buyers into long-term commitments and causing them to feel as if they lack control, Vogels said. He explained that Amazon took a more flexible approach because of its philosophy that it would only be successful if its customers are successful.

“If we are not meeting our promises, the customers can always walk away,” he said, “and that’s how it should be. We should be on our toes.”

Vogels listed “low cost” as another attractive element of AWS, saying that Amazon has lowered prices 20 times in the past five years without any competitive pressure.

“We did that because we believe it’s the right thing to do, and our goal is to eventually drive the cost of our services down to a point where you no longer have to think about it,” he said. If this can be achieved, “then we can drive such tremendous innovation and everybody can start pursuing their dreams.”

Vogels noted that many Israeli firms use Amazon Web Services, explaining that a range of companies, such as Waze Mobile, have been successful “purely because their use of web services allows them to scale fast.”