Blockchain Cloud Computing: Decentralizing Cloud Systems

In times where technology is shaping the future of data storage, cloud computing, and blockchains are taking the reign. What happens when these two meet? Blockchain’s decentralized nature and immutability make it the perfect solution for tokenizing record management tasks. Add on top of it cloud computing’s scalability and elasticity, and you have the perfect decentralized cloud system. Blockchain cloud computing is on the rise and its adoption will play a crucial role in shaping the future of data management. 

This article will discuss the various benefits and qualities that blockchain technology brings to cloud computing.

What Is Cloud Computing?

First, we’ll have a brief overview of both blockchain and cloud computing technologies. Cloud computing is access to various computing resources, such as storage, processing power, databases, networking, software, and more over the internet. The idea of cloud computing is that it offers resources remotely. That means that instead of owning and maintaining physical hardware and infrastructure, cloud computing allows individuals to access and use resources for a monthly subscription. 

Cloud computing services are mainly third-party providers who manage and maintain a service infrastructure. The three primary models of cloud computing are:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Software as a Service (SaaS)

Why would organizations opt for these kinds of services? Well, cloud computing services offer many benefits such as their scalability of resources, cost efficiency, flexibility of access, reliability of data, and maintenance of infrastructure. 

However, cloud computing suffers from security concerns as sensitive information is within the hold of a third-party provider. Data breaches and unauthorized access are very much possible when using these cloud-based services. Not to mention the downtime or outages that these providers face. That’s why blockchain cloud computing is the answer to these pressing issues. 

What Is a Blockchain?

To give you a brief overview of what blockchain technology is if you’re a newcomer, blockchains are decentralized databases that operate on a peer-to-peer network. This means that it eliminates the need for centralized authorities and gets rid of the middleman during transactions or data storage. Thus, blockchains are digital ledgers that are immutable, traceable, and censorship-free. 

To save you the trouble of knowing how the blockchain operates, like its use of public-key cryptography or hashing functions to secure transaction data, you just have to know that it’s secure. With blockchain technology, there is no single point of failure because the data is distributed across a network of nodes.  If you want to know more about how blockchain security is achieved, check out this article about how the blockchain actually works. 

Blockchain vs. Cloud Computing

If we place blockchain technology and cloud computing side by side, we can notice that they complement each other. They could be a hybrid solution where some applications might use both technologies. Let’s see how these two technologies differentiate and where there’s an opportunity to complement each other. 

• Centralization: Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger technology that operates on a peer-to-peer network. This ensures transparency, immutability, and security with no need for a central authority. However, cloud computing is a centralized technology. The computing resources used in services come from centralized data centers, which can create a single point of failure. 

• Scalability: Blockchain technology struggles to scale during high demands which puts a strain on its widespread adoption. Many L1 and L2 solutions are trying to solve these scalability issues to increase the network’s throughput. On the other hand, cloud computing offers the ability to scale resources up or down based on demand.

• Security: Since blockchain technology employs a cryptographic technique to secure data and transactions, it is highly resistant to tampering and fraud. Also, the decentralization of the blockchain distributed the data, which means that there is no single point of failure. However, cloud computing is centralized which means that it’s highly prone to hacks and attacks. 

• Immutability: Once data is written on the blockchain, it becomes unchangeable. However, whoever has authorized access to cloud computing data storage can easily alter sensitive information. 

Blockchain Cloud Computing

So, it’s obvious now why we need a decentralized cloud model that places the power in the hands of thousands of nodes instead of in the hands of the smaller bunch. This way, the data on cloud computing services will not be vulnerable to manipulation or hacking. Therefore, blockchain technology has paved the way for a new era of decentralized cloud computing services. 

This means that cloud computing services can leverage blockchain’s decentralization and immutability aspects by building cloud systems as distributed networks. In addition, cloud computing deals with a large amount of data. This amount could be at risk considering the cloud’s centralized architecture. Of course, this issue can be solved by implementing blockchains. 

Where cloud computing lacks, blockchains deliver, and vice versa. Having a blockchain cloud computing system can create a system where its data are immutable, can scale to high demands, and is based on cryptographic security. 

Benefits of Blockchain Cloud Computing

There are many benefits of blockchain cloud computing:

• Increased Security: Decentralizing cloud systems mean that the data stored is distributed across a network of nodes instead of centralized servers. This makes it virtually impossible to hack blockchain-based cloud systems and tamper with data. In addition, using blockchain in cloud computing verifies the integrity of data through cryptographic hash. 

• Enhanced Scalability: Since cloud computing servers are somewhat scalable, their integration of blockchain technology creates the perfect solution for data management. 

• Improved Traceability: Cloud computing can be used to store and process supply chain data, while blockchain ensures the transparency and traceability of each step.  

• Use of Smart Contracts: Blockchains enable smart contracts to interact with cloud computing systems. For instance, a smart contract could automatically trigger cloud computing resources when certain conditions apply. 

• Blockchain as a Service: Cloud computing offers Blockchain as a Service, which is a third-party service that facilitates the implementation of blockchain technology for companies without the need to set up or maintain their own infrastructure.

Blockchain-Based Cloud Storage

The integration of blockchain technology and cloud computing systems can bring benefits such as enhanced security, transparency, automation, and efficiency to various applications and industries. In fact, data storage is shifting towards blockchain-based cloud technology where cloud-based storage systems are built on top of distributed ledgers. This way data would be encrypted based on private/public key cryptography and hashing functions. This will create an extra layer of security for cloud storage systems.