Personal cloud storage will set off a huge IT dispute

Recently, cloud computing is being integrated into our daily life step by step. In the face of such a blue ocean market to be developed, some internet giants, with their stronger capital power and richer resources of synchronous resources, Some startups have gained a strong first mover advantage, but their strength is still somewhat weak, so a reign may start under the not-yet-stable and mature personal cloud storage market.

Personal cloud storage is just beginning, under the guidance of foreign models, many network disk innovation applications and focus on multi-terminal synchronization experience notes applications have been launched quickly to attract users. After slowly starting with the advantages of start-ups and traditional giants have launched their own cloud storage products. This means that the war is about to break out.

In fact, with the popularity of fixed-line broadband networks, as well as the expansion of mobile 3G networks and even 4G networks, upload and download speeds have not become an obstacle to obtaining electronic information on the Internet. In addition, with the development of the PC Internet, especially the smart phone, it is easier for users to access electronic information in different places and in different states.

The cloud storage products in the traditional network disk simple storage and sharing capabilities, but also to provide users with virtual machines, plus free storage and free applications and other features, it allows anyone at any time, any place can be through the PC, mobile phones, Tablet to access and share documents, photos, music, and other resources while safely, reasonably and efficiently storing resources for users.

According to iResearch statistics, in 2011 China's personal cloud storage users reached 23 million, an increase of 804%. 2012 and 2013 are the stages of rapid popularization and development of personal cloud storage. According to iResearch's forecast, by 2013, the number of personal cloud storage users will reach 223 million and the penetration rate among Chinese netizens will be 36.7%.

In the face of yet another Blue Ocean market to be developed, although some startups have gained a strong first mover advantage, the Internet giants are likely to be still not yet stable and mature with their stronger capital power and richer resources of synchronous resources The personal cloud storage is a whirlwind.

Cloud technology struck, "Leather off the network disk of life"

Back in the cloud computing concept swept the IT industry before, as a network disk to provide upload, download and sharing of network tools, has gradually become a more popular network tools in the user. Especially in the domestic Internet video industry in 2006 just started, the video is the most popular resource for netizens, 115, Thunder network disk and other products is to download, based on shared resources. It can be said that the original network disk is the mailbox and instant messaging products to provide these two supplements appear to meet the individual needs of users.

However, with the changing needs of users, the use of new technologies, the maturation of business models, and security, the Internet disk was quickly replaced by a more innovative personal cloud storage as the rage internet product.

On the one hand, with the advent of WEB 2.0, the convenience of public information downloading and the trend of more developed video sites are coming. The demand for sharing public resources shows a gentle decline. However, the main positioning of traditional network disks is storage and resource sharing. With the increase of the types of mobile terminals and the rapid progress of functions, users have higher and higher requirements for storing personal information. However, in the existing environment, the memory cards of different electronic products are relatively independent, which brings troubles for the users to interact with various end products. As a result, personal cloud storage products, based on the traditional storage and sharing of network disks, have introduced the synchronization function to meet user data migration and management requirements to meet the challenge of differentiated user needs.

On the other hand, personal cloud storage products provide more additional features, such as the address book backup feature provided by the Android version of Coolpad. Jinshan fast disk provides MSN chat log backup, sync IE favorites and backup photos and more. From these functions, it can be seen that individual cloud storage vendors are not satisfied with saving only user documents and start digging user needs in an effort to achieve full backup of user personal data.

More importantly, unlike many pseudo-cloud computing products branded as "cloud," personal cloud storage products truly deliver distributed data storage and multi-server redundancy deployment. At the same time, its security function design is also very good. By encrypting the content stored by the user, the user's information will not be leaked even if the server storage unit is lost, and the data can be recovered by the redundant backup server. Take Thunder Portable Disk as an example, the product is designed to be more excellent in security design, which realizes the segmentation and encryption of user files and stores them in different server storage units in different places to protect the user's data and Privacy and security.

In addition, the traditional network disk is facing huge profit issues, on the one hand, copyright risks make it difficult to obtain financing. On the other hand, the traditional network disk storage because of massive large-capacity public content, with multi-server redundant deployment, distributed storage will bring heavy bandwidth and storage costs, making the company a very high cost of operation and maintenance. Last year, the industry's well-known network disk manufacturer closed including uushare and hearing 6, nano-disk also entered a maintenance period earlier this year MEGAUPLOAD was shut down by the U.S. government, the founder was sentenced. The traditional network disk market under the dual influence of the economic environment and policy environment can be described as sluggish.

In contrast, individual cloud storage vendors are both user-friendly and investment-friendly. Dropbox, the United States as the industry's leading personal cloud storage vendors, by the end of 2011 has received 45 million users. In October 2011, Dropbox won a round of 250 million U.S. dollars of huge financing, the company valued at 4 billion U.S. dollars, and domestic independent quick break, cool disk financing, etc. all showed the commercial prospect of personal cloud storage Obviously better than the traditional network disk.

In fact, personal cloud storage products are often stored on the user's personal data, personal information, such as the user's personal documents, albums, music and video, etc., are closely related to the user. So once the user selected personal cloud storage products, they will not easily change or give up, which will greatly provide the user product viscosity and social properties, forming a better business model. The good business model for manufacturers, investors represent the product life cycle and product value, but also to ensure the stability of customer service.

