It seems like just a little while ago that the world was introduced to the mysterious, abstract, and often confusing term “cloud computing.”
Evocative of a fresh, clean, airy, futurist utopia, cloud computing took the world by storm, gaining millions of users — even though a good proportion of them weren’t even sure what it was they were using.
What cloud computing actually is may perhaps be a bit of a letdown to those imagining super-smart microprocessors floating in the sky.
In reality, cloud computing is nothing more than shared data storage on a mass scale, operated by large companies offering countless terabytes at miniscule prices to anybody with Internet access.
They call it the cloud because its users don’t ever see or physically touch this new storage medium. They tap into it using their personal devices and are usually unaware when data flows into or out of it.
As far as most of us are concerned, our data just exists somewhere, securely stored, backed up, and even ensured against malfunctions and hardware failures.
But while some of the intrigue of the cloud is just an illusion, its impact on the way we use modern technology has been impossible to deny.
The Most Significant Innovation Since the World Wide Web
Here are just a few salient facts about how cloud computing has transformed the way we live and work in the digital age:
The basic concept of shared computing has been around since the 1950s, but what we think of as the cloud today got its start around the turn of the millennium.
The first mainstream cloud platform for publicly accessible cloud computing was Microsoft Azure, which was announced in 2008 and launched in 2010.
Since that first step into the new age of storage, cloud has taken over the data management industry like nothing before, gaining acceptance even faster than the Internet itself did back in the mid-1990s.
In 2015, a full half of American companies are planning increased budgeting for cloud computing needs.
94% of managers state that their business security has improved with the implementation of cloud solutions.
80% of managers claim the cloud reduces overall IT costs, and 60% claim it even cuts energy costs.
75% of businesses report that cloud computing has improved their ability to deliver services.
Total market size has grown five-fold since 2011:
By 2020, the total market value of the cloud computing industry is predicted to exceed the $270 billion mark.
A new server goes online for every 1,200 newly activated smartphones.
And my personal favorite: Every two days, the same amount of information enters the cloud as was created between the dawn of history and 2003, or about 6 exabytes (6 billion gigabytes).
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Going the Way of the 8-Track and Cassette Tape
On a physical level, since this trend started just a few short years ago, we’ve seen the gradual decline of traditional storage media like CDs and DVDs.
Soon enough, they will be gone forever, and all of our information will exist far away from those who create and access it.
But what’s the next step? Where do we go from here?
Well, data is one thing, but a vast amount of internal storage capacity for the devices we use is taken up not by raw information but by the applications that create and manage that information.
Commonly used apps like Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop are still sold as hard copies and still take up significant volumes of internal storage capacity for even the most modern personal computing devices.
So right now, there’s a new trend emerging from within this already substantial market force.
Call it an evolution or just a natural extension, but the trend will do for applications what has already been done for data.
Not Just Data Storage… Global Computing
The power of the cloud will grow to provide advanced and highly improved processing capability, not just storage capacity.
Personal devices will be smaller and perhaps even cheaper while running applications faster and with less downtime than in the past.
That is the next step, and it’s only now getting off the ground.
While plenty of companies are researching and investing in the development of this new wave of centralized computing, there is one that stands out.
It’s one of the smaller firms, but it has a close relationship with one of the biggest names in cloud computing. It has a clear path to industry domination.
In fact, it’s so well positioned that there’s already talk of a buyout — even as this company’s stock trades at $5.
Jason Stutman, editor of The Cutting Edge financial advisory, is pretty sure you’ll see a major play for this company in the next year.
In fact, he’s wagering that it’s going to happen.
His new report, which was published earlier this week, came ahead of a recommendation by Roth Capital.
Since then, the mainstream financial press has started to pick up on it — with a report out by Barron’s that foresees shares doubling in the near future.
Fortune favors the bold,
Alex Koyfman
Check us out on YouTube!His flagship service, Microcap Insider, provides market-beating insights into some of the fastest moving, highest profit-potential companies available for public trading on the U.S. and Canadian exchanges. With more than 5 years of track record to back it up, Microcap Insider is the choice for the growth-minded investor. Alex contributes his thoughts and insights regularly to Wealth Daily. To learn more about Alex, click here.
