Amazon.com understands that customers care about the security of private information. Amazons Privacy Notice provides customers with the information that the company receives from them, and how it is used. This company uses Secure Sockets layer (SSL) software to encrypt customers data (Smith, 2004). It also sends email updates to customers to create awareness and inform them about any changes it makes.
Amazon.com seeks legal consultation from regulations governing cloud computing, and hence complies with the law. For instance, the law protects the customers data from being disclosed to any third party. Amazon keeps less confidential data on the virtual servers and the most important in secure places. The company reveals very few digits of a credit card number during confirmation of orders. It encourages customers to sign off from their website after accessing data to protect unauthorized people from accessing their accounts.
Plan methods to manage systems development
First, project managers should evaluate the existing system by interviewing customers in order to identify deficiencies. The second step is to define the new management system requirements, in relation to the existing management systems by proposing measures that can improve them. The third step is to design the proposed system. This should involve laying out plans related to physical construction, hardware, security issues including legal and privacy aspects, system operations, communication, and programming among others.
The fourth step is to develop the new system. The project managers should ensure that they obtain, install the new programs and components after training the users. The fifth step is to put the system into action, or use. The last step is to evaluate the new system after observing how it operates. Organizations using the system should emphasize on high maintenance standards and ensure that the users get periodic updates with regard to transformations in the new system.
Reference
Smith, G. E. (2004). Control and security of e-commerce. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Amazon.com is an e-commerce company whose headquarter is located in Seattle, Washington in the U.S. It is rated as one of the major and first internet-based companies.
How the internet has reduced geographic limitations
Looking at its location, (Seattle, Washingtons Beacon Hill), and with a wide range of products it deals with, coupled with a high demand for its products in the world market, we have to appreciate the role played by the internet service in ensuring that the company achieves its goals. This has helped to reduce the geographical barrier which could have hindered its expansion to reach the world market demand.
Due to the internet service, one does not need to travel to the U.S to find the catalog containing the Amazon.com products or wait for it to be mailed to him, but it is possible to access everything including the new products via the internet. With high, market demands the company opened up large-sized centers across the globe where it has employed software developers. Such international locations include England, Scotland, India, South Africa, Romania, and China, (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
How the internet has helped in the compression of time
With the internet service, customer needs not send such things as the inquiry notes, purchase orders, or send for the catalog which could take a lot of time and cost much. What he needs is just to access the internet, get the catalog from there, and if possible make the purchase there and then using a credit card. With some of its services and products offered in electronic and downloadable form, one just needs to settle his payments and download the product, unlike in cases where one has to settle the payment through money order then wait for the shipment of the goods which could make a big deal of time.
How the internet has assisted in the growth of niche product spaces
Amazon.com has a storage service called Amazon S3. This service enables the storage of data objects ranging from 1 byte to 5 gigabytes. With this in place, it implies that the company can store products ranging from books, music in MP3 format, newspapers, magazines, computer software, video games, and other electronic products, thus offloading the cost of storing the products in warehouses or stores. If a customer needs the printed or recorded form of the products it is very easy to download and put them in the desired form.
How the internet has assisted in the availability of resources
The internet service has helped to reduce strain on the scarce resources, especially when it comes to products like books, newspapers, and magazines, which rely entirely on natural resources to get the papers for printing.
How the internet has helped in scalability
As the demand to advertise, stores, and access to goods and services increase, it means that the developers of computer applications or products have to come up with hardware and software (with the ability to retain performance levels with additional processors) to be used in the operating system so as to handle such large data contents.
Amazon started from a low economic background when it commenced its operations as an online bookseller in 1994. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, operated under the proclamation of becoming big fast. He understood the unexploited affluence of the Internet when he began the company. Jeff and his spouse settled for Seattle as the prime location for the firm since it was the center of technological advancement and would not tax many clients attributable to the sparse population of Washington. The earliest operations of the company happened in a garage. Most investors were doubtful about the companys continued success, and some believed it would ultimately go bankrupt (GreyB, 2021). On the contrary, Amazon has continued to rise in the industry and has expanded from selling only books to trade in nearly any product and providing various services.
In 1997, Amazon had its Initial Public Offering, where the company obtained over 50 million dollars. The amount raised through the public offering gave the corporation a face value of more than 430 million dollars. In 1998, it extended beyond books to incorporate music compact discs and, eventually, electronics, toys, and tools (DePillis & Sherman, 2021). In 2007, Amazon initiated the Kindle e-book reader, followed by the Fire in 2011. In 2006, Amazon established cloud computing packages, a studio in 2010, and the online marketplace for artistry in 2013. It has also purchased several businesses over the years, including Audible.com, Ring, Twitch.tv, Alexa.com, IMDB.com, AbeBooks, Goodreads, Whole Foods Market, Annapurna Labs, Kiva Systems (now known as Amazon Robotics), and Zappos. The management of Amazon should make amicable resolutions to identified problems and mitigate possible risks to ensure that the corporation maintains its leading position in the online market.
Business Profile
Amazon, the worlds major online store, is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Three chief executive officers lead Amazon. Jeff Bezos acts as the companys top executive officer, while Jeff Wilke and Andy Jassy serve as the companys global consumer and web services CEOs, correspondingly. The chief financial officer is Brian Olsavky, while Werner Vogels is the chief technology officer (Cuofano, n.d.). Jeff Bezos has segmented the company into three divisions: Amazon online services, marketplace, and Amazon Prime. He refers to them as the businesss three masts. Although Amazon began as a book-selling site, it quickly extended into other sectors, for instance, consumer technology, cloud computing, logistics, entertainment, and media, boosting its value to over a trillion dollars in a short time.