The demand for user synchronization will be stronger and stronger, and this demand guides the manufacturers to use the synchronization function as the core function of personal cloud storage products. At the same time, user-stored content attributes have also shifted from purely entertaining public information to personal valuable electronic data and information. From a personal cloud storage vendor's point of view, the adoption of cloud computing and cloud storage technologies simplifies service technologies. Stable services will lay a solid foundation for future profits, and personal cloud storage replaces the traditional network disk.

However, cloud storage is not a simple industry. Xie Wen, an Internet analyst, said cloud storage services must meet the multi-terminal, large platform strategy, allowing users to feel the core value of cloud storage services. Such as Apple iPad, iPhone and other multi-terminal, and has many users, the use of iCloud seamless interface, such as Facebook has an open platform, Google has Android system and Motorola mobile, only under these conditions cloud storage service. Relatively speaking, the majority of domestic companies provide services from specific terminals is a local + cloud services, there is no business model based on cloud services, which makes cloud storage services is unlikely to significantly increase revenue and become the company's core competitiveness.

Giant gradually laid out, the market Xipanshan soon

In fact, from this year, cloud storage has become another hot area for giants to fight for. With Megaupload.com such as sharing free resources model in the industry decline and failure, more and more giants are beginning to invest in cross-platform multi-terminal cloud storage services. Baidu, Huawei, Google, 360, China Telecom have entered, while similar to Jinshan fast disk, cool disk, 115 network disk and other products users have exceeded 10 million, China provided network disk operators suddenly more than dozens.

In mid-July, Tencent acquired weiyun.com, a domain name of "WeCun", and officially released a personal cloud service platform called "WeCun" that integrates products such as the original QQ network disk to provide micro cloud network disk, micro cloud album and micro cloud transmission Three major functional services.

Tencent's official entry is actually late, in the recent ten months time, the major domestic Internet companies and IT companies have launched their own personal cloud storage products, including Baidu network disk, 360 cloud disk, Huawei DBank network Disk, Jinshan fast disk, NetEase mailbox network disk, Tianyi cloud storage (189G), Thunder "portable disk", Sina micro disk, etc., plus from the traditional network disk transformation and has a larger user base 115 network disk, , RayFile network disk, nano-disk, forever E disk ... Personal cloud storage market has become fiery extraordinary.

The question now is whether an average internet user needs so much storage or, in the end, how much personal cloud storage space is left behind? We're trying to deconstruct the issue from two levels.

Mentioned above, the synchronization function as the core function of personal cloud storage products, and due to the rise of the mobile Internet and the diversity of smart terminals, users need to synchronize the data is mainly generated in different PC, tablet PC, mobile phones and other terminals Contacts, pictures, documents and more. So, simply as a synchronization and storage feature, users are far less likely to be logged in and out individually each day than they are tied to other applications. Or, both the user and the Internet giants hope to have access to all the Internet services they need, whether in the form of movies, music, reading, gaming or shopping, paying and socializing, or whatever other services they need, through one ecosystem and a single account - And integration with traditional businesses to jointly build a platform beyond the traditional operating system, will likely be the evolution of the future, those who have their own platform giants will have this advantage.

At this level, both foreign markets, whether Google, Apple or Microsoft, are integrating and integrating with their ecosystem products. Google and Microsoft use their strengths in the field of office and search do integrate, Apple uses its own platform and the advantages of the terminal area to do the integration. Domestic, Tencent rely on QQ and WeChat, Netease relying on mailboxes, Thunder rely on the download, 360 rely on the browser, Kingsoft relies on office software, are all a good direction for the differentiation of competition, but hope these existing advantages would like to stand out in the market, Still untenable.

At present, Dropbox, Box and so on in the international market are recognized as pioneers and current winners in the industry. Dropbox valuation has reached 4 billion US dollars, users have reached more than 50 million, in the corporate market has blossomed Box users reached 10 million. However, with the official release of Google, Microsoft, Amazon and other related products, Dropbox still faces the greatest challenge.

However, starting a cloud storage business is not without chance. In a recent exchange with China, Internet pioneer Kevin Kelly said: "It is a very attractive new business to develop some new applications using one platform, or to use new products on other platforms. "Of course, this requires extremely good products and great operational capabilities, but it is indeed the easiest way for startups to succeed, Draw Something, Instagram and even social gaming giant Zynga, which take full advantage of the strengths of others' platforms while Fast and successful case. And cloud storage itself has some platform-like qualities, it is a step ahead of the previous operating system, it can exceed the operating system limits through the cloud, beyond the limits of the terminal device.

On the other hand, although cloud storage is born out of network disk, it is an industry that requires high technology accumulation, capital accumulation and operation capability. As Lai Lingfeng, the founder of 115 network disk, disclosed, cloud storage is not like real-time Communications, portals, games, e-commerce, search for these products, as long as there is a sufficient number of users of the platform, you can copy the rough. It needs a huge server, sophisticated background research and teamwork with tacit understanding. He added: "Even if all the data available on the network drive is completely disclosed, others will be copied and digested in the same way and will take at least 8 months and a minimum investment of 100 million yuan."

Taken together, the cloud storage business model is a manifestation of comprehensive capabilities. It is more than spelling out technology and money. It is even more patient. Judging from the current market competition pattern, although there is no shortage of large enterprises in advancing, but there is no absolute leader, the outcome still needs the next three years of development and competition. Innovative services and patience are probably more important to SME entrepreneurs and investors.

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