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- Decentralized Storage technology is a disruptive tech based on Blockchain.
- Protocol Labs unveiled the consortium of companies on October 31st.
- Microsoft and Amazon are some of the big names in the data storage industry.
Decentralized storage alliance: spearheading the storage
In a blogpost, Filecoin network announced that Computer processor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), storage device maker Seagate and auditing firm Ernst and Young (EY) have joined the Decentralized Storage Alliance.
AMS is a popular computer processor manufacturer rivaled by the likes of Intel and Samsung. It is the 6th largest semiconductor manufacturer by value in the U.S. The semiconductor industry was one of the worst hit global industries during the pandemic and is still in recovery mode. Semiconductors are a significant factor in international relations in the context of Chinese dominance in the South China sea.
The Decentralized Storage Alliance is a consortium of companies that aims to exploit decentralized file storage technology. Launched by Protocol Labs and Filecoin network, the group will support those companies making a transition to web 3.0 from 2.0.
“The Alliance is focused on supporting these organizations in the adoption of decentralized technologies such as Filecoin, IPFS, and Libp2p by helping them make the transition to Web3 through education, advocacy, and best practices.”
Presently, cloud storage and the internet (web 2.0) is supported via centralized storage which means data is stored on massive servers owned by large corporations like Google and Amazon. Decentralized storage would exploit users’ (or the average internet user) systems via blockchain technology which would make it extremely difficult to steal or censor data.
The announcement quoted the alliance lead Daniel Leon:
“decentralized storage technology has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses store data by enabling verifiable, secure and efficient storage.”
Leon added that the alliance’s first step will be to form Working Groups dedicated to helping enterprises adopt decentralized storage technologies.”
Decentralized data storage technology has huge market potential
Filecoin, a decentralized storage network offers 18.8 exbibytes (EIB) of digital storage. Filecoin reported that there was an “eightfold” increase in usage in 2022. For context, 1 EIB = 1,152,921,504 gigabytes (GB) which is the same as 1,152,921.504 1 terabyte (TB) hard disks. Filecoin offers tradable digital space and can be an alternative to traditional enterprise grade data storage providers like Microsoft Azure.
“the global data market is expected to exceed 200 zettabytes by 2025 and 80% of this total market demand is accounted for by enterprise organizations,” the announcement added.
The announcement also noted that 90% of enterprise organizations were using centralized cloud platforms to store data. “According to a recent IDC survey, 86% of organizations had a positive view of decentralized storage, but there’s still a chasm to cross between web2 and web3 in decentralized storage.”
Decentralized file sharing alliance aims to close that chasm. The alliance will establish the standards for decentralized networks
Given the wealth and market share of the largest names in the data storage market (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft among others), the future of this technology is marked with tough competition unless the big names enter the game themselves. Afterall, blockchain technology is open-source which makes it easily available to those inclined.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
