Apple has made a sure business

综合来看，苹果似乎是谷歌良好云性能背后的一大推动因素。此外，byte-beat和spotify也是谷歌的大客户。

Combined, Apple seems to be a big boost behind Google's good cloud performance. In addition, byte beat and spotify are also big customers of Google.

那么，苹果选择将云服务的天平向谷歌倾斜的背后原因是什么呢？这将对云市场产生什么影响？用户如何看待这种合作？上述种种都成为外界关注的焦点。

So, what are the reasons behind Apple's choice to tilt the balance of cloud services to Google? What impact will this have on the cloud market? And how do users view this cooperation? All of the above have become the focus of the outside world.

为什么不呢？

Why not

在相关报道中，一个关注点似乎被刻意隐藏，这就是为什么苹果会突然增加谷歌云上的存储空间。

In related reports, a point of concern seems to be deliberately hidden, which is why Apple will suddenly increase the storage space on Google cloud.

如此庞大的数据量令人惊叹。

And this huge amount of data is amazing.

据悉，苹果将通过谷歌云管理超过8eb的总数据。数据有多大？例如，一个EB足以记录237000多年的视频通话，而5eb则相当于全世界人类所说的话。

It is reported that Apple will manage more than 8eb of total data through Google cloud. How huge is the data? For example, one EB is enough to record over 237000 years of video calls, and 5eb is equivalent to what human beings have said all over the world.

从商业层面来看，苹果是谷歌最大的客户，其次是byte beat、spotify、twitter和snapchat，数据量分别为500PB、460PB、315PB和275PB。

From the commercial level, apple is Google's largest customer, followed by byte beat, spotify, twitter and snapchat, with data volumes of 500 Pb, 460 Pb, 315 Pb and 275 Pb respectively.

根据1eb=1024pb的换算，谷歌其他四大客户的数据还不到苹果的五分之一。

According to 1 EB = 1024pb conversion, the data of Google's other four major customers is less than a fifth of Apple's.

因此，知情人士说，在谷歌的云部门，工作人员甚至给了苹果一个代号，表明其规模："大脚怪"。

As a result, people familiar with the matter said that within Google's cloud department, staff even gave apple a code name indicating its scale: "Bigfoot".

显而易见的原因是，随着苹果将更多的服务转移到云端，越来越多的苹果用户将icloud用于图片库和文件存储，这也使得苹果对基础设施的要求更高。尽管苹果在全球也有自己的数据中心，但它不可避免地需要依赖第三方云公司。

The obvious reason is that as apple moves more services to the cloud, more and more Apple users use icloud for photo library and file storage, which also makes Apple's requirements for infrastructure higher. Although Apple also has its own data centers around the world, it inevitably needs to rely on third-party cloud companies.

还有另一种猜测：谷歌每年向苹果支付10亿美元，成为默认的搜索引擎。作为回报，苹果要求谷歌云服务提供更好的价格。

There is another speculation: Google pays Apple $1 billion a year to become the default search engine. In return, apple asked Google cloud services to offer a better price.

这并不难理解，因为这种合作对谷歌来说是一个赔本生意。根据相关网站提供的成本计算方法，存储8eb数据每月的成本约为2.18亿美元，每年约为26.16亿美元。然而，苹果每年只需支付大约3亿美元就可以在谷歌云服务上存储相同的数据。

This is not difficult to understand, because this cooperation is a loss making business for Google. According to the cost calculation method provided by relevant websites, it costs about 218 million US dollars per month to store 8eb data, which is about 2.616 billion US dollars per year. However, apple only needs to pay about 300 million US dollars per year to store the same data on Google cloud service.

需要指出的是，上述成本计算方法在谷歌官方网站上还没有找到，无法保证其准确性和科学性。但可以肯定的是，这种合作对苹果来说是有利可图的。

It should be pointed out that the cost calculation method mentioned above has not been found on Google's official website, which can not guarantee its accuracy and scientificity. But to be sure, this cooperation is profitable for apple.

最后，从目前主流云计算的选择以及各自的行业模式来看，苹果选择谷歌云是合理的。一方面，苹果目前的部分数据也存储在AWS中，苹果需要在其业务供应商身上找到筹码。另一方面，微软试图破坏Appstore的生态系统，一度未能为苹果建立足够的存储空间。

Finally, from the current choice of mainstream cloud computing and their respective industry patterns, Apple's choice of Google cloud is reasonable. On the one hand, part of Apple's current data is also stored in AWS, and Apple needs to find leverage in its business suppliers. On the other hand, Microsoft tried to destroy the ecosystem of Appstore, and once failed to build enough storage space for apple.

用户很担心

Users are worried

虽然苹果在谷歌云上存储更多数据是划算的，但用户不会为苹果的行为付费。

Although it's cost-effective for apple to store more data on Google cloud, users don't pay for Apple's behavior.

第一个问题是用户的数据安全。

The first problem is the data security of users.

