Matthew Engel

By now, most of us who use the internet daily have had some interaction with cloud computing. Cloud computing allows users to write documents, create presentations, spreadsheets or store data on a virtual server accessible via the web. The most well known example is Google Docs which allows users to create and collaborate on articles in real time, online. This way, you and I could be working on the same document simultaneously without having to email it back and forth. It allows for many users to be working on the same project at any one instant and automatically backs up the most updated version. It also allows you to store an almost limitless number of documents on the internet for free, thereby allowing one access to files from any computer in the world at any time, without having to lug around the data yourself. This is a tremendous convenience at no cost (for now).

I have been using Google Docs for several years, and it has never inspired me to write a blog post. However, most recently I encountered a new piece of software/service which I found so convenient and useful, that I am rushing to spread the word. I would highly recommend making an account with the service Dropbox which gives you 2GB of webspace for free. So what’s the big deal you say? Dropbox features one of the most user friendly drag-and-drop interfaces I have ever seen. It allows you to toss files directly up onto the cloud from any computer - that has the dropbox application installed. And then download them from any computer. The only drawback of this process is that it requires you to download and install a program on each machine, however it is lightweight, relatively non-intrusive and worth the convenience of being able to store large quantities of files on the fly. What’s really cool, and a great marketing strategy, is that you gain additional storage space when you successfully invite users to sign up for the service.

Dropbox Wiki

When I discovered the service, I was curious as to how they make money. What is their business model? How does a company which provides services for free make any profit? I believe this is a common catch-22 on the web. Everyone wants information, services, and conveniences for free and we are so used to this almost no one is willing to pay for web content or storage space. Dropbox offers additional storage options beyond the 2GB for a fee - 50GB for $9.99/mo or 100GB for $19.99/mo. I questioned why anyone would pay for this or keep that much data on the web? The answer I got from a friend, was that once customers become accustomed to the conveniences of keeping their files on the web, they may eventually reached their storage limit and decide to splurge for an upgraded their account. I am curious how many paying vs. non-paying custiomers Dropbox has and how they plan to increase their paying user base.

Everyone know’s Google is still growing. Backed by their powerful webmail client, Gmail, Google is adding universities to their ever growing list of clients, according to Time magazine. Both Microsoft and Google are offering webmail services to colleges all over the US for free! This can save a school millions of dollars a year in server storage space, security management, and network maintenance. It has allowed major universities to streamline IT staffing or much better yet, refocus their efforts on actually helping students learn and teachers communicate via technology. Traditional university email accounts are capped at 100mb with very little space for attachments. Many users treat gmail as a free data storage dump emailing themselves hudreds of pictures, documents or pdf’s as a back up so they can be downloaded on the fly. The amazing search capabilities and add-on features for gmail such as color coded labels, multiple inboxes, viedo chat, and collaborative document editing place the service in high demand for tech savy students. When Gmail shed its beta test icon just this July after 2 years of ‘trial’ use, major universities such as Notre Dame, Brown, Cornell and Georgetown have all begun implementing their service. Personally, I am confused by Google’s business plan here. How can this be a profitable enterprise when they are giving services away for free to major clients? Their is no advertising, so that revenue source is gone. The real value I see here, is that 1) Google could start charging users for this service at any time - though they probably never will, and more importantly 2) Google has access too all your data. As much as we would like to think our information is completely secure, we all know that any information written in an email can be used as evidence and is not considered private. Email providers make no promises about the security of our emails, and the vast sums of information now on Goggle’s network is priceless. This itself is an interesting topic and worth exploring more in the future.