Architectural Features
Amazon is an American retail company that carries out e-commerce services and has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington. The company was initially launched in the year 1994 as an online bookstore and has now expanded as the largest online retailer of a variety of products. Some of the prominent products that are offered by Amazon include books, electronics, home appliances, apparels, beauty products, groceries, music, video games, fashion accessories, and many more.
There are a lot many E-commerce models that have been developed. Some of the primary models include Business to Business (B2B), Consumer to Business (C2B), Consumer to Consumer (C2C), and Business to Business (B2B). The mobile app of Amazon is primarily designed using B2B and B2C models. The customers are allowed to exchange the products and sell the same using the Amazon mobile app and the e-commerce site. There are specific set of features and products that are included in the application to make sure that the customers and business organizations are provided with abundant set of products to choose from (Amazon, 2018).
There are three layers that are included in the architecture of the mobile application that has been developed for Amazon.
Amazon application includes presentation layer at the top of the architecture. The front end of the mobile application is included and is controlled by this layer. The User Interface (UI) and a simple layout are assured using the presentation layer in the architecture. There are different elements and menu options included in the mobile application and the UI offered through this layer allows the browsing through such options as self-explanatory. There is also a search function that is included in the mobile application of Amazon. Using the search function, the users will be able to search for a specific product on the application. As a result, the ease of usage and ease of accessibility is enhanced.
The input fields that are included in the application make use of data validation techniques. As a result, the users get the ability to access and browse through the options, such as orders, settings, and likewise. It is also possible to customize the options on the application, such as language customization, setting up of the country for making the purchase, preferred payment options, and likewise (Kim, 2013).
The second layer that is included in the architecture of the Amazon application is Business layer. There is an option for the users to log in to the application using their credentials and a One-time password (OTP) is sent to their registered mobile number from the security point of view. The security of the application is also enhanced with the use of session management, secure socket layers, and secure payment gateways. There is an inclusion of Single Sign on (SSO) functionality in the mobile application for enhanced authentication.
Amazon also offers a wide range of cloud-computing services which are known by the name of Amazon Web Services (AWS). These services are also included in the Amazon mobile app for the purpose of caching and handling the exceptions. ElastiCache is also one of the Amazon web services that are used for cache management in the mobile app.
Application Interfaces
The third layer that is included in the architecture of the Amazon app is the data layer. In this layer, there are methods and protocols that are used and implemented for the purpose of identity management of the users and for their access control. There are a wide range of users that are involved with the Amazon app and the user access is controlled using the mechanisms included in this layer. A combination of authentication schemes and protocols is used for the purpose of access control and for managing the user identities to enhance the security of the application.
The application makes use of huge clusters of data sets. Some of these data sets include customer data & information, payment details of the users, product information, and many more. These data sets are managed and handled using the automated data analytics tools along with the Big Data analytics tools for easier management and organization (Aws, 2018).
User Interface (UI) of a mobile app holds a lot of significance as users form connection with an application on the basis of its UI. The functionalities and services offered by the application come after its user interface. Amazon app has a UI that is visually appealing and has the potential to enhance and maintain the experience levels of the users.
There are other in-house applications that are integrated with the mobile app of Amazon to provide an integrated environment to the users. One such application is Amazon Pay. It is an electronic wallet that the users may utilize at the time of the purchase. They may choose to pay using their Amazon Pay wallet and all of the cashbacks are also credited in this wallet. Another application that is integrated with the mobile app is Amazon Prime. It is an application that allows faster deliveries of the services and products for the prime customers. There is a monthly and yearly subscription fee that is required to be paid to become a prime member. Sell on Amazon is another application that is integrated for allowing the users and business organizations to sell their products on Amazon.
A wide range of web services are also included on the application for cache handling and management, management of the data sets, customer relationship management, and security management.
The primary products that were available on Amazon were book as it was started as an online bookstore. With the expansion of the customer base and inclusion of latest technologies, Amazon began expanding and now includes a wide range of new and refurbished products for its customers. The mobile application was also re-developed to make sure that the new set of features and product catalogue was included in the application.
There were several changes to the security of the application that were also required to be made. It is because with the increase in the type and quality of the data sets, there are enhanced numbers of security risks that have emerged. Some of the security risks and attacks include malware attacks, denial of service attacks, man in the middle attacks, data breaches, data leakage, and likewise. The re-development of the application was then done from the security aspects to make sure that the security features and protocols were included. It was done with the purpose of avoiding and preventing the security risks and attacks.
Business Processes Redevelopment (BPR)
There is also an integration of the mobile application that has been done with the other in-house applications developed by Amazon. These include Amazon Pay, Amazon Prime, and Sell on Amazon. There has been an upgrade done in terms of the web services as well. A wide range of web services are also included on the application for cache handling and management, management of the data sets, customer relationship management, and security management.
There are a number of benefits that have been provided to the users and the stakeholders of Amazon through the release of its mobile app.
