Theme timeline
A history of cloud computing
Credit: Bert van Dijk/Getty images.
Powered by
Popularised in the early 2000s, the phrase ‘cloud computing’ has been around for decades. The symbol of a cloud was used to represent networks of computing equipment back in the 1970s. By the 1990s, the term cloud was being used to refer to platforms for distributed computing.
The idea of renting or time-sharing computing resources is also not new. In the 1960s, time-sharing allowed users to access computers over a phone line, with the cost of the hardware distributed across multiple customers. The arrival of the PC negated the need for time-sharing, but the concept of offering computing power as a utility has resurfaced since then, for example, in the application service provider (ASP) model.
The launch, in 2006, of AWS’s web-based computing infrastructure services brought cloud computing into the mainstream, and the theme has gone on to be a disruptive influence across both enterprise and consumer IT.
The cloud story: How did this theme get here and where is it going?
1946
ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, was switched on to calculate artillery firing tables.
1954
The first fully transistorised computer was completed in the US.
1964
IBM launched the System/360 family of mainframe computer systems.
1971
Intel released the 4004, the first commercially available microprocessor.
1973
Xerox introduced the Alto, designed to support an operating system based on a graphical user interface.
1977
The world's first commercially available local area network went into service at Chase Manhattan Bank, New York.
1984
Sun Microsystems developed the network file system protocol, enabling users to access files over a network.
1989
UK computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web.
1999
VMware released VMware Workstation, allowing users to set up virtual machines.
2002
Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched as a free service.
2006
AWS started offering web-based computing infrastructure services, now known as cloud computing.
2007
Apple launched the first iPhone, creating the mobile internet as we know it today.
2007
IBM partnered with Google to promote cloud computing in universities.
2008
Google announced App Engine, a developer tool allowing users to run web applications on Google infrastructure.
2010
Microsoft released Azure, its cloud computing service.
2011
IBM introduced the SmartCloud framework.
2011
Facebook launched the Open Compute Project to share specifications for energy-efficient data centres.
2013
Docker introduced open-source container software.
2015
Google and Microsoft lead massive build-outs of data centres.
2017
Huawei and Tencent joined Alibaba in major data centre build-outs in China.
2018
Leading data centre operators started the migration to 400G data speeds.
2018
Silicon photonics technology started to positively impact data centre networking architectures.
2020
Edge computing will revise the role of the cloud in key sectors of the economy.
2021
Data centre speeds are expected to exceed 1,000G.
2026
GlobalData forecasts that spending on cloud services (SaaS, PaaS and IaaS) will be $738bn.
Source: GlobalData Thematic Intelligence
GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Thematic Intelligence uses proprietary data, research, and analysis to provide a forward-looking perspective on the key themes that will shape the future of the world’s largest industries and the organisations within them.
