Apple’s iCloud Efforts Are Reportedly Being Hampered by Internal Politics
Less than sunny skies are forecasted for Apple’s iCloud team. A new report from The Information says a power struggle is holding back both iTunes and the important storage service.
An open conflict
Here’s more from the report:
Political infighting within Apple’s engineering ranks is holding back the company’s efforts to fix technical problems that have plagued iCloud and iTunes, say people with direct knowledge of the situation.
Two engineering teams working on new internal cloud-computing infrastructure to power Apple’s Web services are in open conflict, the people say. Already, the infighting has sparked at least one key employee departure, with more expected soon.
The main issue seems to be friction between the Siri and iCloud teams. Apple has recently extended the Siri team’s duties to include features previously under iCloud like iTunes and iMessage.
According to the report, at least one “key” employee has already left, and another important member of the Siri team may be out the door as well.
An eye on security
While it’s a major undertaking, even for Apple, the company believes the investment could pay for itself in as little as three years
Apple is looking to make some major changes to its cloud infrastructure with hopes of moving the entire effort in-house and stop relying on other providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure.
While it’s a major undertaking, even for Apple, the company believes the investment could pay for itself in as little as three years. A number of other tech companies like Dropbox and Facebook have also focused on building their own cloud infrastructures. The major plus in doing that is the cost of data storage and transmission is significantly lowered.
A substantial driver behind Apple’s initiative is a familiar one – security. The company is fearful that various parts of the infrastructure – including server hardware – could possibly be intercepted before being delivered. A third party could then modify or add different firmware.
