The Cloud as a Game Changer
Till now, I have been giving a close look at cloud implementation. This post is more about how the cloud has changed the technology sector, especially those in the hardware side of the information technology business. The change according to me is more a tectonic shift which will dramatically transform the hosting landscape in the coming days. I am not talking about website owners adopting the cloud. I think we are on the verge of something much bigger, more revolutionary, more fundamental than we have been witness to in this century.
The switching, storage and other internet enabling technology
Look at Cisco. This hitherto hardware giant is trying to survive the cloud challenge but struggling. As we see more redundancy in datacentres, Cisco will encounter more problems. Let’s not forget that bigger giants have fallen. What about storage? An unknown pigmy called Zoolz, is giving away 100 GB of online storage for free. I call this dangerously disruptive technology. Forget the small guys; Google is planning a replacement for its workhorse Intel’s ARM technology. Google has tried its hand on developing hardware earlier, but we all know that it has not had such a spectacular entry into this arena.
These developments I am talking about may not directly impact on the future of cloud but in a way they are pointers to what kind of disruption we are likely to witness in the coming years.
File transfer, internet speed and animation studios
Animation essentially calls for transfer of huge files in the order of hundreds of GB each. This has created a massive roadblock in adopting cloud technology for animation business. I previously thought that this problem is insurmountable, but as usual I was wrong. I read recently that IBM is planning to acquire Aspera, which provides technology to move big data at lightning speed. Aspera uses a patented technology which speeds up file transfer – cutting a twenty six hour transfer time of a 24 GB file, sent halfway around the world, whittled to a bare thirty seconds. This is what I call a game changer. I am not worried about this one company, but if they can do it, I am sure that many more such innovations are on the way. Imagine what this file transfer technology will do to the animation business. Everyone will adopt the cloud because the main bottleneck of file transfer will be removed.
Decline in PC sales
This is sad news. PC vendors are in the red and sales have dipped as never before. The internet has swallowed a huge chunk of PC business as users move to hand-held devices, tablets and mobiles to access the internet and do what they used to do earlier with a PC. But there is a silver lining to this cloud. For example, Acer, a Taiwanese PC maker, is slowly adopting hardware cum software business model to compensate for the fall in sales. They are creating a combination of hardware and software in what the company is calling a “build your own cloud” or BYOC approach. It will be interesting to see how this strategy unfolds.
Conclusion
These are but a few examples of how shift in technology and new developments will nudge users to adopt cloud technology. There are many forces acting simultaneously and pushing users, vendors and businesses into the cloud. Let’s see what’s in store in 2014. Till then I wish everyone a very happy New Year.
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About the Guest Author:
Sankarambadi Srinivasan, ‘Srini’, is a maverick writer, technopreneur, geek and online marketing enthusiast rolled into one. He began his career as a Naval weapon specialist. Later, he sold his maiden venture and became head of an offshore Database administration company in Mumbai. He moved on as Chief Technology Officer of one of the largest online entities, where he led consolidation of 300 online servers and introduced several Web 2.0 initiatives. He holds a Master’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication.
