Live data from Hacker News

Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

foxbusiness.com

91–100 of 410 posts

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#91

Is this because they actively want to discourage any revenue going Amazon's way from Wal-Mart related business activities, or because they don't trust Amazon not to look at the data hosted on their platform? If the latter, then I think that's just extreme paranoia. If there was ANY evidence of Amazon doing that it would destroy everyones trust in AWS and I suspect people wouldn't be able to move away fast enough (Whi…

>>or because they don't trust Amazon not to look at the data hosted on their platform?

It's been known before:

Battle of the Airlines: King 'backed dirty tricks': BA staff hacked into Virgin computers and poached passengers

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/battle-of-the-airlines-kin...

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#92
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tu quoque, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque I'm not sure this quippy needs a reply ... but seriously, you should respond with more then a pure logical fallacy.

The "strong" form of tu quoque you evoke here seems sort of like bullshit. "Do as I say, not as I do" is fine if we're talking about uncontroversial stuff like buying too many lottery tickets or drinking too much beer. If the point is actually in doubt, which it always is for economic questions, it's no fallacy to demand that I put my money where my mouth is. If I really believe that people can safely jump out of air…

I was going for the case "you too" / "they too" which tu quoque literally translates to from Latin.

Say we accept that Amazon does these things (the parent didn't actually provide any evidence / argument for that case). Pointing out the hypocrisy of the other party (or 3rd party) is not a valid rhetorical argument why they should be allowed to do it (Walmart).

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#93
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't discount the latter option, corporate espionage is a very real thing that goes on far more often than people realize. Of course im about to be shouted down by a bunch of posts with [citation needed], well guess what, the goal of business like this is to ensure that nobody can ever make such a citation. There is a reason Google, Intel and Apple are extremely paranoid about their internal data, and Walmart too. I…

It doesn't even have to be anything nefarious. For example just tracking network traffic (amount, not content) would be a good signal for a competitor (like Amazon) to monitor. If supplier A started getting a lot more network traffic from Walmart IP addresses and supplier B less, then that's a tell that someone could be interested in.

The digital version of using satellites to count lorries in warehouse yards and cars in supermarket car parks.

Which also happens and is fascinating.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#94
This is... Not the best? That Wal-Mart is powerful enough to dictate the internal business practice and tech decisions of it's vendor.

On the other hand, Amazon is a massive immoral monster devouring the US economy and replacing it with something vaguely worse, year by year. It's rapidly approaching a "too big to be allowed to fail" status, and that's awful for Americans. Since anti-trust laws weren't written by a generation able to envison entities like this and the current political climate is that they'd rather die than appear anti-business... I guess the only entities with the power to push back against Amazon are in fact the other major corporate vendors.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#95

> “It shouldn’t be a big surprise that there are cases in which we’d prefer our most sensitive data isn’t sitting on a competitor’s platform,” Ok sounds reasonable from an information security standpoint > Snowflake Computing Inc., a data-warehousing service, was approached by a Wal-Mart client about handling its business from the retailer, Chief Executive Bob Muglia said. The catch: Snowflake had to run those servic…

Maybe Bob still holds a grudge:

"Some have speculated that Muglia and Ballmer disagree about the development and future of Microsoft's cloud computing platform, Windows Azure, but no details are available. So for now, at least, the departure remains somewhat of a mystery --- as is the blunt way that Ballmer handled it."

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2470214/social-business...

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#96

If Wal-Mart decrees this, put up or shut up. Welcome to business. CEO Diktats about using not using competitor services for anything whatsoever, are as old as Microsoft. Wal-mart is not in the cloud business, so I can only wonder if, as others have commented, it is about data security in AWS domain, since Wal-Mart's main competitor is Amazon. We know what Google and Facebook get up to with peoples data, why would Ama…

It's actually older than Microsoft. Just saying.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#97

Years ago I read The Wal-Mart Effect. Basically it was a whole slew of industries that Walmart had dramatically affected. Things like forcing vendors to manufacture in China and building a crazy infrastructure to get 'fresh' Salmon imported from Chile. I got the impression they would turn the screws on industries to get cost savings via scale. This move seems odd.

FastCompany had an article back in 2003 about the Vlasic gallon jar of pickles. Sales to Walmart quickly eclipsed all their other channels. And then Walmart said "We want you to lower your price."

> For many suppliers, though, the only thing worse than doing business with Wal-Mart may be not doing business with Wal-Mart.

https://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#98
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree totally. I would find it hard to believe, that large well financed companies, with some of the most technically capable staff on the planet, would have the restraint to not peek.

So you think Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, etc spy the confidential data of their customers?

[deleted]

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#99

This is... Not the best? That Wal-Mart is powerful enough to dictate the internal business practice and tech decisions of it's vendor. On the other hand, Amazon is a massive immoral monster devouring the US economy and replacing it with something vaguely worse, year by year. It's rapidly approaching a "too big to be allowed to fail" status, and that's awful for Americans. Since anti-trust laws weren't written by a ge…

I've never heard of conglomerates being broken up, as long as they didn't have too much share of any single market.

Amazon may end up like Uber: forcing competitors to upgrade their technology, but not succeeding in stamping the competitors out entirely.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're letting personal feelings about Walmart get in the way of rational thought. Remember: If not them, Amazon certainly would have done the same.

I agree. Amazon would do the same. I am responding to all the articles that are sympathetic to Wal-Mart.

Emotions aside, it's hard to deny facts:

"Walmart employs an astounding 2.1 million people. In the United States alone, the company employs 1.4 million people. This is a staggering 1% of the U.S.'s 140 million working population."

Post reply on HN