One of Amazons strengths is that it does not stagnate but has developed throughout time and experimented with new ideas. Therefore, Fast Business magazine named it the most inventive company in 2017, and Forbes rated the corporation as the third most advanced in the same year. It was also ranked third on the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys list of innovative businesses in 2017, just behind Nvidia and SpaceX (GreyB, 2021). Amazon is obsessed with one thing: its consumers. The firm is focused on meeting its consumers needs and requests. Consequently, it has experimented with novel services, products, and any item that the management considers useful to its customers. Amazons online supply is the companys lifeblood. This solid basis enables the company to experiment with other sectors, for example, web operations, advertising tasks, and Amazon prime, all of which are far more lucrative than the online store.
Many consumers are uninformed that Amazon now provides more than merely selling books. The advertising unit is a juggernaut and one of the few that can strongly compete with Facebook and Google. The advertising division created 6 billion dollars in the first half of 2018. With Amazons robust structure and breadth of offerings, more businesses are ready to pay for promotion facilities. Amazon Prime has been a subscription service that offers unlimited free delivery, film, music, and TV program streaming, boundless reading collections, special bargains, and savings on groceries, among other benefits. In addition, Amazon has started delivering security gadgets to Volvo, Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick vehicles to combat design theft (D&B Hoovers, n.d.). These vehicles are required to be of the 2015 model year or later. While this service is not currently available everywhere, premium members have access to it in 37 cities.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) began as an experiment in 2000 and evolved into a business worth more than $17 billion in 2017. Amazon recognizes the promise of web services and has taken a firm stance toward AWS. Amazon launched over 80 new services and features in 2011, increasing to 160 in 2012 and close to 300 in 2013. The company has ten AWS areas worldwide, including a dedicated government zone called GovCloud. Amazon Web Services was the companys most profitable business in 2017. Its highest revenue emanated from providing computers, databases, storage, and other amenities to government organizations, companies, and learning institutions. Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle are Amazons major competitors in this area (Chaffey, 2021). As earlier stated, Amazon commenced its public operations in 1997. It is a Bullish-rated stock ranked on Nasdaq under the consumer services group. Its ticker symbol is AMZN, and in January 2019, the stock price was about 1,671 dollars per share, valuing the company at 816,000 million dollars. Amazons market capitalization surpassed one trillion dollars in September 2018 (Amazon, n.d.a). On the same note, the companys share price peaked at $2,051 per share. Amazons share price has increased more than 11,200 percent since its first public offering.
Amazon has continuously increased its income throughout the years. Its revenue was $89 billion in 2014 and grew to $233 billion in 2018, a remarkable 162 percent rise. The company lost $241 million in 2014 but subsequently became profitable in subsequent years. Its net income was 10 billion dollars in 2018. Over the years, Amazon has continually invested in its assets. From $56 billion in 2014 to $163 billion in 2018, the company has risen significantly (Amazon, n.d.b). As seen in its report of cash flows, the firm has not been stingy with its investments and capital expenses. The net investment cash flow represents an outflow, indicating that the firm spent over what it got in 2014. The company used or invested 6 billion dollars in 2014; by 2018, that figure had increased more than twofold to $13 billion. It invested significantly higher in 2017, approximately 27 billion dollars.
Overview
Amazon was started in Washington in 1994 before reconsolidating in Delaware in 1996. Amazon has strengthened its selling mechanism in its SEC Form 10K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (Amazon, 2018). The corporation is led by four ideologies: a customer-centric style instead of a competitor-focused approach, a craving for creativity, a commitment to operational distinction, and long-term performance. The firm serves its major client bases in each category, including consumers, merchants, developers, enterprises, and content providers. Additionally, the firm offers various services, including advertising and co-branded credit card agreements (Amazon, n.d.a). This diverse range of services benefits people, industrialists, small enterprises, artists, filmmakers, and large institutions every day. Amazons brands, including the Kindle and Amazon Echo Dot, encompass speech recognition and application development for audio and video services. AWSs client base grew exponentially after its launch, as it now serves numerous companies, government agencies, learning institutions, start-ups, and developers.
Amazon employs nearly 570,000 full-time and temporary staff, resulting in quarterly and yearly revenue growth over the last three years. Additionally, the companys development was aided by the 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods Markets. According to Amazon Incs 2017 financial report, the company earned $230 billion in the fiscal year 2018 and boosted revenues by 31 percent in one year. As of December 31, 2018, the stock was trading on NASDAQ under the ticker AMZN for $874B a share. In 2016, the shares lowest value was $475, and its uppermost price was over $870B (Amazon, n.d.a). Amazons primary competitors include Alibaba Group Services Limited, Apple Inc, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The Importance of Cybersecurity
Any firm with an online presence must protect itself against cyber-attacks. In this rapidly changing era of technical advancements, exponential development, and unprecedented dangers, businesses should manage their threat exposure from cybersecurity risks and attacks. Amazon is unusual in that it must protect against cyber threats and give cybersecurity solutions to its consumers (Morgan, 2017). AWS offers a range of computing services to its diverse customer base. GuardDuty was launched by Amazon in 2017 and was soon embraced by international brands like Netflix, GE, and many more. It is a novel, dynamic, and intelligent method of recognizing risks and analyzing billions of events each day to discover new and developing hazards that organizations face. GE completed the installation of this system in less than 24 hours. AWS is attractive to giant corporations and small enterprises, as more than half of all cyberattacks target small organizations.
