cloud news
Markus Haranas
“This year has been marked by great accomplishments and a lot of progress in the face of challenges and often dizzying change,” said Adam Selipsky, AWS CEO, in a letter to employees.
In a note to thousands of Amazon Web Services employees, CEO Adam Selipsky touted their great achievements in 2022 while urging them to prepare for the headwinds to come.
“This year has been marked by great achievements and a lot of progress in the face of challenges and often dizzying change,” said Selipsky. “And of course also from all the uncertainty in the world and the concern about it [it] can bring.”
The AWS CEO said what stood out most was that the people “could adapt and tirelessly – undeterred and undistracted – delivered to our customers and partners.”
[Related: 2nd Watch CEO: 5 Positive AWS Trends Heading Into 2023]
However, Selipsky told his employees to brace for some headwinds next year.
“Certainly there are headwinds in the world. Let’s all continue to support each other and do our best every day,” he said. “I come into the office every morning amazed by the innovation we are sparking, the transformation we are driving and the impact we are having.”
AWS performance in 2022
Selipsky hailed several of AWS’ biggest accomplishments this year – many of which made it into CRN’s 10 Biggest AWS News of 2022 – including support for Ukraine and the launch of a number of new AWS products and innovations.
“I feel so fortunate to be collaborating with all of you and bringing innovation to life,” said the AWS CEO. “From opening four new AWS infrastructure regions, releasing groundbreaking new services, announcing hundreds of new customers, personally mentoring 50,000+ people and 300,000+ virtual registrations at re:Invent – all truly amazing accomplishments. “
Selipsky highlighted how his Seattle-based company provided crucial support to Ukraine during the Russian invasion, including pledged more than $75 million in aid.
In July, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded AWS the Ukraine Peace Prize for the support AWS has shown to the Ukrainian government and people.
sustainability and education
In his letter to employees, the CEO also highlighted how AWS has “made significant progress toward our sustainability goals,” including Amazon’s goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2025.
“We’ve already covered more than 85 percent of the way there,” he said. “And new to AWS, [is] be water positive by 2030.”
Last month, the global cloud leader pledged that within eight years, AWS will give back to communities more water than it uses for its cloud operations.
In recent years, AWS has charged a certification and training fee.
The company has set itself the goal of training 29 million people by 2025.
In 2022, AWS helped more than 13 million people gain access to cloud computing skills through its free employee programs.
“I hope you are all really proud of yourself and your teammates! I know I am,” Selipsky said of educating millions of people.
According to IT research firm Synergy Research Group, the $80 billion cloud computing giant currently has a 34 percent market share of the global cloud services market.
Selipsky ended his letter to employees by urging them to relax and recharge over the holidays.
“Thank you for a great 2022,” said Selipsky. “I look forward to the coming year with all of you.”
