In addition to our reviews on Quantum Computing that include Quantum Books, we also read a lot of science and Business books. As we see so many Quantum Start-ups enter the field, we thought we would include some of our best business books that we have enjoyed that you many also like and gain value from – even if you are not creating your own Quantum Business Venture.
Here we have a look at some of the existing company thinking that abounds from some of the great business minds. There might even be some tangential overlap with Quantum Computing.
Bezonomics (How Amazon Is Changing Our Lives, and What the World’s Companies Are Learning)
We love reading about amazon and it’s been a while since “The everything store” and this book provides the latest installment and insight into the workings of the online retailer which came out this month (May 2020). It doesn’t mention Quantum computing explicitly but it does outlay the trends and thinking behind Jeff Bezos, who is truly a giant of the e-commerce / e-tailing world. Whilst QC did not rear its head, we can likely expect in a couple of years this to make a mention as AWS (the division that generates vast income for Amazon) has enabled Quantum based cloud computing with a number of partners.
Of course we see themes of dominance in the way that Bezos enters new markets and his ruthless streak (with Diapers.com) where he basically forced the sale to Amazon by slashing prices on Amazon to drive the competitions margins to zero.
We could see this ruthless competitive streak this in the quantum eco-system where already AWS has a massive following and now it has entered the QC race it will look to cement its existing user base who wish to explore QC. When you think back to Quantum Cloud, IBM were the first to offer this, but perhaps despite all off this first mover advantage won’t be enough as there is “Amazon” form on this – being often second mover but with intense customer-centric focus that drives everything.
We don’t have the exact number of Quantum Cloud clients of IBM vs Amazon, but we think that many existing companies will simply stay with what they know – AWS and choose to stay with Amazon when it comes to exploring Quantum, despite IBM being first and having a three year lead. IBM is hardly resting, but as the world “cloudifies”, we are entering a world where it could be just a couple of companies providing the world’s technology infrastructure – AWS already appears the leader as it runs much of technology services such as Netflix and Hulu on its servers. IBM showed the world and Amazon the Quantum Cloud service and there is a market and now now Amazon has followed.
The book is a joy to read and is one of those books that requires little effort to read because it is well written and carefully constructed. Certainly for those who don’t know the backstory behind Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, you’ll get a flavour of not just the facts but the way that Jeff does “life”, because that secret sauce has made Amazon a formidable opponent in many sectors and as the author Brian Dumaine writes, we can expect health care and consumer finance next – as these are firmly on the radar. Quite how and when, we don’t know – but Amazon is watching and waiting – but importantly thinking….