With Amazons increasing fame and usage, the firm should build systems and submissions to manage traffic securely. One of them is the secure sockets layer (SSL) that codes online communication, ensuring that only the site and the operator can read it (Amazon, 2018). This safeguards users from sniffers scanning their communications and eavesdropping on their activities. Although the information may be hacked, it is indecipherable to all parties save the handler and the website. DNSSEC protects websites from DNS assaults; however, Amazon does not use it due to the technologys infancy. Amazon should not just be concerned about foreign threats but also internal attacks. Reduced attack risk ensures the companys continuing development, employee satisfaction, and better cybersecurity.
Risks and Their Consequences
Amazon confronts several risk factors for cyber-security. They include ransomware, phishing, data leakage, hacking, and insider threat. Ransomware is a virus or harmful program that tries to encrypt a firms data and illegally obtains the unlocking code. In contrast, phishing refers to the attempt to get vital information by posing as reliable contacts such as a financial institution or an internet service provider. The availability and affordability of portable technological devices make data backup and mobility easy (Morgan, 2017). These characteristics also lead to companies such as Amazon becoming targets for data theft (data leakage). Hacking involves illegal access to Information Technology systems, which makes criminals access data from outside the organization. Since Amazon employs personnel (full-time or part-time), the management should be careful as employees can mistakenly or intentionally disclose private data (insider threat) to criminals.
Amazon should address a variety of other risk concerns. For example, fierce rivalry is a crucial risk element. Although this external danger may not be eliminated completely, Amazons plan has continually been to be aggressive in all that it does, whether selling items at a bargain or delivering cutting-edge cloud computing packages. While Amazons evolution and expansion have been rapid, the companys managerial, operational, financial, and other divisions have been strained (Wilhelm, 2017). The firm must remain current with advancements and even keep commitments made. While addressing identified challenges, the management should conduct continuous SWOT and PESTEL analyses of the firm.
Amazons focus is not on the short-term gains but on the companys long-term viability and sustainability. As an international business, Amazon is also exposed to currency risk (Amazon, 2018). Its overseas activities subject companies to various hazards, including adverse local, political, and economic situations, regional government instability, supplier failures, low-quality supplies, inventory shortages, and inconsistent guidelines and regulations (Consumer Reports, 2021). Additionally, geopolitical events such as wars and natural disasters that encompass tsunamis or storms should be considered. The arising conditions may either help Amazon or act as a hindrance to its continuing development. Amazon should manage all potential hazards peacefully to ensure continued success and survival in such a varied and multi-cultural worldwide context.
Conclusion
Amazon started from a low financial background when it inaugurated its operations as an online bookseller in 1994. The management of Amazon should make timely resolutions to recognized problems and mitigate possible risks to ensure that the corporation upholds its leading position in the online market. Amazon should tackle a diversity of risk concerns. The first risk component is fierce competition. While addressing established challenges, the management should conduct constant SWOT and PESTEL analyses of the firm.
Amazons concentration is not on the short-term benefits but on the corporations long-term viability and sustainability. Amazon should manage all possible hazards peacefully to ensure sustained success and survival in such a varied and multi-cultural international context.
References
Amazon. (2018). Form 10-K. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Web.
Amazon. (n.d.a). Amazon prime. Web.
Amazon. (n.d.b). Annual financials for Amazon.com Inc. MarketWatch. Web.
Textual analysis is widely used to identify key category concepts and clusters, allowing us to process sizeable textual data and identify patterns that are difficult to identify by simply examining the file. For this assignment, the data for textual analysis was compiled into a single.csv file this included five columns covering consumer reviews about various products associated with Amazons Alexa voice assistant. Specifically, the data were divided into Rating, Formation Date, Product Variation, Detailed Unstructured Review Transcript, and Review Classification as Feedback. The total number of rows in the data file was 3,150. The work was performed using SAS Visual Text statistical software to identify common trends in textual notes through statistical analysis and machine learning techniques. The current work presents two parts, including conceptual and categorical analysis.
Conceptual Analysis
Concept: Bad Reviews
The critical goal of conceptual analysis in SAS for the selected file was to extract the conceptual entities of unstructured text. The application value of this approach is to differentiate the total volume of text into some number of conceptual clusters, which creates a classification system. The first concept focused on finding bad reviews in which customers could express all or part of their indignation about Alexa products.
This concept included eleven of the most common synonyms associated with the word Bad that consumers could potentially use to express negative feedback:
CLASSIFIER:bad
CLASSIFIER:worse
CLASSIFIER:poor
CLASSIFIER:inferior
CLASSIFIER:awful
CLASSIFIER:sad
CLASSIFIER:negative
CLASSIFIER:wrong
CLASSIFIER:incorrect
CLASSIFIER:worthless
CLASSIFIER:useless
The algorithm CLASSIFIER:code was aimed at searching for the designated codes among all the elements of the text file, which allowed us to find exactly 69 out of 3150 reviews (2.19%) that contained these words, as shown in the screenshot below. It is important to clarify that the algorithm was not configured to search for combinations, which means that each time the designated word was found in the text elements, it was regarded as a unique case.
