Amazon.com is an example of a business whose primary assets are its databases. Amazon has advertised itself as Earth’s largest bookstore, based on the millions of books they list in their database. Amazon also sells a variety of other products from music CDs to lawnmowers. The database keeps track of source inventory levels and processes sales transactions.
Another Amazon distinctive is the amount of information it keeps on its customers. In addition to the usual name and address information, Amazon keeps track of what products customers have bought in the past, and even of what they have shown an interest in but not bought. With this information, they automatically construct a profile of each customer.
Whenever a repeat customer visits the Amazon site, a personalized screen appears that advertises products they are most likely to buy, based on the preferences indicated by their profile. This profile is stored in a database, which is updated every time a customer returns to the site. Each return to the Amazon Web site, offers new recommendations specifically targeted to the customer.
Now add al that information to the 1 million Echo households in the U.S. And how that data becomes a valuable assets for any company.