- The users can access the application and its services from any location and are provided with increased mobility.
- There is no specific open or close time for retailing and the services are available on a 24×7 basis.
- Order tracking is a service that is provided on the application and it is also allowed to connect with a customer support representative in case of a query.
- The level of customer engagement and customer satisfaction has gone up.
- The users are notified with the status of their orders through emails, messages, and notifications on their registered mobile number. This ensures the availability of the customer at the delivery address.
- There is information shared regarding the latest discount offers and deals which enhances the user engagement with the organization.
- The re-development of the mobile application has introduced enhanced visual appeal.
- There is a high degree of personalization and customization that is allowed on the mobile application. It leads to the maintenance of user engagement with the mobile app.
- There are certain features that can be accessed in the offline mode as well that enhance the level of customer interaction.
The mobile application and its launch have provided numerous benefits to Amazon.
- The mobile application allows the users to access the services at any time and from any location. There is enhanced mobility that comes along with the mobile app and it has led to the expansion of the customer base.
- The mobile application that has been developed by the company can be utilized as a medium for marketing and advertising as well. The users are notified about the latest deals and offers that enhances their connection with the application.
- With the increase in the customer base, there has been an increase in the revenues earned by Amazon.
- The organization has also managed to sync the mobile app with its other in-house applications and web services. This has led to the enhancement of user satisfaction levels.
The release and re-development of the mobile application by Amazon has provided the company with numerous benefits. However, there have been certain issues that have also cropped up.
There are technical faults and errors that are associated with the mobile applications and one such case was witnessed for Amazon as well. In the year 2015, the iOS users reported that the application regularly froze on their iPhones. The application did not respond to any of the user actions and the company had to release an update to resolve the problem (Kartini, 2015).
Security of the application is another primary concern that has been witnessed with the application. There have been issues of service unavailability due to the occurrence of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The attack came up in the year 2016 and there were a wide range of applications and services that were impacted including Amazon. Amazon Web Services (AWS) were targeted by the attackers that implicated the features of the mobile app (Phys, 2016). Another security attack took place in the year 2017 in the form of a data breach. The private user credentials were captured by the attackers to alter their financial data. The data integrity was violated as an outcome of the attack (Abel, 2017).
With the occurrence of such security risks and attacks, the organization has managed to maintain a minimal downtime. However, repeated occurrences have led to the negative implications on the user engagement.
There are newer developments and enhancements that are taking place in the field of mobile applications and technologies. It is necessary to make use of such latest developments to enhance the functionalities and user experience associated with the app.
- One of the widely used technologies in the current times is Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Amazon mobile application shall also make use of the technology to enhance its feature sets and automate the services that are offered by the app.
- The users in the present times wish to have integrated unit and platforms available and accessible to them. Internet of Things (IoT) is the technology that shall be used to offer the integrated units and components to the users (Marutitech, 2018).
- Amazon is using the concepts and features of Augmented Reality (AR) to provide new and innovative products to the users. The technology shall be utilized in the mobile application as well.
- One of the primary concerns that are associated with the mobile applications in the current times is the security of the application and the information sets. The security team of Amazon must research and incorporate latest security tools and controls to enhance the security of the mobile app.
With the use and incorporation of the technologies that are listed above, it will be possible to further enhance the user experience and satisfaction. The organization must also release the updates on the mobile application at regular intervals to make sure that the user experience and engagement with the application is always improved and maintained.
References
Abel, R. (2017). Amazon breach shows need for stronger third-party cybersecurity. [online] SC Media US. Available at: https://www.scmagazine.com/hackers-compromise-third-party-vendor-amazon-accounts/article/649665/ [Accessed 18 Aug 2018].
Amazon (2018). Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more. [online] Amazon.com. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/ [Accessed 18 Aug 2018].
Aws (2018). Mobile Partner Solutions. [online] Amazon Web Services, Inc. Available at: https://aws.amazon.com/mobile/partner-solutions/ [Accessed 18 Aug 2018].
Kartini, E. (2015). 5 Ways To Fix Unresponsive Amazon App On IPhone – Technobezz. [online] Technobezz. Available at: https://www.technobezz.com/5-ways-to-fix-unresponsive-amazon-app-on-iphone/ [Accessed 18 Aug 2018].
Kim, H. (2013). Architecture for Adaptive Mobile Applications. [online] Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.14257/ijbsbt.2013.5.5.21 [Accessed 18 Aug 2018].
Marutitech (2018). 7 Trends that Define the Future of Mobile Application Development. [online] Maruti Techlabs. Available at: https://www.marutitech.com/7-trends-of-mobile-application-development/ [Accessed 18 Aug 2018].
Phys (2016). Ongoing cyber attack hits Twitter, Amazon, other top websites (Update). [online] Phys.org. Available at: https://phys.org/news/2016-10-twitter-spotify-websites-ddos.html [Accessed 18 Aug 2018].
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