We risk becoming citizens of new cloud empires
February 18, 2014
Grazed from TechRepublic. Author: Nick Hardiman.
The rise of cloud computing has led to hyperscale providers–i.e., companies that provide more computing services than has ever been possible. The cloud giants are battling for control at every layer of the technology stack, and the winners will become the new cloud empires. Think about it: Did you become part of the Samsung empire when you bought your smartphone? When you moved your servers to Microsoft Windows Azure, did you become their citizen?
Hyperscale cloud providers are empires.
The biggest cloud providers are enormous. For instance, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google App Engine, HP Public Cloud, Rackspace, and Windows Azure are either huge in their own right (AWS turned over $3.8 billion in 2013) or are backed by huge companies (HP has approximately 331,800 employees). The hyperscale cloud providers spread across national borders and fight for market share. These providers have massive resources of money, employees, and equipment…
You are a citizen in a cloud empire.
Powerful companies are fighting each other to grab land in the new cloud world. If you think of the hyperscale providers as empires, you are a citizen in a totalitarian state. All your interactions with technology are turned into data and fed into algorithms, making your life transparent…
Read more from the source @ http://www.techrepublic.com/article/we-risk-becoming-citizens-of-new-cloud-empires/
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