Three giant companies have a combined share of 61% of the entire world's Cloud infrastructure. A fact that can easily spark online discourse about the regulation of big tech, and ensuring it doesn't go the way of other industries such as pharmaceuticals.
To be honest, comparing tech and pharmaceuticals might be a bit of a stretch. The former marks commodity products that, while being useful in nature, are ultimately not completely necessary. Drugs and medication, however, denote an industry built around the concept of saving lives. Many of these medications along with a lack thereof are responsible for either actively saving lives or wasting them respectively.
Having said that, however, tech is becoming more and more important with each passing day. Living one's life without the internet may not be as detrimental as, say, the absence of insulin for a diabetic. It is still, however, necessary to rely on tech devices for everyday tasks in today's world. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic immediately pushed tech products from being useful add-ons to becoming the literal instruments upon which international education relied. Suddenly, tech seems much closer to that title of daily necessity, yes?
What's worrying about these numbers are, rather unexpectedly, how mundane they are. Cloud technology's hardly on the forefront of any common tech related discussion, as conversation typically seems to flow around newer gadgets, policy changes, user data extraction, and the like. And yet, this is a very clear symptom of a larger, looming disease. By closing in on markets not widely discussed yet still important, larger companies relish in the opportunity to further expand and drive out minor competition with almost no fuss. This is how monopolies are made.
What is the natural course of such an ailment, however? Well, let's take the afore-mentioned example of big pharma. Insulin is an incredibly useful form of injectable medication, one without which the millions afflicted by diabetes in the USA would perish. Even missing a single dose can prove permanently detrimental, if not fatal, to the unfortunate individuals stuck with the daily remedy.
Yet, insulin costs anywhere around USD $250-300 per vial, unless patients have insurance. If they don't, and accidentally misplace or break a vial, it's a race against time for acquiring the money or perishing. All because big pharmaceutical companies have established monopolies that let them charge criminal amounts for items that one can't live without.
The 3 companies currently sharing the 61% cloud share are Amazon (32%), Azure (20%), Google (9%), and if we talk about the fourth one it's, AliBaba at 6%. While the disparity in numbers is rather high, with Amazon and Azure accounting for over half of all shares, it's still worrying that such useful technology, utilized regularly for the exchange of files and data, is almost completely owned by just 3
To be honest, comparing tech and pharmaceuticals might be a bit of a stretch. The former marks commodity products that, while being useful in nature, are ultimately not completely necessary. Drugs and medication, however, denote an industry built around the concept of saving lives. Many of these medications along with a lack thereof are responsible for either actively saving lives or wasting them respectively.
Having said that, however, tech is becoming more and more important with each passing day. Living one's life without the internet may not be as detrimental as, say, the absence of insulin for a diabetic. It is still, however, necessary to rely on tech devices for everyday tasks in today's world. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic immediately pushed tech products from being useful add-ons to becoming the literal instruments upon which international education relied. Suddenly, tech seems much closer to that title of daily necessity, yes?
What's worrying about these numbers are, rather unexpectedly, how mundane they are. Cloud technology's hardly on the forefront of any common tech related discussion, as conversation typically seems to flow around newer gadgets, policy changes, user data extraction, and the like. And yet, this is a very clear symptom of a larger, looming disease. By closing in on markets not widely discussed yet still important, larger companies relish in the opportunity to further expand and drive out minor competition with almost no fuss. This is how monopolies are made.
What is the natural course of such an ailment, however? Well, let's take the afore-mentioned example of big pharma. Insulin is an incredibly useful form of injectable medication, one without which the millions afflicted by diabetes in the USA would perish. Even missing a single dose can prove permanently detrimental, if not fatal, to the unfortunate individuals stuck with the daily remedy.
Yet, insulin costs anywhere around USD $250-300 per vial, unless patients have insurance. If they don't, and accidentally misplace or break a vial, it's a race against time for acquiring the money or perishing. All because big pharmaceutical companies have established monopolies that let them charge criminal amounts for items that one can't live without.
The 3 companies currently sharing the 61% cloud share are Amazon (32%), Azure (20%), Google (9%), and if we talk about the fourth one it's, AliBaba at 6%. While the disparity in numbers is rather high, with Amazon and Azure accounting for over half of all shares, it's still worrying that such useful technology, utilized regularly for the exchange of files and data, is almost completely owned by just 3
brands.
A grim reality faces us unflinchingly. Monopolization is an inevitability, unless drastic changes are enforced by governing bodies, preventing monoliths from exploiting people unable to do anything about it.
H/T: Statista / Srgresearch
Read next: Global Survey Reveals How Much Consumers Trust the Advertisements on Different Platforms, Including Social Media, TV, Blogs and Search Engines
A grim reality faces us unflinchingly. Monopolization is an inevitability, unless drastic changes are enforced by governing bodies, preventing monoliths from exploiting people unable to do anything about it.
H/T: Statista / Srgresearch
Read next: Global Survey Reveals How Much Consumers Trust the Advertisements on Different Platforms, Including Social Media, TV, Blogs and Search Engines