The essential question is the prevalence of specific terms in the cluster found. This step is important because it allows us to determine the relevance of each code in the algorithm because if a word has not been found, its use seems invalid. In reality, invalid words do not complicate the work for this procedure, but in the case of extensive data, any unnecessary terms can slow down the processing time and create the need for additional (but useless) work. In particular, out of 69 times, terms (case does not matter) were detected the following number of times:
Bad = 21
Worse = 2
Poor = 7
Inferior = 1
Awful = 4
Sad = 4
Negative = 6
Wrong = 15
Incorrect = 0
Worthless = 3
Useless = 13
As expected, there was a discrepancy between the mention of a particular code and the total number of codes found: 76 detections instead of the expected 69. The problem is that two different codes could have been used in the same sentence, which caused a decrease in the total number of finds. In addition, it was also found that the term Incorrect is not found among the reviews, so for further work, it would be quite appropriate to remove it. It is fair to note that not all of the reviews found were strictly negative but could contain both positive and negative evaluations. For example, a combination of Good and Poor codes resulted in some of these reviews. In other words, the feedback detected in the conceptual analysis did not necessarily have to be strictly negative but at a minimum, included information about Alexas product flaws and negative consumer experiences in using.
Concept: Good Reviews
The second concept was diametrically opposed to textual analysis: this involved not only using a different philosophy but also different rules for finding codes. Finding reviews that contained all or partially good ratings was necessary as a fundamental concept for judging favorable characteristics and consumer experiences. The strategic value of such a method allows us to study the customer experience and modify marketing strategies based on what the user likes best.
Since the first concept was based on the CLASSIFIER: rule, there is a need to use a different algorithm to form the second concept. So, it was decided to use the rule Concept_Rule: which allows operating with a Boolean algebra for search combinations. The specific algorithm that was used includes the following mechanics:
In this case, OR is used as a Boolean operator, which is the logic that means that all the codes listed below will match if at least one of them occurs in the text. The algorithm also uses the @ symbol, which allows you to get the designated words in any form of English if any. For example, good is converted to better. .
The total number of matches found was 2188 out of 3150 (69.5%), which at first glance indicates a much higher number of positive consumer reviews than negative ones. It is necessary to investigate the presence of each of the terms as part of this algorithm (case is not important):
Easy = 318
Great = 661
Love = 828
Happy = 57
Amazing = 81
Good = 249
Awesome = 78
Like = 435
One can see that most of the reviews contain the words love and great, which allows us to characterize consumers feelings about Alexas product line in a favorable way. However, it is worth clarifying that not all of the 2,188 matches actually contain positive reviews (although most do). For example, the use of the like code could have been used in a negative way, as shown in the example review from the screenshot below. Meanwhile, the word like could have been used in the meaning of comparison or as, which also creates limitations to the useful output.
Categorical Analysis
Category: Correction
Categories are a narrower set than concepts because they ultimately create conditions for testing a statement for truth or falsity using ordinary logic. The first category uses the NOT operator, which allows you to exclude an argument from a rendition. The point of such a tool is to study the issuance of positive reviews, which will be devoid of negative evaluations. For this reason, the following algorithm is used:
(AND, (AND, (AND, (AND, (AND, (AND, (AND, (OR, Easy , Great , Happy , Amazing , Good , Awesome , Love ), (NOT, Bad )), (NOT, Poor )), (NOT, Worse )), (NOT, Inferior )), (NOT, Wrong )), (NOT, Awful )), (NOT, Sad )), (NOT, Negative ))
Notice that the output became expectedly smaller because all negative words were excluded from it using an algorithm that allows finding (AND) any (OR) of the positive words in such reviews, which would exclude (NOT) negative words. Note that the word Like was not added to this output, as it could have been used in different contexts, which would have distorted the results. Now one can be sure that every review found contains only positive items, which means that this category served as a text filter.
Category: Competition
Competitive analysis is essential for business, so exploring the output that would inform about the presence of specific competitive devices among the reviews is appropriate. It is suggested to use a simple operator, OR, which allows getting only such reviews in which at least one of the designated codes occurs. The specific form of such an algorithm is as follows:
(OR, Google@ , Apple@ , Siri@ , HomePod@ )
Only the specified codes were chosen for analysis, although they do not represent the entire global set of voice assistants and brands. Again, the @ symbol indicates that any form of the designated code can be used. The final output size was 74, which is how often respondents referred to competitors in their reviews. It is worth clarifying that the presence of competitors does not mean negative feedback, as the use of comparison can favor Amazon.
Many great inventions have taken place throughout history. There came the steam engine, electric motor, television set, the World Wide Web, and now, mass online storage facilities. Perhaps some few individuals were skeptical when Amazon.Com committed 2 billion dollars over a decade ago for purposes of extensive research aimed at fine-tuning its information technology infrastructure. But the results of that worthwhile investment have been written in the books of history due to the way it has continued to transform the world. Amazons Simple Storage Service (S3) and Elastic Computer Cloud (ECZ) have completely revolutionized the online storage and cloud utility computing market. These virtual products have found many admirers due to the fast, easy, and inexpensive opportunities that they have provided to budding and established enterprises. Their reliability, availability, and flexible pay-as-you-go user policy have only made their integration in mainstream society to be unparalleled. Although this online storage and computing tools have been hit by minor technical hitches here and there, they have been able to penetrate the market with a thundering boom (Laudon & Laudon, 2007).
An expanded description of the article
Many organizations have been grappling with the problem of dealing with the large volumes of data that they handle each day. Some startup companies lack the resources needed to buy the software and hardware tools to store and backup huge volumes of data. But in utilizing their huge computing capacity, Amazon.Com, the leading web services provider and online retailer have effectively filled the void exhibited by companies that are always in need of enhanced storage capacities. This has been attainable through Amazons development and commissioning of S3 and ECZ storage and computing services, effectively enabling clients to purchase their requirements for such services on a per-usage basis. Companies that have already tested the services are full of praise as they have been able to downsize their personnel requirements while at the same time cut on operational costs. Some companies already utilizing these solutions have been able to save up to 75 percent of their initial data backup costs. A good example of such a company is Webmail.US, headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia. Others like Smugmug Inc. have been able to save up to $1 million in their first year of conducting business due to relying on Amazons storage facilities. What is more enticing is that the services are inexpensive, user-friendly, and are backed up by 24-hour service phone support to take care of emergencies (Laudon & Laudon, 2007).
