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Amazon Web Services Launches New Media Services for Videos

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Amazon.com, Inc.’s (AMZN - Free Report) Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently launched AWS Elemental Media Services, a suite of five cloud based tools to enable building video offerings in cloud and monetize them.

AWS claims that the new services automate video operations management, save a lot of time and effort, and eradicate the need of pricey equipment and infrastructure for video data centers.

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AWS Elemental Media Services

AWS Elemental MediaConvert allows publishers to format and compress video-on-demand content and send them to any playback device. The service claims to offer high quality transcoding and broadcast-level features. AWS Elemental MediaLive enables publishers to encode broadcast-grade live video for connected devices and televisions. AWS Elemental MediaPackage allows producers to build and secure live video streams with added tools like immediate playback.

AWS Elemental MediaStore enables delivery of video from high-performance storage optimized for media. AWS Elemental MediaTailor helps monetize videos by inserting personalized ads.

Our Take

The move indicates that Amazon is working on boosting AWS. That makes sense as the unit that was once started to handle the company’s own storage needs has quickly become a billion-dollar business and the cash cow for Amazon. The business generates much higher margins than retail and therefore has a positive impact on Amazon’s profitability.

Amazon.com, Inc. Net Income (TTM)

We believe that the move will boost functionality, partner ecosystem and the experience AWS offers and lead to continued customer wins. AWS has already taken a lead over rival services, such as Microsoft’s (MSFT - Free Report) Azure, Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google Cloud Platform and International Business Machines’ (IBM - Free Report) IBM Cloud.

If AWS continues to witness the same kind of success, investors can hope for far more growth.

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