The global data cloud is growing and doing so at an ever-increasing rate. In fact, it’s being predicted that the “global datasphere” is going to hit 175 zettabytes by 2025. How much is that? Enough for a few lifetimes of HD movies.
Naturally, as the datasphere gets larger, so does the task of managing and securing it all. We’ve remarked a few times in this space how cloud computing, while already growing before COVID, has exploded, driving the construction of new servers all over the country and the increased adoption of new cloud-based programs like Zoom, which has gone from obscurity to a household name nearly overnight.
The rise of the cloud has also created opportunities for those with an entrepreneurial spirit. Without the need to develop and maintain massive server racks themselves, a startup with access to a desk and a laptop can compete in a number of different spaces that would have been impossible before. Now someone in a developing country can access cloud computing resources to develop a new program and use another resource to develop an app that will allow anyone anywhere with a data connection to make use of that program. This fact has led to the rise of many of these kinds of startups which in turn have been one of the major factors driving the increase in data usage.
While this has created certain challenges, the benefits have been clear. Cloud computing allows companies to scale up or down quickly as needed. Rather than having tons of electricity-sucking servers stored in the basement that may be too much or not enough from one week to the next depending on the projects going on at the time they can easily scale up or down based on demand. That saves a lot of money since you only have to pay for the server space you actually need at any given time. You need less, you pay less. You need more, you pay more for only as long as you will actually make use of it, instead of buying all that equipment for what is only a temporary need.
In terms of the challenges, security is probably the most significant. Yet, elegant solutions have been developed in that realm. Private companies and even individuals are able to access encryption that would give the NSA a hard time. Yet, a simple password can decrypt it so that you and whoever you want to share it with can access your information with ease.
That’s the basic model that TARTLE uses. Our data marketplace is hosted in the cloud, using encryption that protects your data in such a way that only you and whomever you sell it to (or choose to share it with, whichever you choose) can access it easily. This creates a balance between security and fluidity that everyone can benefit from.
Normally, we talk about how our system is something that individuals can financially benefit from. However, there is no reason companies can’t benefit from selling or sharing data in the TARTLE data marketplace as well. After all, it is guaranteed that someone out there would benefit from incorporating your data into their models, and vice versa. Companies that join TARTLE as sellers and buyers could arrange a mutual exchange of data that would allow both of them to improve their operations, which they could then learn to better interact with the individual sellers of TARTLE to further refine their data sets.
This creates a snowball effect in which data begets more data. However, rather than just piling up uselessly in a server somewhere it is constantly getting analyzed and refined and used ever more efficiently to drive more efficient businesses which in turn can lead to better lives for their employees and their customers.
What’s your data worth?
