WSJ reported that Amazon.com tries to gain attention among entrepreneurs for its Web services – online-software services such as storage or access to computing power – by offering a contest that includes an investment offer as part of the prize. Soon to be introduced contest, called the "Amazon Web Services Start-up Challenge," is targeted at start-ups and software developers who might need the online retailer's Web services to get their companies off the ground.
The contest will award the entrepreneur with the best original and most promising business venture with a first prize of $50,000 cash, $50,000 in Amazon Web Services credits, mentoring sessions with a Web services technical expert and a financing offer from Amazon. It will award Web services credits as other prizes.
Five years ago Amazon started making some of the technology and engineering that it uses to power its Web store available for rent to other software developers. Over the years it has added more services. Entrepreneurs can rent these services instead of spending money on the computer infrastructure, such as data centers and servers, that start-ups normally usually purchase, WSJ reports.
Amazon Web services "has nothing to do with e-commerce," said Adam Selipsky, vice president of product development and developer relations for Amazon Web services. "Amazon is a technology company. We're now taking the same technology base and the engineering and creating a set of infrastructure services for developers."
Learned from the Wall Street Journal
