I predict they will settle for fourth - after Apple. Give it 2 years, 4 tops.

why_only_15 · on Nov 15, 2018

Why do you think that Apple will enter the cloud? Apple hasn't been a real contender in servers for a decade, and it seems like their strength lies more in the design than in raw technical capabilities.

MR4D · on Nov 15, 2018

iCloud, iWork(web based), email, Time Machine(backup), Messages, Apple Pay.

Those are some of the things that Apple already does in the cloud. I anticipate it will expand significantly as they grow their services business.

Whether they build a “server” is irrelevant - the “service” however, is key.

romed · on Nov 15, 2018

Apple's cloud is already stored on Google's cloud. How do you figure it will work? Apple and Google cloud will somehow become mutually self-hosting?

MR4D · on Nov 15, 2018

Great question. Apple has a long history on building on the shoulders of giants....and then building their own giant.

Further, they also have a long history of playing suppliers against each other in order to get the best terms.

Finally, Apple occasionally works hard to move away from companies it fights with - Adobe and Qualcomm are two notable ones there, as are the social media firms like Facebook.

As for evidence, I’d offer up this report on future data center spending that they are planning. You don’t have as many data centers and add to it in this magnitude without having a solid strategy.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/news/apple-will-spend-mor...