webnovelvip Chapter 227 The Crisis Seen in the Amazon Incident
Chapter 227 The Crisis Seen in the Amazon Incident
Chapter 227 The Crisis Seen in the Amazon Incident
At Google headquarters, Ernst reclined on a sofa, his posture languid yet unable to conceal the smugness in his eyes. One arm was casually draped over the back of the sofa, and his slender fingers were rhythmically tapping on the soft leather fabric. The crisp tapping sound seemed to be a beat for his victory in this brief game.
"I thought Mr. Bezos could hold out for a while longer, but I didn't expect him to surrender so quickly."
Ernst's voice was somewhat nonchalant, as if he were talking about something trivial, but the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his pleasant mood.
Upon hearing this, Hamilton, sitting opposite him, rolled his eyes without batting an eye, thinking to himself, "You're really talking without thinking. Do you think everyone is like you, that Wall Street and investors can't do anything about you?"
"Amazon's stock price has plummeted to such a low level that even if Bezos wants to hold on, do you think the investors will allow it?"
Just a few days ago, Amazon was at its peak. During the pre-market auction, Amazon's stock price soared like a rocket, and its market value also rose accordingly. Compared to when it went public in May, the increase was as high as 105%.
At the time, many media outlets lauded Bezos, predicting that Amazon would embark on a new business legend.
But reality is often more absurd than drama. That very night, Amazon's website suddenly crashed, and the media, which had been praising it highly, instantly made a 180-degree turn and turned their guns on Amazon.
These media outlets don't care about the real reason for the website crash; as long as they can grab attention and generate traffic, they'll exaggerate and write whatever is most appealing to readers.
At first, some media outlets were relatively restrained, only pointing out the vulnerabilities in Amazon's technology. However, later on, all sorts of outrageous reports emerged.
Some unscrupulous tabloids claimed that a fierce conflict had broken out within Amazon, and that the senior management team had fallen apart.
Even worse, some fabricated fake news that Bezos smashed up a server room in a fit of rage.
The most ridiculous thing is that some tabloids even reported that the Amazon website crash was not a technical problem, but rather that Bezos's mistress and her illegitimate child came to his company and the wife and mistress got into a fight, which caused the system to crash.
Various versions of rumors are flying around, turning Amazon's crisis into an absurd soap opera.
When Ernst saw these newspapers, he couldn't help but laugh, marveling at their wild imaginations.
The details described in those reports, down to the characters' expressions and conversations, made it seem to an uninformed person that the reporter was right there on the scene witnessing it all.
But whatever the truth may be, the capital market's reaction is always the most direct.
Amazon's stock price plummeted after the market opened the day before yesterday, falling by more than 22%.
As if things weren't going to go wrong, Amazon's website crashed again the night before last, which undoubtedly poured cold water on the already fragile market confidence.
Amazon's stock price plummeted again yesterday, and today it's nearing its IPO price.
Based on this trend, it's possible that the price will fall below the issue price before the market closes.
Panic has spread in the market, and many investors no longer care what happened to Amazon. The fact that the website crashed for three consecutive days is like a thorn in the heart of every investor.
In their view, a company that couldn't even guarantee basic website operations was not trustworthy at all, and selling its shares became their only option.
"I bet Mr. Bezos is feeling pretty frustrated right now," Ernst said, putting down his coffee cup with an even more smug look on his face.
Giving Bezos a little lesson made him feel much better, and he was even a little smug.
This is Bezos, someone he used to look up to, but now he's like a stray dog in a sorry state.
"How could you not feel frustrated?" Hamilton put himself in Bezos's shoes and couldn't help but say, "If I were in that situation, I would probably smash everything in the office to vent my anger."
, 7
The biggest driving force behind Amazon's recent stock price plunge is Goldman Sachs.
But what about Bezos? Now he has no choice but to humble himself and ask Goldman Sachs to act as an intermediary to sue for peace with Ernst, whom he despises the most.
