A few decades back, all the information was stored in paper-back jacket folders in cobwebbed shelves, placed in dust filled warehouses and libraries. However, words like ‘folder’ and ‘library’ have now got entirely new meaning in the past few years.

The arrival of Magnetic Tape in 1920 or Williams Tube in 1946: the first random access computer memory. In 1956 Hard Disk came to existence which could store and retrieve bits of digital information. The music tape was introduced in 1963 by Philips. Since then the world of technology is accelerating with a series of inventions; DRAM, Twister Memory, Bubble Memory, Floppy, CD, CD-ROM, DAT, DDS, MOD(PDF), Minidisc, Zip, DVD, Phase Writer Dual, Microdrive, SD Card, Blu-Ray, Holographic PDF…

Where will it end?

Human goes to “the cloud”

The internet service providers created ‘cloud’ which can be used to give away storage space to end-users. The data storage on individual servers has been expensive and mostly the unutilized storage space gets wasted. Despite of hosting their servers, users can move to cloud for data storage. It saves a lot of money for users, eliminating the requirement for continuous maintenance and minimizing wastage of storage spaces.

Turbulence in the cloud

The major concern of using a centralized cloud is that users need to trust the provider that they will not tamper their information or violate privacy. Moreover, a degree of trust is essential in every system, but ironic is the aim to reduce the requirement for it.  2 entities which users export their trust while using the cloud: technology and provider.

It’s ideal to have fail safe system if technology somehow crashes; moreover there should be no dependency on the operator. Any technological system must reduce the need to rely on human interference for being ideal. For instance, Facebook has complete access to the private data of billion users, as does Google.  Here the users are served by the host of centralised cloud storage systems and needs to trust the host with their privacy. Yet there have been several instances when the data providers have sold or given away the data to others, such as to state apparatus or marketing firms.

Although these data leaks involved deep analytics and verizon-nice systems, the ‘cloud computing revolution’ had momentary whiplash. These leaks involved huge security breaches where the privacy of millions of users was compromised. But now technological universe is witnessing itself reverting back to a form of client-server computing, but with a new and improved approach via the implementation of blockchain.

Blockchain Based Decentralised Cloud System  

The developers of decentralised cloud storage systems required to build an alternative to cloud storage system without any shortcomings. The main features included were:

• Each user would be the sole owner of their data with the ability to access it.
• Dearth of hosts willing to rent storage space must never happen
• Users must not face the technical failures of a central system.
• No zero-day vulnerabilities in the data storage design.
• The participating hosts should be offered an incentive to participate and contribute, but handling the data of their peers whereas the system should not evoke this incentive by appealing to user/provider ethics, but by appealing to either their self-interest or common sense.

Blockchain is a peer based network that is not controlled by a single authority. There are multiple nodes located across the globe in forms of independent servers on every continent. A centralised cloud storage system utilizes server with huge databases which requires technology providing heavy maintenance and continual updates. But the technology required is expensive and storing data on a centralised cloud gets costly.

Token-based system
In a decentralised system providers can rent unutilised storage space for tokens which can also be used in further transactions. It is a much cheaper method if compared to using a centralised cloud, however the cost of using storing data is variable as it’s determined by the supply and demand..

Increased privacy
Since users send their data products in fragments to various independent nodes, and only they can access the encryption key for their data products; there is a good assurance of privacy apart from conventional cloud storage mechanisms where a single third party controls data traffic.

Provenance infrastructures
This attribute encompass the ability to determine the history of data product from its origin as knowledge of complete data product history deters access to violations and it can be easily detected due to data storage immutability.

Redundancy
The two main structures used by blockchain based cloud storage systems are: peer-to-peer or multi peer.

In first one, when any user uploads their data, a copy of data migrates to peer also, but without assurance that this peer will not disappear. As cloud storage systems are most populated and users often opt in and out frequently so, deleting the data once a copy of it been sent to peers is not an option. In second one, numerous copy of data is made (redundant data). It allow owners to delete it from their local drive and create space, because there is a higher assurance of there being multiple backups available.

Majority of blockchain-based cloud storage technologies are multi-peer technologies and working with decentralised system minimizes possible errors in storage and transmission of data. Moreover, decentralization means shifting to lower costs:

• The price of storage platforms is determined by supply and demand.
• Network users can rent their local, unutilised storage space.
• Blockchain uses pre-existing servers, so the providers of decentralised space have lower costs which allow charging less.

The data is in petabytes and zettabytes at B2B level. It’s not an accepted myth that big business having centralized location and big servers are the capable agents for handling huge data. B2B, B2C and C2C transactions are efficient and this cannot be achieved just from any centralised entity as it also requires a trust based system. However, this is essentially the same thing as being at the mercy of chance. If the centralised cloud storage provider is not as benevolent, trustworthy or efficient as required, huge amounts of data could be lost.

It is important to avoid a big-business or a monopoly-based invasion, which centralise the network under their control. The simple way to counter this dramatic problem is to switch to decentralised cloud-based services and ditch the middleman.

We RPA Technologies are leading providers of cloud hosting and web hosting services in India, Europe and UAE since 2012.  Contact us for getting best hosting services