Werner Vogels: Why Amazon's CTO Isn't Retiring Yet

Amazon’s CTO, Werner Vogels, Remains Committed to Innovation

Werner Vogels, Amazon’s Chief Technology Officer, has held his position for 16 years, yet at 63 years old, he shows no signs of slowing down. “There is significantly more work to be completed; my contributions are not yet finished,” he stated during a recent interview at the annual re:Invent conference in Las Vegas. “We are thoroughly enjoying the diverse range of projects we are undertaking; it truly is a dream job.”

Vogels highlighted that the proportion of overall IT expenditure allocated to cloud services remains relatively small. Furthermore, he emphasized the extensive pipeline of technological advancements underway, asserting, “I have no intention of departing.”

Re:Invent’s Return to In-Person Events

Amazon made a considerable investment in the resumption of in-person conferences with re:Invent. Traditionally, the event attracts over 60,000 attendees to Las Vegas for a week. This year, approximately 27,000 people attended, still positioning it as one of the largest technology conferences even compared to pre-COVID years.

A New Era for AWS Leadership

The conference marked the first AWS event led by Adam Selipsky. His predecessor, Andy Jassy, now serves as CEO of Amazon’s retail division, succeeding Jeff Bezos. Selipsky did not announce any substantial shifts in AWS’s strategic direction during the event.

According to Vogels, there haven’t been any major changes in leadership approach. “I have known Adam for a long time, dating back to the second or first year of AWS, before his tenure at Tableau and his subsequent return,” Vogels explained. “He possesses an intimate understanding of the business.”

Vogels further noted the close working relationship between Selipsky and Jassy prior to Selipsky’s leadership at Tableau. “It’s simply a continuation of business as usual, though the external environment is constantly evolving, presenting new challenges for both AWS and its leadership.”

The Expanding AWS Service Portfolio

During his keynote, Vogels pointed out that AWS now offers hundreds of distinct services. He jokingly attributed this growth to customer demand, stating they continually request additional features. However, this expansion presents a challenge, as businesses find it increasingly difficult to determine the most appropriate service for their needs.

AWS, Vogels clarified, prioritizes the development of fundamental building blocks rather than complete frameworks. He also believes there’s an opportunity to create more comprehensive solutions and packaged offerings for customers.

“There remains a significant segment of AWS users who prefer the flexibility of building and customizing solutions, but a substantial portion simply desires a readily available data lake,” he said. Internal AWS teams also leverage these fundamental services to develop new solutions, providing rapid feedback loops.

Customer-Driven Development at AWS

For every service, AWS receives a long list of feature requests from users. Vogels explained that the development roadmap is often adjusted based on how customers are actually utilizing a service.

With DynamoDB, AWS’s NoSQL database, the team initially planned to launch without secondary indices to better understand usage patterns. “However, customers expressed a greater need for cell- and row-level security, prompting a shift in priorities. Allowing customer feedback to influence the roadmap is a healthier approach,” Vogels stated.

Addressing the Needs of Large Enterprises

Vogels also discussed the challenges faced by large, traditional enterprises transitioning to the cloud, extending beyond the technological aspects to encompass organizational and cultural changes. AWS’s partner network plays a crucial role in this process, and increasingly, enterprises are seeking direct assistance from AWS with these cultural shifts.

Security as a Primary Driver for Cloud Adoption

Five years ago, developer productivity and hardware cost reduction were the primary motivators for cloud migration. Today, Vogels noted, security is the number one reason. “Many organizations, particularly larger enterprises, are realizing their inability to adequately protect themselves and make the necessary investments. AWS can provide that security, making it a major driver for cloud adoption.”

This represents a significant shift from previous years, when enterprises often expressed concerns about cloud security. Vogels attributed those concerns largely to FUD – fear, uncertainty, and doubt – spread by competitors seeking to undermine cloud adoption.

“Competitors often resort to spreading misinformation and instilling fear rather than focusing on building superior products,” he explained. “The initial skepticism stemmed from the perception of purchasing servers from a bookseller, but ultimately, everyone wanted servers from Amazon. People failed to recognize that Amazon was a technology company from its inception.”

Early Impressions and the Scale of AWS

Vogels admitted to having a limited understanding of AWS before joining the company. When initially invited to speak while still an academic, he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Amazon. He recalled that attracting engineers was a significant challenge in the early days.

“However, a glimpse inside the kitchen revealed that everything discussed in distributed systems textbooks was happening at Amazon – but at a scale I had never witnessed before,” he said.

The Evolution of Cloud Security Perceptions

Similar misunderstandings existed regarding cloud security. While some stemmed from genuine confusion, Vogels acknowledged a second type – “mischievous misunderstandings” propagated by competitors.

“I recall a competitor, now a partner, actively telling potential customers not to worry about Amazon selling servers, deeming it ridiculous. Times have changed,” he added.

The Reality of Multi-Cloud Strategies

Many enterprise CIOs and CTOs express a desire for multi-cloud strategies to leverage the unique strengths of different cloud providers. All major vendors, including AWS, offer services to facilitate this. However, Vogels observed that few companies are actually implementing multi-cloud environments.

“If I were a CIO, I would encourage my team to explore the unique capabilities of each cloud provider. I wouldn’t advocate for transparently working across three or four clouds, as that leads to the lowest common denominator. You end up using the cloud as a data center, losing all the inherent advantages.”

Architecting for Portability

Vogels suggested that companies should architect systems with portability in mind, even if they ultimately choose a single cloud provider, to maintain flexibility for future migrations.

The Future of Compute: Instances, Containers, and Serverless

Vogels identified three primary compute platforms: instances, containers, and serverless. He suggested that different workloads are best suited for each. Specialized instances on EC2 are ideal for systems like SAP. Homegrown tools that can be decomposed into smaller blocks are well-suited for containers and Kubernetes. And completely new services should leverage serverless architectures.

“Interestingly, I initially expected serverless to gain traction among young entrepreneurs, but it has been adopted more widely by enterprises, likely due to its cost control benefits,” he noted.

Sustainability as a Core Principle

AWS recently added sustainability as the sixth pillar of its well-architected framework. The company plans to operate on 100% renewable energy by 2025, but Vogels emphasized that users also have a responsibility to optimize their cloud usage for efficiency.

“I encourage customers to consider ways to reduce resource consumption, such as using smaller images or optimizing application design. It requires a shift in mindset, but it’s crucial for achieving sustainability goals,” he said.

Quantum Computing on the Horizon

Looking ahead, Vogels expressed excitement about quantum computing. AWS is building its own quantum hardware based on superconducting qubits, while also partnering with existing quantum providers through its Braket service.

“Hardware and software development are intertwined in quantum computing. Improvements in hardware drive software advancements, and vice versa. Our customers can use Amazon Braket to explore algorithms and develop software for quantum systems. There’s still much to learn, but I’m eager to see where we are in three years.”

Werner Vogels is expected to continue sharing AWS’s latest advancements, including those in quantum computing, at re:Invent 2024 and beyond.