• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Richard Branson double-booked his own job interview. The candidate stuck in traffic with him for 2.5 hours is now Virgin's CEO

2

The heiress of $10 billion Perdue Farms and the $12 billion Sheraton Hotels empire wore hand-me-downs, still rides the subway, and flies economy

3

IBM’s CEO disagrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s disdain for texting in meetings: ‘Telling people they can't use their technology would be weird’

1

Richard Branson double-booked his own job interview. The candidate stuck in traffic with him for 2.5 hours is now Virgin's CEO

2

The heiress of $10 billion Perdue Farms and the $12 billion Sheraton Hotels empire wore hand-me-downs, still rides the subway, and flies economy

3

IBM’s CEO disagrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s disdain for texting in meetings: ‘Telling people they can't use their technology would be weird’
TechFortune 500

Walmart Gears Up Anti-Amazon Stance in Wake of Whole Foods Deal

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 21, 2017, 8:27 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Days after arch-rival Amazon announced plans to buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, Walmart is apparently ramping up its defense.

That acquisition takes square aim at Walmart’s bread-and-butter grocery business by giving the online retailer 465 new retail locations—thus a much bigger brick-and-mortar presence.

Now, Walmart is telling some partners and suppliers that their software services should not run on Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report quoted Bob Muglia, CEO of Snowflake Computing, saying that a Walmart (WMT) partner wanted to use his company’s data warehouse service, but was told it had to run on Microsoft (MSFT) Azure cloud instead of AWS.

Related: Walmart Wants to Unchain Retailers From Their Cloud

Currently, Snowflake’s software runs only on AWS.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

In an emailed statement, an Amazon (AMZN) spokesman said: “Yes, we’ve heard that Walmart continues to try to bully their suppliers into not using AWS because they have an incorrect view that AWS is somehow supporting Amazon’s Retail business.”

Many suppliers are standing up to Walmart on this front, he added.

A Walmart spokeswoman said that the company’s vendors can use any cloud provider that meets their, and their customers’ needs but “it shouldn’t be a big surprise that there are cases in which we’d prefer our most sensitive data isn’t sitting on a competitor’s platform.”

Snowflake could not be reached for comment.

Related: Amazon Buying Whole Foods Could Boost Cloud Business

Actually, this is a flare up of an old story. Walmart has long used competitive cloud computing technology based on OpenStack and other open-source technology for its workloads. Other retailers—including The Gap, eBay, and PayPal—have also talked about their use of OpenStack.

That computing project was launched by NASA and Rackspace eight years ago to act as a counterweight to the growing power of AWS in public cloud.

Related: OpenStack Struggles in Public Cloud Wars

In the past, Amazon has touted many retailers including Nordstrom and Instacart that use AWS computing, storage and networking services, and that the computing arm operates separately from the parent company’s retail business.

Note: (June 21, 2017 11:45 a.m.) This story was updated to include comment from an Amazon spokesman.

Note: (June 21, 2017 11:00 p.m.) This story was updated to add Walmart comment.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in Tech


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.