ZDNet: Amazon expects profit by year-end

Jul 21, 2001, 21:00 (9 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Troy Wolverton, Greg Sandoval)

[ Thanks to abeowitz for this link. ]

Small mention of Linux here, but we'll include it because along with commodity PCs Linux is mentioned matter-of-factly as part of Amazon's plan to be profitable (pro forma) by the end of the fiscal year.

"...Along with its effort to increase growth, Amazon is also cutting costs across the board, representatives said. In its information technology department, for instance, Amazon has begun to revamp its computer systems, using "commodity" PCs and the Linux operating system, said Rick Dalzell, the company's chief information officer.

Amazon estimates that spending on technology as a portion of net sales will decrease by 20 percent this year. "The cost to serve a Web page is going down faster than the demand is rising," Dalzell said.

Amazon officials said they are also starting to outsource some fulfillment and customer service systems."

Complete Story

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