Cloud Computing: Apple Challenging Google, Amazon.com in Cloud-Services Business
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Apple has been quietly building cloud-computing services to challenge Google and Amazon.com's cloud-computing empires. The iPhone and iPad maker is constructing a data center in Maiden, N.C., to support this endeavor There are whispers that Apple is building a Web-based music-streaming service and much more. Google is well-known to be building a music service as well, and Amazon.com just bashed both companies over the head with its Amazon Cloud Drive, data storage service that's free for up to 5GB of file storage. What's going on here? It's the early stages of what will be a cutthroat gold rush for all three companies to entice consumers to pick their respective services. Just as there are hundreds of car types, there won't be one cloud service to rule them all. Consumers already cross-pollinate, flitting from Apple to Google to Amazon.com based on each company's strengths. But there's no question there is a pot of gold for companies that can find the right product and value proposition to lure the most customers to their clouds. Here eWEEK details the moves the companies have made of late as they glide toward cloud-computing supremacy.
Apple Hiring Cloud Whiz
Apple Insider noted Apple had posted this job listing for a "Cloud Systems Software Engineer," who would join a small team building "the future of cloud services at Apple." Oops. This is perhaps not the best way to launch a sneak attack against serious rivals in the cloud-services business. Apple would later replace the cloud term with "Web services." Same difference really. Only the job listing would be less likely to pop up for keyword searches on Google for Apple and Cloud.
