--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before, companies and startups had to lay…" description: "\"Before, companies and startups had to lay up all this capital for data centers and servers, and take your scarce resource, which in most companies is e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/andy-jassy-5580_cloud_before-companies-and-startups-had-to-lay_396008.jpg" --- # Before, companies and startups had to lay up all this… ![“Before, companies and startups had to lay up all this capital for data centers and servers, and take your scarce resource, which in most companies is engineers, and have them work on the undifferentiated heavy lifting of infrastructure. What the cloud has done is completely flipped that model on…” quote by Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/andy-jassy-5580_cloud_before-companies-and-startups-had-to-lay_396008.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/andy-jassy-5580_cloud_before-companies-and-startups-had-to-lay_396008.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/andy-jassy-5580_cloud_before-companies-and-startups-had-to-lay_396008.jpg) > “Before, companies and startups had to lay up all this capital for data centers and servers, and take your scarce resource, which in most companies is engineers, and have them work on the undifferentiated heavy lifting of infrastructure. What the cloud has done is completely flipped that model on its head so that you only pay for what you consume.” [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes how cloud computing shifts cost from fixed capital to variable usage, freeing resources for innovation. **In simple terms:** Cloud turns fixed costs into pay‑as‑you‑go, enabling innovation. Key Takeaway Leverage cloud for flexibility. Themes technology business model efficiency Mood analytical forward‑looking Type business technology When to use this quote - startup budgeting - IT infrastructure planning - product scaling Key Concepts cloud computing economics resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - How does pay‑as‑you‑go affect budgeting? - What risks exist in moving to the cloud? A Different Perspective Transition requires careful migration planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloud/) [Cloud Completely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloud-completely-3561924/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Data centers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data-centers/) [Infrastructure Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infrastructure-cloud-3561923/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Startups Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/startups-lay-3561925/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [The vast majority of companies will not own their own data centers in the fullness of time. All that computing is moving to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/the-vast-majority-of-companies-will-not-own-their-own-data-centers-in/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [We'd realized in the first ten years we'd built an infrastructure competence deep in the stack - reliable, scalable cost effective data centers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/we-d-realized-in-the-first-ten-years-we-d-built-an-infrastructure/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Personal computing today is a rich ecosystem encompassing massive PC-based data centers, notebook and Tablet PCs, handheld devices, and smart cell phones. It has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/personal-computing-today-is-a-rich-ecosystem-encompassing-massive-pc/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The first wave of the Internet was really about data transport. And we didn't worry much about how much power we were consuming, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmasree-warrior/the-first-wave-of-the-internet-was-really-about-data-transport-and-we/) [Padmasree Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmasree-warrior/) > [Tape with LTFS has several advantages over the other external storage devices it would typically be compared to. First, tape has been designed from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-arthur-crump/tape-with-ltfs-has-several-advantages-over-the-other-external-storage/) [George Arthur Crump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-arthur-crump/) > [Wikipedia was offline after an overheating problem at one of its data centers. It was pretty bad. For a while there, people had nowhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/wikipedia-was-offline-after-an-overheating-problem-at-one-of-its-data/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [A technology becomes truly disruptive when it drives the marginal cost of something that used to be scarce and expensive to approach zero. Thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-moore/a-technology-becomes-truly-disruptive-when-it-drives-the-marginal/) [Geoffrey Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-moore/) > [We believe we're moving out of the Ice Age, the Iron Age, the Industrial Age, the Information Age, to the participation age. You get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcnealy/we-believe-we-re-moving-out-of-the-ice-age-the-iron-age-the/) [Scott McNealy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcnealy/) > [“People outsourced their memories to data centers and basic skills to tabs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/people-outsourced-their-memories-to-data-centers-and-basic-skills-to/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Microsoft is in a court battle with the Department of Justice. The DOJ is saying, "We want information from your data center in Ireland.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/microsoft-is-in-a-court-battle-with-the-department-of-justice-the-doj/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ A different \[Ronald\] Reagan-era authority: EO 12333, an executive order for foreign-intelligence collection, as opposed to the ones we now use domestically. So this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/a-different-ronald-reagan-era-authority-eo-12333-an-executive-order/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [In Google data centers, our energy usage throughout the year for all our computing needs is 100 percent renewable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-dean/in-google-data-centers-our-energy-usage-throughout-the-year-for-all/) [Jeff Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-dean/) > [Our collaboration with Datapipe on a managed hybrid cloud solution for AWS removes many of the common barriers to cloud adoption. It offers customers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-landy/our-collaboration-with-datapipe-on-a-managed-hybrid-cloud-solution/) [John Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-landy/) > [I think Unix is a great system -- especially for running data centers -- because it is very mature, very reliable, very scalable. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-think-unix-is-a-great-system-especially-for-running-data-centers/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [ \[Sovereignty\] would break the American monopoly, but it would also break Internet business, because you'd have to have a data center in every country.