Defining Consumer Cloud Products and Services

"Cloud" is such a buzz phrase today that it's easy to be overwhelmed by what's really happening on the consumer side. There are some very real developments today, and we are organizing our thoughts in a report titled Cloud Media and the Digital Locker. A press release today from Western Digital and a New York Times article describing offerings such as SugarSync got me thinking about how I'd organize the consumer-oriented cloud solutions. As to the requirements for a product or solution to fit in the "personal cloud" category, I'd say that there are several:

• For hardware, appliance, and online, and solutions, the ability to upload all desired content to remote storage (not just a single-purpose photo-sharing site, for example);
• Again for the hardware, appliance, and online applications, the ability to "push" - or share - only specific folders or files with friends or family);
• Remote and ubiquitous access to content from multiple IP-connected devices; and
• For premium content service cloud offerings, the ability to either offer multiple formats or work with hardware with the necessary transcoding capabilities to play in particular video on a wide number of devices.

Here's my best shot at categorizing the consumer cloud solutions:

• Hardware, Software, and Appliances: Products in this category are it network-attached storage appliances/media servers and applications developers that provide for remote access via smartphones and other IP-connected devices (companies such as Buffalo, Data Robotics, Iomega, QNAP, Seagate, and Western Digital. Also, appliances such as Pogoplug don't necessarily require a NAS drive, but allow all local drives and files to be accessed.
• Online Storage and Backup: The aforementioned SugarSync is a good example, and others include Box.net, DropBox, Egnyte, Humyo, Microsoft Live Mesh, SpiderOak, and ZumoDrive. Also, service providers are in the mix - Deutsche Telekom offers a service called Connected Life Experiences at Home. Companies such as NewBay Software and viacube are two to watch as white-label providers of synching and backup services.
• Cloud Music Services: There are many streaming music services from which to choose, but Cloud Music services will store your personally-owned content and have it ubiquitously accessible. Speculation was that Apple would launch this as a feature of iTunes following its purchase of Lala. Others in the mix are MOG All Access, Sony Qriocity, and Thumbplay.
• Online Video Transitions to the Cloud: Sony's Qriocity is a good example of this kind of service. RoxioNow is a technology to watch in this space.
• Video-on-Demand as a Cloud Service: Verizon FiOS Flex View is the first known intiative of which I'm aware, but we'll see other. Whether or not they adhere to the UltraViolet brand from the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) or Disney KeyChest is another matter.

There is consumer demand for cloud media. From our Digital Media Evolution II survey, remote and mobile access to photos and music are among the top cloud features desired.

Number of smartphones worldwide exceeded 180 million units in 2009

New research from Parks Associates, host of the upcoming executive summit CONNECTIONS™ Europe, indicates that the number of smartphones shipped in 2009 topped 180 million units worldwide, with Nokia, Research in Motion, and Apple sharing 60% of the market. Annual sales will reach almost 400 million by 2014, and as the number of users approaches one billion, consumer demand will grow for mobile broadband services that can share content, particularly high-quality video, across connected devices and the home network.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe, April 27 at the Mövenpick Hotel in Amsterdam, will feature consumer research and analysis on these new service opportunities in the mobile sector in the session “Mobile Video: The Cloud, The App Store & the Connected Home.”

Session speakers:

-- Klaus Milczewsky, Senior Mgr, Deutsche Telekom AG
-- Peter Percosan, CTO, Cable Europe Labs
-- Andy Tiller, Marketing Vice Chair, Femto Forum

In a recent Parks Associates survey on mobile convergence, over one-third of U.S. smartphone users expressed an interest in streaming multimedia content stored on home CE to their mobile device. Service providers will have to adapt their mobile and video strategies to meet the demands of multiple platforms, and the panelists will discuss these challenges, plus the impact of new devices such as the iPad and the HP Slate.

For information or to register for CONNECTIONS™ Europe, visit www.connectionseurope.com.

Rumbling of Mergers in Europe

Amidst the talk and challenges of a merger between France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom wireless operations in the U.K. comes the news of a possible tie up between Telecom Italia and Telefonica. Setting aside the political implications, this recent news seems to be another step in the courtship between the two behemoths. Telefonica recently completed the acquisition of HanseNet in Germany. Prior to the acquisition, HanseNet was a part of Telecom Italia's operations in Germany. It will be interesting to follow which portions of Telecom Italia's operations will be up for a merger if one were to actually happen. Coming to the political implications stated earlier, the news publication La Repubblica claims that the Berlusconi family bought into Telefonica late last year. That involves Mediaset now? This is turning out to be quite interesting.