In the early days, they had a ton of special configurations, like w.amazon.com - the internal wiki, which was probably running in a datacenter somewhere.
But in recent years, they run entirely on AWS. They even have solutions architects to help them build things in a resilient way. They also spent years ripping out Oracle and replacing it with RDS MySQL, PostgreSQL and Aurora.
You guys also have “vending machines” for things like Ethernet cables in the office with price tags displayed. They’re free, but it’s to remind you not to waste Bezos’ money on frivolous things. And you pay market-rate for microwave reheated salmon in the cafeteria.
...then they go and buy more of some the most expensive office space in the world per-sqft.
Source: I interviewed there 3 times and every time left me with a dystopic impression of the company. To add insult to injury their recruiter only ballparked me only slightly above half of my then-TC.
I stopped working there in 2019 and in the few years I worked there I never saw prices on the IT kit in the vending machines. The IT vending machines were one of the better ideas I've seen at companies I've worked at. Many companies would require you to open a ticket and have an IT person hand deliver the keyboard, mouse, or other accessory to your desk. At Amazon, you can just go to the vending machine, swipe your badge, and get whatever you need, no human work required.
How is that a negative? Seems like a more efficient way to operate a company.
At Microsoft, in my buildings at least, they kept the giant PC-recycle boxes around for a few months and we were encouraged to fish-out anything useful (I know other teams forbade this, it's complicated). When there was something I needed I could usually get it from my team's admin-assistant just by asking them over Lync. I never had to file a request with IT to get any parts or equipment I needed.
> Seems like a more efficient way to operate a company.
I do actually agree with you - it's just a matter of framing the company's practices.
That's not a given.
At least in the early AWS days, internal sites had special configurations.
Source: worked there.