Apple's iOS Security Guide confirms 2016 reports that Google Cloud Platform is one of the third-party services Apple uses to store data for its iCloud services
surprised? Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE : It's official: Apple is using Google's cloud storage services to host iCloud data Wayne Williams / BetaNews : Apple iCloud now powered by Google Cloud, not Microsoft Azure LeeB / cloudpro.co.uk : Apple confirms iCloud is now a customer of Google Cloud Spandan Sharma / Yourstory : Apple reveals it uses Google Cloud for iCloud storage; may launch 3 phones in 2018 Chris Davies / SlashGear : Apple confirms iCloud uses Google servers (but don't panic) Abhimanyu Ghoshal / The Next Web : Apple confirms it runs iCloud on Google's cloud, and you shouldn't be surprised Stephen Shankland / CNET : Apple's iCloud gets a boost from erstwhile enemy Google Danbo / MAC blog : CNBCAppleiCloudGoogle Cloud. — CNBCAppleiOS iOS Security iOS 11 January 2018iOS 10 Jean-Pierre Chigne / Tech Times : Apple Confirms It Is Using Google Cloud For iCloud Services Vishal Laul / Neowin : Apple ditches Microsoft Azure, confirms that it uses Google Cloud for iCloud PCWorld : Save 90% On 50+ Hours Of Amazon Web Services Certification Training Christian Zibreg / iDownloadBlog.com : Apple publicly confirms it's using Google Cloud Platform to power iCloud services Kyle Alspach / CRN : Apple Confirms Using Google Cloud Platform For iCloud Service Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet : Apple may no longer be using Microsoft's Azure Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider : Apple confirms use of Google cloud services to store iCloud user data Adnan Farooqui / Ubergizmo : Apple Now Using Google's Cloud For iCloud Brandy Betz / Seeking Alpha : Apple confirms using Google Cloud; Cook will co-chair China business forum Kareem Anderson / On MSFT : Apple filing shows move from Azure to Google Cloud for iCloud services Rajesh Pandey / iPhone Hacks : Apple Confirms Its Using Google Cloud To Store Encrypted iCloud User Data Shannon Liao / The Verge : Apple confirms it now uses Google Cloud for iCloud services Joe Rossignol / MacRumors : Apple Confirms Some Encrypted iCloud User Data is Stored on Google Cloud Platform Marius Nestor / Softpedia News : Apple Quietly Confirms Its iCloud Cloud Storage Service Uses Google's Servers Don Reisinger / Fortune : Why Apple Relies on Google to Deliver This Service Christopher Baugh / iPhone in Canada Blog : Apple Stores Some Encrypted iCloud User Data on Google's Cloud Platform Ben Lovejoy / 9to5Mac : Apple confirms using Google servers for iCloud, but Google can't access data Julie Bort / Business Insider : Apple confirms that it's a Google Cloud customer — and it's a big victory for Google cloud boss Diane Greene Andrew Orlowski / The Register : Apple: Er, yes. Your iCloud stuff is now on Google's servers, too Tweets: Privacy Matters / @privacymatters : Apple is now using Google's Cloud Platform, in addition to Amazon's S3 service, to store encrypted iCloud data. http://www.pcmag.me/... via @PCMag Brad Sams / @bdsams : it used to be azure http://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
The confirmation closes a loop opened by the 2016 deal reports, when sources said Apple would spend $400M-$600M on Google Cloud Platform specifically to reduce its reliance on AWS. Until this iOS Security Guide update, that arrangement was sourced speculation; now Apple itself lists Google Cloud alongside its other third-party storage providers for iCloud.
The significance is competitive as much as technical: Apple and Google are direct rivals on mobile operating systems, yet one now runs part of the other's most consumer-visible service. The related coverage shows the relationship deepening rather than fading — by 2021 Apple was on track to spend roughly $300M on Google Cloud storage, up about 50% year over year.
First-order effects
- Google Cloud gains a marquee reference customer whose name validates it against AWS and Azure at exactly the moment enterprise buyers weigh the three; Apple, for its part, diversifies iCloud capacity away from a single supplier.
Second-order effects
- AWS loses pricing leverage over its highest-profile defector, and every large cloud buyer can now point to Apple when negotiating multi-vendor deals against Amazon.
Third-order effects
- Hyperscale cloud consolidates into an oligopoly where the players are simultaneously each other's customers and adversaries — a tension visible later when Apple publicly accused Google's Project Zero of creating a 'false impression of mass exploitation'. It also foreshadows iCloud storage fragmenting along jurisdictional lines, as with the China Telecom arrangement for Chinese users' data.
The trend: Cloud infrastructure is consolidating around a few hyperscalers whose rivalry no longer prevents them from buying capacity from each other, while data residency rules push storage toward country-by-country arrangements.