Why my company will stand to gain tremendously from the S3 IT infrastructure developed by Amazons.Com
It is undeniable that the S3 online storage facility will have a major positive impact on the online music store my partner and I have started. We intend to grow our music and video catalogue to international standards but we are often faced with the challenge of soliciting funds to buy more servers, hand disk drives, and software. The office space that we are currently occupying is barely enough for all the computers and employees needed for our enterprise to take off. This article can help us fix a majority of the problems bedeviling us. A much more rounded business strategy would be to sign up with Amazons S3 to benefit from unlimited storage facilities for millions of our web-based audios and videos. The benefits that will accrue to our business are many and wide-ranging. First, the company will be paying 15 cents per gigabyte of the music audios and videos that we store using Amazons systems. This is much cheap compared to buying our own storage facilities, which may end up costing thousands of dollars. Secondly, it would be cheaper for us since we will be charged for exactly what have used no monthly subscription fees, no startup charges, and no hidden fees. The company also stands to gain from the fact that it shall not require any additional software or hardware setup to start distributing its products online. Music and video downloads will be extremely fast, reliable, and inexpensive, in the process of adding value to our clients. This will inevitably mean more customers for the business, hence more profits. The company will certainly not require more office space because no investments in computer hardware are going to be made. Tied to this, the company will immensely cut on human capital costs as it shall not need the services of systems and network administrators. Their roles will best be handled by the virtue of computers run by Amazon. These and many more benefits will certainly contribute to the overall growth of the company (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). Talk about the wonders that technology can do!
References
Laudon, C.K., & Laudon, J.P. (2007). Management information systems: Managing the digital firm (11th Ed). New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Amazon.com is an e-commerce company whose headquarter is located in Seattle, Washington in the U.S. It is rated as one of the major and first internet-based companies.
How the internet has reduced geographic limitations
Looking at its location, (Seattle, Washingtons Beacon Hill), and with a wide range of products it deals with, coupled with a high demand for its products in the world market, we have to appreciate the role played by the internet service in ensuring that the company achieves its goals. This has helped to reduce the geographical barrier which could have hindered its expansion to reach the world market demand.
Due to the internet service, one does not need to travel to the U.S to find the catalog containing the Amazon.com products or wait for it to be mailed to him, but it is possible to access everything including the new products via the internet. With high, market demands the company opened up large-sized centers across the globe where it has employed software developers. Such international locations include England, Scotland, India, South Africa, Romania, and China, (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
How the internet has helped in the compression of time
With the internet service, customer needs not send such things as the inquiry notes, purchase orders, or send for the catalog which could take a lot of time and cost much. What he needs is just to access the internet, get the catalog from there, and if possible make the purchase there and then using a credit card. With some of its services and products offered in electronic and downloadable form, one just needs to settle his payments and download the product, unlike in cases where one has to settle the payment through money order then wait for the shipment of the goods which could make a big deal of time.
How the internet has assisted in the growth of niche product spaces
Amazon.com has a storage service called Amazon S3. This service enables the storage of data objects ranging from 1 byte to 5 gigabytes. With this in place, it implies that the company can store products ranging from books, music in MP3 format, newspapers, magazines, computer software, video games, and other electronic products, thus offloading the cost of storing the products in warehouses or stores. If a customer needs the printed or recorded form of the products it is very easy to download and put them in the desired form.
How the internet has assisted in the availability of resources
The internet service has helped to reduce strain on the scarce resources, especially when it comes to products like books, newspapers, and magazines, which rely entirely on natural resources to get the papers for printing.
How the internet has helped in scalability
As the demand to advertise, stores, and access to goods and services increase, it means that the developers of computer applications or products have to come up with hardware and software (with the ability to retain performance levels with additional processors) to be used in the operating system so as to handle such large data contents.
Amazon started from a low economic background when it commenced its operations as an online bookseller in 1994. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, operated under the proclamation of becoming big fast. He understood the unexploited affluence of the Internet when he began the company. Jeff and his spouse settled for Seattle as the prime location for the firm since it was the center of technological advancement and would not tax many clients attributable to the sparse population of Washington. The earliest operations of the company happened in a garage. Most investors were doubtful about the companys continued success, and some believed it would ultimately go bankrupt (GreyB, 2021). On the contrary, Amazon has continued to rise in the industry and has expanded from selling only books to trade in nearly any product and providing various services.
In 1997, Amazon had its Initial Public Offering, where the company obtained over 50 million dollars. The amount raised through the public offering gave the corporation a face value of more than 430 million dollars. In 1998, it extended beyond books to incorporate music compact discs and, eventually, electronics, toys, and tools (DePillis & Sherman, 2021). In 2007, Amazon initiated the Kindle e-book reader, followed by the Fire in 2011. In 2006, Amazon established cloud computing packages, a studio in 2010, and the online marketplace for artistry in 2013. It has also purchased several businesses over the years, including Audible.com, Ring, Twitch.tv, Alexa.com, IMDB.com, AbeBooks, Goodreads, Whole Foods Market, Annapurna Labs, Kiva Systems (now known as Amazon Robotics), and Zappos. The management of Amazon should make amicable resolutions to identified problems and mitigate possible risks to ensure that the corporation maintains its leading position in the online market.
