Dive Brief:
- Walmart reportedly has asked some of its vendors to ditch Amazon Web Services (AWS) to run applications, according to The Wall Street Journal. Instead of AWS, Walmart uses its own servers or storage from other cloud vendors, like Microsoft Azure.
- The push is part of a growing rivalry between Amazon and Walmart. The two retail giants directly compete and Walmart said a "small number" of its tech vendors it uses run applications on AWS, according to the report. A Walmart spokesman said the company prefers to not have its most "sensitive data" run on a competitor's storage offering.
- However, Walmart is not alone in wanting its data off AWS. Other retailers have also requested similar moves, according to the report, creating an opportunity for alternative storage vendors like Microsoft and Google Cloud.
Dive Insight:
Oh, the politics of cloud storage. While vendors openly compete for market share, under the hood of leading companies there is a war over partner technologies.
AWS is by far the most dominant cloud, but if third-party technology vendors stand to lose business from giants like Walmart, they will likely turn to other providers, whether those are niche players or market leaders.
The Journal's report comes just after Amazon’s announcement of plans to purchase Whole Foods last week upped the ante. Now Amazon competes more directly in the grocery business, offering many of Walmart's capabilities but on a far larger scale.
Will Walmart's influence upend the strangle hold AWS has on the market? It's not likely. However it does highlight how the complex third-party ecosystem has to consider competitors and conflicts of interest when vying for customers. No matter how many promises a vendor can make, customers are still going to be concerned about how data is potentially used when it's stored.
