What is the cloud?
From a consumer perspective (and in its most simplistic form), cloud computing refers to a method where access to computer infrastructure and services are made available over a broadband connection. As a result, we can consider any interaction that we have using an internet link to be an example of cloud computing, with the most common service applications offered being storage, data processing and software/systems.
HOW DO I USE THE CLOUD?
As broadband connections improve and become more accessible, we see consumers moving away from the physical ownership of digital products and the infrastructure required to store and/or process it. This has primarily been driven by the availability of cloud storage, initially the domain of business broadband customers (supplied by companies such as Dropbox), it is also now firmly within the home broadband market. Consider how we listen to music (with applications such as Apple Music and Spotify), how we watch films/television (through applications such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube) and how we read or listen to books (via kindle books and audible); a purchasing trend from owning a physical copy through to storing a digital copy and now subscribing to a service just to access a copy is clearly identifiable.
We can see that in terms of how modern content is being consumed, storage has become the concern of the media provider and less of a worry for the consumer (who simply subscribes to more capacity as required). The service providers responsibility being the capital cost of purchasing the storage plus the operating/time costs for keeping it available, updated, and secure.
As customers are effectively leasing access to these cloud services, we can expect a cost to be attributed for this on-demand and mobile subscription. This has the benefit of a huge media library being immediately available all the time that service is maintained, with the downside that any associated content will potentially never be owned.
Manufacturers of devices (such as smart phones, tablets, and personal computers) typically offer their own cloud storage solutions to supplement any onboard capacity, keeping your files, photos, passwords plus backups securely saved for peace of mind; (so in the event of damage, loss or upgrade) enabling a seamless migration from old devices to new as required.
HOW IS THE CLOUD IMPACTING ON THE WORLD?
Beyond how we access and store our files, the cloud has also shifted manufacturing trends and consumer habits with less focus on high-capacity local storage and a shift to imbed internet connectivity in almost all devices. Without the need for high-capacity storage, devices can be made smaller with less power draw, bringing down the cost of devices and increasing the life of batteries. As an example, the latest generation of games consoles (PlayStation 5 & XBOX S/X), are heavily weighted towards cloud gameplay and storage, with the XBOX S/X deliberately lacking an optical drive, making it a cloud only console. This evidences another benefit of the cloud, in that it is reducing waste by removing the need for the physical fabrication of products such as disc media and the associated packaging and paraphernalia associated with video game supply. An obvious counter argument being that the cloud (and its growth) requires vast, power-hungry data centres to support it.
WHAT POWERS THE CLOUD?
Until a ubiquitous broadband connection that is 100% consistent becomes available then there will be instances when cloud services (that may be business critical) cannot be accessed. Outside of the broadband link itself there can of course be disruptions from the service provider’s side. The larger percentage of today’s public cloud is hosted by some of the world’s most well-known companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft serving big business, consumers, science, and government alike. Reported at owning circa forty percent of the globes public cloud infrastructure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) suffered repeat outages throughout December 2021 (triggered initially by a power outage at one of its data centres and subsequently, network congestion on the AWS backbone) and this is with the resources and disaster recovery measures Amazon has as the fourth largest company in the world.
DOES MY BROADBAND CONNECTION SUPPORT CLOUD SERVICES?
As access to the cloud is fundamentally associated with a broadband connection, the quality of this link is an essential component in the user experience. The first consideration is that individual cloud services may stipulate minimum broadband connection requirements; this will typically focus on the bandwidth (speed) required to achieve a stable link, crucial for applications such as on-demand TV and internet radio. In short, all broadband internet connections will support cloud connectivity but depending on the method of access, the customer experience may vary.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING CLOUD SERVICES.
A major consideration will be data consumption (potentially an issue for consumers that do not have access to an unlimited data broadband internet connection) as cloud usage can use up a lot of data very quickly depending on the application in use. A second element of impact to a cloud service will be the latency of the connection which will be a major factor for time sensitive applications such as online gaming.