Jeff Towson discusses Snowflake, Alibaba, and his 3 favorite cloud business models in this podcast. Listen now to learn more about these companies and their business models. This podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in cloud computing!
Category Archives: Alibaba
Alibaba’s 11 Growth Strategies (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
I keep an eye on the larger moves by Alibaba. Not the constant stream of announcements and endless initiatives but the larger strategic moves that I think will change the trajectory of the company. This usually means talking with management when I can and following the investor days. A couple of years ago, Maggie Wu […]
Alibaba’s Cloud Platform is the Big Frontier (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
I wrote about Alibaba’s 5 growth strategies under “Domestic Consumption”. But CEO Daniel Zhang has also outlined 5 growth strategies for Alibaba Cloud. And their cloud business is what everyone has been speculating about. It’s the most exciting growth opportunity but it also has the greatest uncertainty. I’ve argued Alibaba is 100% in the platform […]
Alibaba, Amazon and the Power of Externalizing Capabilities (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
I’ve mentioned externalizing capabilities as a strategic move many times. I thought I would detail that out. It’s common strategy in digital business models. And it has been very effective at Alibaba and Amazon in particular. Several years ago, I summarized the evolution of Alibaba’s platform business models in 7 graphics. The Rise of Alibaba […]
My B2C Super Chart for “Ecommerce + Entertainment + KOLs / Influencers + Social Media” (US-Asia Tech Strategy)
I have one B2C “super chart”. It’s a bit ridiculous but stick with me. I think it is actually a good prediction of the future of B2C. The basic idea is that ecommerce is combining with entertainment. We see that in Taobao Live and TikTok already. And this is also being combined with social media […]
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What Amazon Should Copy From Alibaba and Pinduoduo (Tech Strategy – Podcast 124)
Amazon can learn a lot from Alibaba and Pinduoduo in terms of how to improve its consumer experience. Alibaba has integrated its ecommerce products with entertainment, payment, credit, and wealth management products, while Pinduoduo has focused on social commerce and group buying. Amazon could benefit from adopting some of these strategies in order to stay ahead of the competition.
Alibaba and Intersport: Why New Retail Could Be Powerful in Sports Apparel (3 of 3)
In Part 1 and Part 2, I gave some background on sports apparel in China and detailed my visit to the first Tmall – Intersport store in Beijing. It was pretty great. With lots of new digital initiatives. Note: the above picture is what happens when you change the gender setting on the magic mirror. […]
3 Lessons in Digitizing Sports Apparel from Intersport and Alibaba (2 of 3)
Several years ago, I got a message (via LinkedIn) from Robin Trebbe, who was at that time the Managing Director for China / Asia Pacific for Intersport International. They had a new project with Alibaba that was trying to digitize the sports apparel business. I jumped at the chance to do a visit. Note: I […]
Digitizing Sports Apparel: My Visit to the Tmall – Intersport Store in China (1 of 3)
Will “new retail” change sports apparel? It turns out it’s a really interesting question. Sports apparel retail is people buying running shoes, Nike gear, yoga pants, sweatshirts and so on. At first glance it looks like pretty standard apparel retail. Requiring lots of stores, good inventory management and effective marketing. So that certainly presents lots […]
The Secret Engine of Alibaba’s New Retail Is “Uni-Marketing” (Tech Strategy – Daily Article)
“New retail”, coined by Alibaba, was probably the least creative business term ever. But it was a big idea. You combine online and physical retail into a seamless, data-driven consumer experience. It is giving rise to new business models, from transformed supermarkets and cashier-less convenience stores to automated package pickup centers and re-imaged department stores. […]