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/sovereignty-would-break-the-american-monopoly-but-it-would-also-break/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Andy Jassy > [A lot of times in intense moments, you tend to play conservatively because you're just trying to avoid losing, as opposed to trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/a-lot-of-times-in-intense-moments-you-tend-to-play-conservatively/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [I think our relationship with Seattle has had ups and downs frankly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/i-think-our-relationship-with-seattle-has-had-ups-and-downs-frankly/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [We compete with very large companies. These are companies like Walmart and Target and Kroger and some very successful digital companies like eBay and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/we-compete-with-very-large-companies-these-are-companies-like-walmart/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Customers will always be nervous about lock-in, and I think the experience they had particularly with a company like Oracle, where it's a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/customers-will-always-be-nervous-about-lock-in-and-i-think-the/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Our leadership principles often have tension in them. And I think that's actually a good thing and it makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/our-leadership-principles-often-have-tension-in-them-and-i-think-that/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Everybody at the company has the freedom - and really, the expectation - to critically look at how it can be better and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/everybody-at-the-company-has-the-freedom-and-really-the-expectation/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [When you have a sitting president who's willing to publicly show his disdain for a company and the leader of a company, it's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/when-you-have-a-sitting-president-who-s-willing-to-publicly-show-his/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [The reason Netflix chose to use AWS is because they knew they'd be treated as every bit as important a customer as Amazon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/the-reason-netflix-chose-to-use-aws-is-because-they-knew-they-d-be/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Some businesses take off in the first year, and others take many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/some-businesses-take-off-in-the-first-year-and-others-take-many-years/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [For us, employee safety is priority number one for us in our fulfillment centers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/for-us-employee-safety-is-priority-number-one-for-us-in-our/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [You have to challenge people, often people who know a lot more about a subject than you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/you-have-to-challenge-people-often-people-who-know-a-lot-more-about-a/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [I think that always our focus is gonna be the customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/i-think-that-always-our-focus-is-gonna-be-the-customers/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [These are serious problems in all of our major cities: homelessness, education, there are are a number of them. And they require hard thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/these-are-serious-problems-in-all-of-our-major-cities-homelessness/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Even when we go back to having meetings in person, we will continue to incorporate a lot of the things we learned in virtual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/even-when-we-go-back-to-having-meetings-in-person-we-will-continue-to/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [We knew that the largest consumers of infrastructure would be large enterprise because they spend more absolute dollars. But we also had a mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/we-knew-that-the-largest-consumers-of-infrastructure-would-be-large/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) [Explore all 100 Andy Jassy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) ## More Cloud quotes > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [My Nirvana experience was much different than the other three guys. For me, it was really new and exciting. I was just a guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-smear/my-nirvana-experience-was-much-different-than-the-other-three-guys/) [Pat Smear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-smear/) > [Imagine if we can get information from sensors, compute it in the cloud, and find and plug water leakages - leakage wastes 20 per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajeev-suri/imagine-if-we-can-get-information-from-sensors-compute-it-in-the/) [Rajeev Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajeev-suri/) > [Baby now my heart is cold Now its a big cloud (big cloud) Hovering over my soul cos it miss you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paperboi/baby-now-my-heart-is-cold-now-its-a-big-cloud-big-cloud-hovering-over/) [Paperboi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paperboi/) > [I think everybody understands how important the cloud is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-benioff/i-think-everybody-understands-how-important-the-cloud-is/) [Marc Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-benioff/) > [There are amateurs who have seen that one of Uranus' poles is brighter than the other, or who have seen cloud formations on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-hammel/there-are-amateurs-who-have-seen-that-one-of-uranus-poles-is-brighter/) [Heidi Hammel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-hammel/) > [Microsoft is the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/microsoft-is-the-productivity-and-platform-company-for-the-mobile/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [One day, I got a call from Mani Ratnam sir's assistant, who said that the ace director was impressed after watching 'Naan' trailer and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-antony/one-day-i-got-a-call-from-mani-ratnam-sir-s-assistant-who-said-that/) [Vijay Antony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-antony/) > [“Cloud travel is well and good when you have mastered the landings. I never have. I must live, not dream about living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binyavanga-wainaina/cloud-travel-is-well-and-good-when-you-have-mastered-the-landings-i/) [Binyavanga Wainaina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/binyavanga-wainaina/) > [What if life is not carbon-based? Can life exist as a gas or a plasma? Could planets or stars in some sense be alive?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/what-if-life-is-not-carbon-based-can-life-exist-as-a-gas-or-a-plasma/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [If you look back over the history of computing, it started as mainframes or terminals. As PCs or work stations became prevalent, computing moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-levine/if-you-look-back-over-the-history-of-computing-it-started-as/) [Peter Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-levine/) > [Start-up should focus on innovation not on building on infrastructure. Thanks to Google cloud service they can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-holzle/start-up-should-focus-on-innovation-not-on-building-on-infrastructure/) [Urs Holzle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-holzle/) > [I have done conferences explaining that cloud is a bad idea. It's putting all your eggs in one basket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-demon-calce/i-have-done-conferences-explaining-that-cloud-is-a-bad-idea-it-s/) [Michael Demon Calce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-demon-calce/) > [Behind every cloud is another cloud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/behind-every-cloud-is-another-cloud/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [The thing about spending a lifetime under a long, bushy cloud of curls is that people naturally began associating me with my hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-welteroth/the-thing-about-spending-a-lifetime-under-a-long-bushy-cloud-of-curls/) [Elaine Welteroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-welteroth/) [Browse all 384 Cloud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloud/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Before, companies and startups had to lay up all this capital for data centers and servers, and take your scarce resource, which in most companies is engineers, and have them work on the undifferentiated heavy lifting of infrastructure. 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