Business Profile
Amazon, the worlds major online store, is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Three chief executive officers lead Amazon. Jeff Bezos acts as the companys top executive officer, while Jeff Wilke and Andy Jassy serve as the companys global consumer and web services CEOs, correspondingly. The chief financial officer is Brian Olsavky, while Werner Vogels is the chief technology officer (Cuofano, n.d.). Jeff Bezos has segmented the company into three divisions: Amazon online services, marketplace, and Amazon Prime. He refers to them as the businesss three masts. Although Amazon began as a book-selling site, it quickly extended into other sectors, for instance, consumer technology, cloud computing, logistics, entertainment, and media, boosting its value to over a trillion dollars in a short time.
One of Amazons strengths is that it does not stagnate but has developed throughout time and experimented with new ideas. Therefore, Fast Business magazine named it the most inventive company in 2017, and Forbes rated the corporation as the third most advanced in the same year. It was also ranked third on the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys list of innovative businesses in 2017, just behind Nvidia and SpaceX (GreyB, 2021). Amazon is obsessed with one thing: its consumers. The firm is focused on meeting its consumers needs and requests. Consequently, it has experimented with novel services, products, and any item that the management considers useful to its customers. Amazons online supply is the companys lifeblood. This solid basis enables the company to experiment with other sectors, for example, web operations, advertising tasks, and Amazon prime, all of which are far more lucrative than the online store.
Many consumers are uninformed that Amazon now provides more than merely selling books. The advertising unit is a juggernaut and one of the few that can strongly compete with Facebook and Google. The advertising division created 6 billion dollars in the first half of 2018. With Amazons robust structure and breadth of offerings, more businesses are ready to pay for promotion facilities. Amazon Prime has been a subscription service that offers unlimited free delivery, film, music, and TV program streaming, boundless reading collections, special bargains, and savings on groceries, among other benefits. In addition, Amazon has started delivering security gadgets to Volvo, Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick vehicles to combat design theft (D&B Hoovers, n.d.). These vehicles are required to be of the 2015 model year or later. While this service is not currently available everywhere, premium members have access to it in 37 cities.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) began as an experiment in 2000 and evolved into a business worth more than $17 billion in 2017. Amazon recognizes the promise of web services and has taken a firm stance toward AWS. Amazon launched over 80 new services and features in 2011, increasing to 160 in 2012 and close to 300 in 2013. The company has ten AWS areas worldwide, including a dedicated government zone called GovCloud. Amazon Web Services was the companys most profitable business in 2017. Its highest revenue emanated from providing computers, databases, storage, and other amenities to government organizations, companies, and learning institutions. Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle are Amazons major competitors in this area (Chaffey, 2021). As earlier stated, Amazon commenced its public operations in 1997. It is a Bullish-rated stock ranked on Nasdaq under the consumer services group. Its ticker symbol is AMZN, and in January 2019, the stock price was about 1,671 dollars per share, valuing the company at 816,000 million dollars. Amazons market capitalization surpassed one trillion dollars in September 2018 (Amazon, n.d.a). On the same note, the companys share price peaked at $2,051 per share. Amazons share price has increased more than 11,200 percent since its first public offering.
Amazon has continuously increased its income throughout the years. Its revenue was $89 billion in 2014 and grew to $233 billion in 2018, a remarkable 162 percent rise. The company lost $241 million in 2014 but subsequently became profitable in subsequent years. Its net income was 10 billion dollars in 2018. Over the years, Amazon has continually invested in its assets. From $56 billion in 2014 to $163 billion in 2018, the company has risen significantly (Amazon, n.d.b). As seen in its report of cash flows, the firm has not been stingy with its investments and capital expenses. The net investment cash flow represents an outflow, indicating that the firm spent over what it got in 2014. The company used or invested 6 billion dollars in 2014; by 2018, that figure had increased more than twofold to $13 billion. It invested significantly higher in 2017, approximately 27 billion dollars.
Overview
Amazon was started in Washington in 1994 before reconsolidating in Delaware in 1996. Amazon has strengthened its selling mechanism in its SEC Form 10K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (Amazon, 2018). The corporation is led by four ideologies: a customer-centric style instead of a competitor-focused approach, a craving for creativity, a commitment to operational distinction, and long-term performance. The firm serves its major client bases in each category, including consumers, merchants, developers, enterprises, and content providers. Additionally, the firm offers various services, including advertising and co-branded credit card agreements (Amazon, n.d.a). This diverse range of services benefits people, industrialists, small enterprises, artists, filmmakers, and large institutions every day. Amazons brands, including the Kindle and Amazon Echo Dot, encompass speech recognition and application development for audio and video services. AWSs client base grew exponentially after its launch, as it now serves numerous companies, government agencies, learning institutions, start-ups, and developers.
Amazon employs nearly 570,000 full-time and temporary staff, resulting in quarterly and yearly revenue growth over the last three years. Additionally, the companys development was aided by the 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods Markets. According to Amazon Incs 2017 financial report, the company earned $230 billion in the fiscal year 2018 and boosted revenues by 31 percent in one year. As of December 31, 2018, the stock was trading on NASDAQ under the ticker AMZN for $874B a share. In 2016, the shares lowest value was $475, and its uppermost price was over $870B (Amazon, n.d.a). Amazons primary competitors include Alibaba Group Services Limited, Apple Inc, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The Importance of Cybersecurity
Any firm with an online presence must protect itself against cyber-attacks. In this rapidly changing era of technical advancements, exponential development, and unprecedented dangers, businesses should manage their threat exposure from cybersecurity risks and attacks. Amazon is unusual in that it must protect against cyber threats and give cybersecurity solutions to its consumers (Morgan, 2017). AWS offers a range of computing services to its diverse customer base. GuardDuty was launched by Amazon in 2017 and was soon embraced by international brands like Netflix, GE, and many more. It is a novel, dynamic, and intelligent method of recognizing risks and analyzing billions of events each day to discover new and developing hazards that organizations face. GE completed the installation of this system in less than 24 hours. AWS is attractive to giant corporations and small enterprises, as more than half of all cyberattacks target small organizations.