"Alright, let's be lenient when we can." Ernst changed the subject, his smugness fading, and his tone became more serious. "After all, our status is different now, so we need to be mindful of the impact and not go too far."
If I continue to relentlessly attack Bezos using such dishonorable methods, given his current wealth and status, I will inevitably be accused of bullying the weak and abusing my power.
He doesn't want to become the next Bill Gates, scorned by all Americans because of some controversial incidents; that would be a huge loss.
But a few seconds later, Ernst revealed a sly smile and said with great interest, "But seriously, I really want to see Bezos go crazy. I wonder if the stuff in his office is valuable, and if he'd be willing to smash it?"
He turned to Hamilton, a playful look in his eyes, and said, "Do you think I should buy a few books on Amazon and send them to him? Something like 'Cultivating Character'."
Upon hearing this, Hamilton subconsciously shifted his position, his body involuntarily trying to move further away from Ernst.
Ernst was truly generous to his own people, but his methods towards his enemies were utterly insidious.
If Ernst really did that, he could already imagine what would happen next. Bezos had finally calmed down and tidied up his messy office, only to receive a gift from Ernst. He would definitely be furious again, and his office would probably become a complete mess once more.
This is still considered good; if Bezos were to suffer a stroke from anger and end up in the hospital, things would really get out of hand.
Hamilton had no desire to get involved in something that would harm others without benefiting himself, and he certainly didn't want to increase his guilt because of it.
He quickly changed the subject, saying, "This incident with Amazon has made me realize the importance of data security; we must learn from this."
Amazon experienced website outages for three consecutive days, which not only severely impacted the user experience but also triggered a series of chain reactions.
Many consumers have sought redress from Amazon after their account data was lost and they were shown as having no registered account when logging in.
Don't think that this matter is over just because Bezos backed down.
First, there's the issue of stock price. Although the stock price will eventually recover as long as Amazon's website doesn't crash again, it's almost impossible for it to return to its previous level in the short term.
What's more troublesome is the users' side. Users who lose data will definitely file complaints, and in serious cases, they may even sue Amazon.
In the United States, it's all too common for consumers to sue large corporations.
Often, it's not that users actively want to sue, since lawsuits are both expensive and time-consuming, and they are unwilling to spend the energy or funds on it.
The real driving force behind this is those known as vulture lawyers.
These lawyers have an extremely keen sense of opportunity; as soon as they spot an opportunity, they will proactively contact the affected users and persuade them to file a lawsuit against the company.
They will tell users that they don't need to pay a penny to go to court, and they don't even need to appear in court; they will take full responsibility for everything.
Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If the lawsuit is won and the user receives compensation, these bald lawyers will take at least half of the profits, with the specific percentage depending on the negotiation between the two parties.
Hamilton grew increasingly fearful as he thought about it. He looked at Ernst and said seriously, "What if Google were to experience the same thing one day? Google has far more users than Amazon. If a data security issue were to occur, the consequences would be unimaginable."
Ernst, however, remained remarkably calm. He waved his hand and said, "Given Google's current user base and technological strength, it's unlikely that external factors would cause a server crash. After all, there have never been so many netizens simultaneously impacting Google. The tactics I used against Amazon simply cannot be applied to Google."
"The only thing Google needs to be wary of right now is malicious cyberattacks."
"But we can't just consider external factors," Hamilton retorted. "What if our own machines break down? For example, natural disasters or equipment malfunctions—no one can predict these kinds of calamities."
"If user data is lost for these reasons, it will be a huge blow to Google's reputation."
It must be said that Hamilton's thinking was very forward-thinking.
In today's internet industry, most companies have not yet realized the importance of user data; they are more focused on user numbers and market share.
But Ernst knew that with the development of the Internet, user data would become the core asset of Internet companies, and data security would become increasingly important.
