Amazon.com played a key role in the development of cloud computing when upgrading their data centers after the dot-com bubble and providing access to their systems by way of Amazon Web Services in 2002 on a utility computing basis . Amazon played a key role in the development of cloud computing by modernizing their data centers after the dot-com bubble , which , like most computer networks , were using as little as 10 % of their capacity at any one time , just to leave room for occasional spikes . Having found that the new cloud architecture resulted in significant internal efficiency improvements whereby small , fast-moving `` two-pizza teams '' could add new features faster and more easily , Amazon initiated a new product development effort to provide cloud computing to external customers , and launched Amazon Web Service ( AWS ) on a utility computing basis in 2006 .