With Amazons increasing fame and usage, the firm should build systems and submissions to manage traffic securely. One of them is the secure sockets layer (SSL) that codes online communication, ensuring that only the site and the operator can read it (Amazon, 2018). This safeguards users from sniffers scanning their communications and eavesdropping on their activities. Although the information may be hacked, it is indecipherable to all parties save the handler and the website. DNSSEC protects websites from DNS assaults; however, Amazon does not use it due to the technologys infancy. Amazon should not just be concerned about foreign threats but also internal attacks. Reduced attack risk ensures the companys continuing development, employee satisfaction, and better cybersecurity.
Risks and Their Consequences
Amazon confronts several risk factors for cyber-security. They include ransomware, phishing, data leakage, hacking, and insider threat. Ransomware is a virus or harmful program that tries to encrypt a firms data and illegally obtains the unlocking code. In contrast, phishing refers to the attempt to get vital information by posing as reliable contacts such as a financial institution or an internet service provider. The availability and affordability of portable technological devices make data backup and mobility easy (Morgan, 2017). These characteristics also lead to companies such as Amazon becoming targets for data theft (data leakage). Hacking involves illegal access to Information Technology systems, which makes criminals access data from outside the organization. Since Amazon employs personnel (full-time or part-time), the management should be careful as employees can mistakenly or intentionally disclose private data (insider threat) to criminals.
Amazon should address a variety of other risk concerns. For example, fierce rivalry is a crucial risk element. Although this external danger may not be eliminated completely, Amazons plan has continually been to be aggressive in all that it does, whether selling items at a bargain or delivering cutting-edge cloud computing packages. While Amazons evolution and expansion have been rapid, the companys managerial, operational, financial, and other divisions have been strained (Wilhelm, 2017). The firm must remain current with advancements and even keep commitments made. While addressing identified challenges, the management should conduct continuous SWOT and PESTEL analyses of the firm.
Amazons focus is not on the short-term gains but on the companys long-term viability and sustainability. As an international business, Amazon is also exposed to currency risk (Amazon, 2018). Its overseas activities subject companies to various hazards, including adverse local, political, and economic situations, regional government instability, supplier failures, low-quality supplies, inventory shortages, and inconsistent guidelines and regulations (Consumer Reports, 2021). Additionally, geopolitical events such as wars and natural disasters that encompass tsunamis or storms should be considered. The arising conditions may either help Amazon or act as a hindrance to its continuing development. Amazon should manage all potential hazards peacefully to ensure continued success and survival in such a varied and multi-cultural worldwide context.
Conclusion
Amazon started from a low financial background when it inaugurated its operations as an online bookseller in 1994. The management of Amazon should make timely resolutions to recognized problems and mitigate possible risks to ensure that the corporation upholds its leading position in the online market. Amazon should tackle a diversity of risk concerns. The first risk component is fierce competition. While addressing established challenges, the management should conduct constant SWOT and PESTEL analyses of the firm.
Amazons concentration is not on the short-term benefits but on the corporations long-term viability and sustainability. Amazon should manage all possible hazards peacefully to ensure sustained success and survival in such a varied and multi-cultural international context.
References
Amazon. (2018). Form 10-K. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Web.
Amazon. (n.d.a). Amazon prime. Web.
Amazon. (n.d.b). Annual financials for Amazon.com Inc. MarketWatch. Web.
Woody Allen sued Amazon on February 7, 2019, for violating contract laws. The company had made a four-movie deal with Allen, forcing him to accuse the firm in Federal Court after canceling the agreement to make four films (Vidgor, 2019). Consequently, the plaintiff is Allen, and the defendant is Amazon. The issue is that Amazon claimed that the plaintiff was being accused of sexual assault. Hence, Amazon filed an appeal to justify its decision as it had an adverse impact on the firms financial security.
Fact Analysis
The law used by the court was not disclosed since the issue was settled between the two parties. Therefore, one can argue that parties can come to an agreement and resolve their disputes. The reasons given by the court were that the defendant and the plaintiff settled their issues in private and the appellant withdrew the case. In this case, individuals can dispute that renewal of contract or compensation might be the reasons that led to the cases settlement. Many appellants have withdrawn their accusations after agreeing with the appellee. Similarly, various factors could have led to the agreement between Allen and Amazon.
Conclusion and Opinion
To conclude, courts have guaranteed that plaintiffs may withdraw their cases due to different reasons. Moreover, some disputes are settled without involving the court, leading to the plaintiffs request to cancel the case. In my opinion, Allen was right since the company had contacted him, being aware of his sexual assault accusations. Correspondingly, the court should have considered his argument since breaching the contract was exercised. I agree with the courts decision to let Allen withdraw the case since the parties had resolved their matter. A social impact could be involved, whereby many people learn about contract law and the importance of seeking justice when violated. Contract breaching is also common in America, and the case can be used to create awareness of its dangers.
Reference
Vidgor, N. (2019). Woody Allen and Amazon settle breach of contract lawsuit. The New York Times. Web.
