Assignment 7.1

Please see attached for assignment details and chapter 7 :Case Study: Annual Planning at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Before beginning this assignment, review the Chapter 7 section regarding annual plan development.

Background

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the worlds leading cloud service provider. Its strategic goals include maintaining market leadership, driving innovation, and improving customer satisfaction. AWS operates in a highly dynamic environment, where new competitors, technological advancements, and evolving customer needs continuously influence its strategies.

As the year comes to a close, AWS is finalizing its annual plan for next year. Several challenges have emerged:

1. Google Cloud introduced aggressive pricing for its AI-enabled services, capturing more enterprise clients.
2. AWS experienced disruptions in its supply chain for server components, delaying new deployments.
3. Customer surveys highlighted slower-than-expected customer support for small business clients.

AWS is conducting its annual planning process to update strategies and align resources effectively for the coming year.

Tasks

Step 1: Research AWS

Use public sources (e.g., AWS blog, Statista, or reputable business news outlets) to summarize at least one key trend in the cloud industry that could impact AWSs planning for next year. Include a brief explanation of why this trend matters.

Step 2: Analyze the Intelligence Refresh

Combine the challenges from the case information with the key trend(s) you researched in Step 1.

Identify two pieces of intelligence (internal or external) that AWS should consider in its annual planning process. Explain how these pieces of intelligence could influence AWSs strategic goals.

Step 3: Evaluate the Relevance of Goals

AWS has outlined three goals for next year:

Goal A: Launch a new AI-based analytics service by mid-year.

Goal B: Achieve a 20% increase in small business client subscriptions.

Goal C: Improve supply chain efficiency to reduce deployment delays by 15%.

Evaluate each goal above for relevance to the annual plan. Decide whether it should remain unchanged, be adjusted, or replaced. If you adjust or replace a goal, state the new goal. For each, provide clear reasoning based on the case information and your research.

Step 4: Reflect on Annual Planning

In 200-300 words, reflect on the importance of annual planning for a company like AWS. Use examples from the case to support your response.