Is this the era of cloud computing? A recent article in the New York Times sets out to answer this question.
They start out by speaking to SynapDx, a company using software technology to look through thousands and thousands of genetic markers — the DNA of almost 900 children across the U.S. — in order to uncover clues about autism. Years ago, this would not have been possible to do unless one was part of a research institution, or large company. Today, SynapDx is able to do important medical research with just a few laptops, the internet, 22 employees, and cloud hosting services.
“Without the cloud I’d need $1 million, plus staff, just for the computer,” explains SynapDx’s vice president, Mark DePristo. By paying just for the computer power and computing solutions they need, they spend $25,000 a month on data processing instead.
For the past 50 years or so, computers have become an integrated part of the workplace. And in most cases, companies bought their own data-storage machines, storing their hardware on-site. According to industry experts, though, the tide may finally be turning on how the average company stores its data. They anticipate that 90% of new spending on communication and internet technologies will be going to cloud solutions.
The cloud represents a unique opportunity for startup companies like SynapDx, who can rent data as they need it and add more computer power as needed, rather than having to try and contain growth around the limits of existing hardware. As the Wall Street Journal points out, “Without the cloud, it would be almost inconceivable to fund a startup like Pinterest, which now loads 60 million photos a day onto AWS but employs 300 people.”
The reality of cloud is that it might end up upending older modes of business. Many companies that used to sell software by the package, along with service contracts, found their business model shaken by cloud — new software companies allowed startups to rent software over time. Ultimately, cloud computing solutions can help prices lower throughout multiple industries, thus passing savings on to consumers as well.
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