众所周知，苹果一再强调，存储在谷歌服务器上的所有个人用户数据都是用苹果的专用密钥加密的，因此用户数据的安全性与存储在苹果全资服务器上的数据没有区别。更生动的是，除非苹果给谷歌一个加密密钥，否则谷歌破解加密技术需要数千年的时间。

As we all know, Apple has repeatedly stressed that all personal user data stored on Google's servers are encrypted with Apple's exclusive key, so the security of user data is no different from that stored on Apple's wholly-owned servers. More vividly, unless Apple gives Google an encryption key, it will take Google thousands of years to crack the encryption technology.

不过，仍有不少持怀疑态度的用户评论如下：

However, there are still a lot of skeptical user comments like the following:

"说到谷歌，我担心隐私问题。"

"When it comes to Google, I worry about privacy."

"不知何故，尽管你说你的数据是安全的，但你还是让谷歌来存储，这将大大降低我的信心。"

"Somehow, although you say your data is safe, you let Google store it, which will greatly reduce my confidence."

"苹果最终会发现谷歌使用你的数据，然后出售"

"Apple will eventually find out that Google uses your data and then sell it"

一方面，这是由于人们对谷歌的刻板印象，以及担心他们的数据会长期存储在谷歌云上。另一方面，它也反映了用户希望在苹果自己的数据中心存储数据的想法。毕竟，苹果并不缺钱。

On the one hand, this is due to the stereotype of Google and the fear that their data will be stored on the Google cloud for a long time. On the other hand, it also reflects the idea that users want to store data in Apple's own data center. After all, apple is not short of money.

事实上，苹果从未停止过对数据中心的建设。

In fact, Apple has never stopped on the construction of data center.

早在2019年，苹果就高调宣布将继续大力投资云基础设施。该公司在一份公告中透露，计划在未来五年向美国数据中心投资100亿美元，其中在2019年底前投资45亿美元。一些知情人士还透露，苹果从各大企业中挖掘了许多优秀的it人才，负责数据中心业务，而且还聘请了不少行业顾问，给人留下了非常深刻的印象。

As early as 2019, Apple announced in a high profile that it would continue to invest heavily in its cloud infrastructure. In an announcement, it revealed that it plans to invest $10 billion in U.S. data centers in the next five years, including $4.5 billion by the end of 2019. Some people familiar with the matter also revealed that Apple has dug many excellent IT talents from major enterprises to take charge of the data center business, and has also hired a number of industry consultants, which is very impressive.

虽然有资金和人才，但苹果云存储需求的增长速度要快于苹果部署自己的基础设施。同时，由于反垄断问题和监管压力，苹果一直无法创建或使用自己的云环境，因此将更多依赖AWS和谷歌云。

Although there are funds and talents, the growth rate of Apple's cloud storage demand is faster than that of Apple's deployment of its own infrastructure. At the same time, due to antitrust issues and regulatory pressure, Apple has not been able to create or use its own cloud environment, so it will rely more on AWS and Google cloud.

不可否认，谷歌和AWS的云服务已经非常成熟。如果苹果专注于客户体验，它只需要使用谷歌和其他公司的产品，直到苹果完成内部基础设施的大规模部署。

There is no denying that the cloud services of Google and AWS are very mature. If Apple focuses on the customer experience, it only needs to use Google and other companies' products until Apple completes the scale deployment of its internal infrastructure.

而3亿美元对苹果来说就像是收入的下降。

And $300 million is like a drop in revenue for apple.

在苹果数亿用户中，只有2500万用户每月至少需要支付1美元，才能避免"你的icloud满了"的唠叨通知，这足以支付苹果的存储成本。

Among Apple's hundreds of millions of users, only 25 million users need to pay at least one dollar a month to avoid the nagging "your icloud is full" notice, which is enough to cover the cost of Apple's storage.

值得一提的是，每年3亿美元的成本意味着苹果每月向谷歌支付1美元，购买320GB的存储空间。但对于消费者来说，苹果每月收费1.50gb。作为中间商，苹果的利润率超过80%。

It is worth mentioning that the annual cost of $300 million means that Apple pays Google $1 a month for 320GB of storage space. But for consumers, apple charges $1.50gb per month. As a middleman, Apple makes a profit margin of more than 80%.

诚然，从长远来看，苹果仍需继续完善基础设施建设。毕竟，将自己的数据存储在第三方并非最佳选择。同时，其庞大的数据可能会成为别人生意的婚纱，从而减少其护城河和对第三方的依赖。

Admittedly, in the long run, apple still needs to continue to improve its infrastructure construction. After all, it is not the best choice to store its own data in a third party. At the same time, its huge data may serve as a wedding dress for other people's business, thus reducing its moat and relying on a third party.

但谁也说不清苹果的云计算业务需要多长时间才能调整和迎头赶上。

But no one can tell how long it will take for Apple's cloud computing business to adjust and catch up.

Link：https://new.qq.com/omn/20210701/20210701A0190600.html

update time：2021-07-01 10:50:23