He further stated, "At that time, users and those vulture lawyers won't listen to our explanations about natural disasters or man-made calamities; they'll only know that their data was lost at Google and their rights were violated."
"The media won't be on our side either; they'll just exaggerate and make things bigger to attract traffic. So we must prepare in advance to prevent problems before they arise."
After listening to Hamilton's words, Ernst thought for a moment and said, "Actually, solving this problem is quite simple."
"Oh?" Hamilton looked at Ernst curiously, anticipating his solution.
Ernst smiled and said, "We can effectively avoid this situation simply by upgrading our existing data centers and enabling global data sharing."
Six months ago, Google formulated a data center plan to build four major data centers around the world.
However, strictly speaking, these four data centers cannot be considered to be truly interconnected.
They primarily allocate and save user data based on the user's location, with the main purpose of improving the user's access speed.
With current internet speeds, the webpage response speed for European users accessing Google's data centers in Europe can be vastly different from that of users accessing Google's data centers in Mountain View, USA.
To provide users with a better experience, establishing a data center nearby is the most direct and effective method.
Hamilton instantly understood Ernst's meaning. His eyes lit up. "You mean, every data center can store global user data, enabling data sharing, and when users access the system, the system will automatically assign them the nearest data center to ensure access speed?"
Ernst nodded, but Hamilton quickly realized the problem. He frowned and said, "But isn't the cost too high? It's like we're going to build four data centers that can accommodate all of Google's users. Whether it's hardware procurement, site construction, or subsequent maintenance, it will require a huge investment."
"You're right, the initial investment is indeed substantial, but in the long run, it's worth it."
Ernst patiently explained, "First, this greatly improves cybersecurity. Once global data sharing is achieved, it's like having three backup options while using one data center."
"Even if three of the data centers experience problems, as long as one is still functioning normally, Google's services will not be interrupted and user data will be protected."
This will also be the norm for internet companies in the future; architectures such as two-site three-center or three-site five-center will become very common.
By taking proactive measures now, Google can not only ensure user data security, but also set a benchmark in the industry, enhancing its competitiveness and user trust.
Hamilton nodded thoughtfully, and Ernst continued, "Besides, you only see the cost of purchasing the hardware, but you don't see the reduction in the cost of using it later."
"Lowered usage costs? How so?" Hamilton was still somewhat puzzled. He couldn't understand how building more data centers could reduce usage costs.
Ernst shifted to a more comfortable sitting position and began to give Hamilton a lesson: "Think about it, as the number of internet users around the world continues to increase, the functions of the internet will become more and more numerous, and the data generated by users will become larger and larger, making server expansion inevitable."
"Have you considered the corresponding electricity and cooling costs?"
Upon hearing this, Hamilton's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood what Ernst meant. "I get it. If all the servers are concentrated in one place, the power consumption will increase significantly as the number of servers increases, and the electricity bill will naturally rise as well."
"Moreover, servers generate a lot of heat when running. In order to ensure that the servers run normally, a lot of money needs to be invested in heat dissipation, which is another considerable expense."
"But if we distribute data centers to different locations, the situation is different. We can build data centers in naturally shady places like caves, which can greatly reduce heat dissipation costs."
Hamilton became increasingly excited as he spoke, "Or we could choose to build data centers in areas with cheap electricity, such as countries and regions with abundant hydropower resources and low electricity prices. In the long run, this could indeed greatly reduce operating costs."
“That’s right.” Ernst snapped his fingers, a smile of approval on his face. “That’s why I’ve been pushing for the construction of global data centers.”
"In addition to the current four global data centers, we will also classify data centers into Tier 1 and Tier 2 data centers in the future. This is equivalent to further splitting these four data centers to form a more complete and flexible global data network."
"In the future internet world, data will be the core asset. Whoever controls the data and ensures its security will be invincible in the fierce competition. What Google needs to do is to plan ahead, seize the initiative, and become a global leader in data security."
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