Alibaba invests $1bn in cloud computing arm Aliyun to compete with Amazon Web Services July 29, 2015 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is planning a $1bn push into the cloud, taking on Amazon by expanding its cloud computing unit Aliyun into international markets. The company, often described as the “Chinese Ebay”, is expanding its cloud computing arm from its current bases in China and Silicon Valley to the Middle East, Europe and Japan, [...]
These are Britain’s best companies for customer service: First Direct, Amazon and John Lewis July 15, 2015 Anyone who detests being taken for granted by a company will be pleased to know there's a list of firms offering shoppers the best customer service experience. Online bank First Direct scored 87 for the overall level of customer satisfaction, helping it overtake better-known brands such as Amazon and John Lewis in a ranking compiled [...]
British business lost a billion pounds to cyber crime last year June 13, 2016 The cost of cyber crime to British business came in at £1bn last year but the true price could be even higher, experts have warned. The number of online fraud crimes jumped nearly a quarter for the year to March, with 37,070 reported to the City of London's national Action Fraud reporting centre, which is the central [...]
Amazon wants to make talking to robots an everyday event with Echo June 25, 2015 Amazon is aiming to make talking to robots as normal an event as turning on the TV or checking your phone. The company has ambitious plans to make voice control ubiquitous in households and has started by launching the Amazon Echo, a wireless speaker you can control through voice commands by saying “Alexa”. Alexa is [...]
Tips from business, suppliers and buyers on getting your product noticed September 22, 2016 If there's one thing we’ve learned since Brexit, it’s that the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) always have big ambitions. No one ever said it was easy. Some of Britain’s largest and most influential businesses started out with nothing but an idea. Often, the most successful had very little initial investment, but made up [...]
Tech overtakes finance among top global companies July 4, 2016 Technology has stolen a march on finance, with the success of companies such as Alphabet and Microsoft helping the innovative sector surpass the traditional world of financial services among the world's top 100 companies over the past year. Technology firms in the list notched up a combined value of $3bn compared to financial firms' $2.7bn and the $2.6bn [...]
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has unveiled his space travel company Blue Origin’s new rocket – as well as launch plans from Cape Canaveral September 16, 2015 Amazon’s Jeff Bezos unveiled his space exploration company Blue Origin’s new rocket, announcing plans to fly from a classic launch pad in Cape Canaveral in Florida. The space travel startup announced a $200m investment to build a rocket manufacturing plant in the area, with plans to launch them from a pad that hasn’t been used [...]
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has unveiled his space travel company Blue Origin’s new rocket – as well as launch plans from Cape Canaveral September 15, 2015 Amazon’s Jeff Bezos unveiled his space exploration company Blue Origin’s new rocket, announcing plans to fly from a classic launch pad in Cape Canaveral in Florida. The space travel startup announced a $200m investment to build a rocket manufacturing plant in the area, with plans to launch them from a pad that hasn’t been used [...]
Amazon might be planning to launch online food service Fresh in the UK – but against Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and other major players, has it bitten off more than it can chew? September 23, 2015 If there were an award for the company that most shaped the retail zeitgeist over the past 10 years, then Amazon would most certainly be a contender. Its innovations have changed the way we shop. Such a pioneering status inevitably creates a great deal of interest. However, along with the interest come some hype: including the [...]
Retailer Amazon paid just £11.9mn in tax in 2014 June 25, 2015 The online retailing goliath Amazon’s UK business paid just £11.9mn in tax last year, despite earning £5.3bn in sales from British shoppers. Amazon’s Luxembourg arm, called Amazon EU Sarl, took in the £5.3bn of sales, with UK sales rising by 14 per cent in 2014. However, the British-based Amazon.co.uk Limited subsidiary recorded a profit of [...]