Amazon is a well-known company that currently operates in the modern world while having leading positions in online retail. Meanwhile, it remains apparent that all transnational firms have a substantial influence on the environment and the wellbeing of the individuals. The primary goal of this paper is to discover the potential impact of Amazon on the prosperity of nations, their health, and the environment. In the end, the conclusions are drawn to summarize the primary findings of the paper while referring them to the possible positive contribution of Amazon to the healthcare industry and determining the firms contribution to the positive changes in the global environment.
Firstly, the potential influence of Amazon on health has to be evaluated with the assistance of the recent news. Recently, it has been questionable whether the company supports the development of health and devotes its activities to enhance the companys social responsibility1.
Amazon tries to avoid the interviews regarding its sustainability strategy to ensure its reputation and position in the market. Meanwhile, it could be said that this matter has a destructive impact on the organization as a whole, as it determines the perception that the company tries to hide its inappropriate activities from the public. Based on the factors provided above, it could be stated that Amazon does not have any activities, which damage the health of the individuals due to the lack of the communications with the public to avoid the misconceptions about the brand.
In turn, it is critical to discuss Amazon and global interdependencies associated with health such as global climate change, disease vulnerability, and access to medicines. Meanwhile, it could be said that the involvement of transnational companies in the business starts gaining popularity in the world, as the corporations such as Apple and Google have strengthened their positions in the healthcare market.2
In this case, Amazon tends to pursue a similar strategy while being interested in the substantial investment in this industry, as these matters will not only have a positive influence on the companys image but will affect the medicine distribution and disease vulnerability advantageously. A well-established transportation network will determine the companys ability to improve the health of the nations while ensuring the delivery of the medicine on time and minimize the lethality from the curable illnesses.
Meanwhile, the increase of Amazons transparency will contribute to the understanding that the company pays substantial attention to the environmental changes due the well-developed recycling policy, which will help affect the climate change in a positive direction.
In the end, it could be said that Amazon has to increase its transparency, as this matter might have a negative influence on the companys image while creating the misconceptions about the intentions of the brand. The availability of the companys sustainability strategy to the public will contribute to the understanding that the firm has no violations related to health while having a substantial contribution to the healthcare segment. Based on the factors revealed above, it is evident that the organization can affect the current condition of health of the nations and determine the stability of the environment while paying vehement attention to the healthcare segment and social responsibility.
The internet has revolutionized many business practices. Many entertainment companies are currently using the internet to fulfill the needs of their consumers. Netflix uses an internet-based model to market and sell its movies. Many companies such as Redbox are also using different online strategies to market their movies. Amazon is also a leading marketer of movies in many parts of the world (Wittekind, 2012). This research paper identifies how Amazon and Netflix compete with each other to deliver movies to their customers.
Various movie companies such as Home Box Office (HBO) own Amazons hardware. This cable television network is a subsidiary of Time Warner. Amazon also shows movies from Epix TV channel. The practice has made Amazon a leading competitor in this sector. Netflix avails its on-demand movies to its customers in American, Europe, and the Caribbean. Starz Entertainment owns most of this hardware content. In 2011, Netflix announced its partnership with Lions Gate Entertainment and Paramount Pictures (Lusted, 2012, p. 47). The company also distributes various TV programs from Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Disney, and Sony Pictures.
Every company marketing its products via the internet should pay for bandwidth. Netflix uses AmazonWebServices to avail its movies to every user. Netflix pays for bandwidth in order to achieve its goals. Netflixs prices for its movies are reducing because of the falling bandwidth. Netflix pays around $200 million annually as bandwidth fee (Lusted, 2012, p. 68). Amazon also uses similar approaches to pay for bandwidth.
Customers can either purchase or rent a movie from these two companies. Netflix provides a flat-fee for DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Customers can also order or download movies from the companys website. Customers can either stream movies online or get their DVDs by mail. Customers can also purchase packaged movies from Netflixs website. Customers can collect their movies from different collection centers. Amazon lets its customers download High Quality (HQ) copies of various movies. Customers can also purchase their favorite films online. Most of Amazons movies are obtainable through streaming (Wittekind, 2012, p. 48). The customers return these rented movies to these companies before ordering new ones. Such practices have promoted the performance of these competing companies.
YouTube might become a disruptor for these providers because it uses an ad-based model. YouTube avails its movies free of charge to its viewers across the globe. Most of these movies have many viewers in many parts of the world. The ad-based model focuses on promoting various services and products. The practice reduces the number of customers who purchase or rent movies from Amazon and Netflix (Lusted, 2012). YouTube uses a simple video hosting service whereby users can upload and share video content. YouTube provides a hosting service or application to make video hosting possible. Two PayPal workers created YouTube in 2005. Google Incorporation currently owns YouTube.
The movie services availed by YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix have changed the way consumers watch and purchase different video contents. These online-based services are different from those of iTunes. Apple Incorporation introduced iTunes to help customers organize, share, and enjoy different contents such as movies, TV shows, music, applications, and books (Lusted, 2012, p. 79). Users can shop for new books, applications, and movies from iTunes. Apples iTunes is a powerful approach because it attracts more customers.
These media providers will be profitable in the future because more customers are purchasing their products online. These providers will continue attracting more customers. I would consider some of the major concerns affecting these cloud-based models. The first concern would be the problem of hacking and fraud. Many companies will lose their profits because of this insecurity (Wittekind, 2012). The other concern is the level of competition in this sector. I will address such concerns in order to make my media provider successful.
Reference List
Lusted, M. (2012). Netflix: The Company and Its Founders. New York: Essential Library.
Wittekind, E. (2012). Amazon.com: The Company and Its Founders. New York: Abdo Publishing Company.
