Today, personal computers have become need for everyone; it is no more luxury for the people living in metros. Also, it has been a high-time for people living in rural areas get access to personal computers & internet so that they are not left behind. The need for computers & internet is established; however the cost of computer, software, hardware, internet, maintenance & upgrades is still not affordable to many.
In this entry, I want to throw an idea about giving a hassle-free personal computer on cloud to everyone in the world. In my view, it is an idea for a social cause, but at the same time, I see a different world of opportunities for cloud service providers, corporates & 3rd parties to penetrate in different market segments, increase adoption, improve market share and achieve overall revenue growth.
Motivation
Everyone needs a computer, people who can afford it they need it “personal”, people who cannot afford multiple computers they “share” a computer, people who cannot afford computer at all - they somehow unhappily manage with cyber-cafes. If cloud makes computer a commodity, the idea is - why not to extend the benefits of it to the community who really needs a computer, that too personal.
Even for the people, who can really afford a computer, it has become a headache to maintain, upgrade and buy licenses for the software on regular basis. Also, they need to carry their computer everywhere they go, if they need access to the data they have on computers. Again, if a “personal computer” can be made available on cloud, accessible from anywhere & everywhere (ubiquitous); that too free or at minimal charges (pay-as-you-use), it is a dream come-true for many.
Think about rural areas, they cannot afford to maintain a computer, forget “personal computer” in every home. If set of wireless & mobile kiosks are setup for a social cause, everyone in rural areas can get personal computer on cloud. I am sure, this will be a peanuts for large corporate and cloud service providers against the opportunity size.
What is the opportunity?
While personally, I think this is an opportunity for a social cause for corporate & cloud service providers; I completely understand nothing works without a viable business model. I am thinking loud now, thinking about world population, a percentage of it paying for a personal computer & related services on cloud!
From cloud service provider, corporate & 3rd party perspective, it can help drive adoption, market penetration, branding and growth. It also opens a revenue channel from advertising, premium value-added services and much more from multiple government initiatives related to rural development.
Please share your thoughts,
- who should setup cloud kiosks?
- who is willing to provide free cloud infrastructure access?
- how do we refine & take this idea to the next level?
- do we really need a business case for this?
