Amazon owns Amazon Web Services, the cloud-computing division launched in 2006.
AWS began with foundational services including Amazon Simple Storage Service, or S3, and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, or EC2. These services let organizations rent storage and computing capacity instead of buying and operating all the necessary hardware themselves.
The division became a major part of Amazon's business and a significant contributor to its operating income. Its customers range from startups to governments and large global enterprises.
AWS is often confused with Amazon's online retail operation because both sit inside the same corporation. Market analysts usually report AWS as a distinct operating segment when evaluating Amazon's financial performance and market value.