Before we start learning more about Amazon and Alibaba, let’s have a brief introduction to Big Data and Cloud Computing.
People often get confused between Big data and Cloud – Big data is about working on large volumes of data which a single machine is not capable to handle, where on the other hand Cloud computing is more than an application that stores data with the help of remote servers on the internet. Cloud Computing offers services such as Saas, Paas, laas. We shall now be understanding the impact of cloud Computing on the IT industry and how Alibaba Big Data contests with the already established network of Big Data Companies like Amazon.
Let’s first have a fair idea about what Alibaba Cloud is and how it functions.
Alibaba Cloud also referred as ‘Aliyun’ is a Chinese Cloud computing company which is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Cloud offers cloud computing services to online businesses with a self-designed e-commerce ecosystem. Alibaba Cloud offers cloud services which include data storage, relational databases, big data processing, Anti-DDoS protection and content delivery networks (CDN).
Alibaba Cloud is one of the largest cloud computing company in China that operates in 19 data center region including China North, China South, China East, US West, US East, United Kingdom, Middle East, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, India and Indonesia together with 56 availability zones around the globe. Alibaba has grown up to 3rd position for infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) across the world. There are numerous examples by which cloud is making a difference to local establishments. The Alibaba has several cloud computing capabilities which involve data lake analytics, machine learning, and more.
Big Data Solutions offered by Alibaba Cloud
Some of the popular big data solution offered by Alibaba cloud are –
- E-Map reduce Service – It aims to provide fast data processing speed for organizations which have huge amount of data to be processed. E-Map Reduce Service offers ease to provision distributed Hadoop Cluster.
- DataV – It is a data virtualization tool that features geographical information system. It allows rapid interpretation of data by understanding the patterns and trends that are integrated into a single user-friendly interface.
- DataWorks – Alibaba also offers secure environment for offline data development worth powerful Open API so as to create ecosystem for redevelopment
- MaxCompute Service – This service is primarily used for large scale data warehousing for general purpose together with fully managed data processing platform. The service is cost effective and offers reliable data security together with stable offline analysis services.
- Quick BI – It is one of the latest business intelligent service on cloud that delivers analytic capabilities together with a drag drop feature that enables the user to perform exploration and data analytics, market driven decisions
On the other hand, Amazon has shown a massive growth with nearly 50% with trailing 12-month revenue crossing $25 Billion. Also AWS reported improvement in operating margin to 29.3% from 26.5% in the year ago quarter. Without a doubt Amazon has converted AWS into a major profit center as new services are added to the cloud operation. Regardless of the severe competition from other tech majors Amazon has been able to impart fruitful services and potential growth to this segment.
With the introduction of Alibaba Cloud market is showing some swings and is turning out to be one of the strongest competitors to AWS. Together with other US tech giants, Amazon faces strong competition from Alibaba. According to reports Alibaba cloud has shown growth by 84% in the recent quarter and the revenue has reached close to $4 billion on an annualized basis. Also Alibaba is making considerable investments to boost the growth rate of its cloud segment and increase the services offered to the customers.
Amazon’s latest trade rhetoric and Huawei fiasco claims to improve long term potential in Europe and South Asia. Clearly Amazon has been undervalued in response to the growth runway of AWS and market dominance within the cloud market. Alibaba Cloud company experiences an uphill task in most of the regions outside China because of trade issues between the US and China. But negative sentiment around Huawei in the US and Europe could also impact Alibaba’s cloud ambitions in many international regions.
