Data proliferation is at an all-time high in 2024.

Over 402.74 million terabytes of data are created every day, according to the latest estimates. With each passing day, businesses worldwide are demanding more efficient systems that allow for faster data transferring and smoother operations.

The concept of “interoperability” has therefore become an unspoken prerequisite of cloud computing solutions today. The need for multiple applications, providers, and services to collaborate seamlessly in one ecosystem has never been more critical.

And it’s in this ever-changing landscape that ICN came to be. The centralized nature of modern platforms is designed to bottleneck data and promote vendor-lock-in — at the expense of efficiency, innovation, and flexibility. 

In this short article, we’ll cover why prioritizing interoperability in cloud computing is the answer for unlocking more value for your business, and how the ecosystem of ICN is designed with exactly this in mind.

“What is Interoperability — And Why Should I Care?”

Interoperability is nothing more than the ability of several applications or systems to interact and exchange information securely and automatically — going beyond any imposed geographic, political, or organizational boundary. 

It is the force behind your cross-platform email, for instance. Interoperability is what facilitates the exchange of emails between users with different email providers, such as Gmail or Outlook. 

In other words, this mechanism allows data to go around across different platforms with little to no human intervention. It enables diverse systems to communicate with each other and share information in real-time.

And this is what makes it so critical for cloud computing ecosystems. In order for the whole process of exchanging data to remain as frictionless as possible.

Without interoperability, users on different systems would require additional steps of data manipulation and transformation. This lends itself to a greater opportunity for error to happen.
Inaccurate data has a ripple effect on the performance of the entire network. Interoperability cuts out redundant data from the outset and ensures all users receive timely access to accurate information. 

And the result? More efficient information exchange.

But admittedly, this is just one of the many benefits interoperability offers to data storage ecosystems. Several others include:

1. Prevent vendor lock-in

When the process of data exchange involves so many moving parts, the user naturally feels inclined to stay with a single provider.

Interoperability enables flexible, seamless integration across disparate cloud services and providers. Which in turn allows businesses to nitpick the best alternative for their specific needs.

2. Scalability

Lacking adequate systems to allow seamless integration with different vendors will place a ceiling on the scalability of an ecosystem.

Interoperability simplifies operational scaling by offering the platform boundless opportunities for integration and collaboration.

Simply put, data can be shared at scale without being capped by any structural boundary.

3. Lower costs

As covered above, non-interoperable systems must implement extra measures to ensure reliable data exchange across platforms.

This whole process may involve installing different software elements that come with additional costs. As a result, investing in interoperability reduces expenses and pays dividends in the long term.

A prime example of how interoperability is leveraged to optimize operations in cloud computing is to look at the following scenario:

Imagine a corporation deploys Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its data storage needs but also uses Microsoft Azure for machine learning capabilities. There is no direct integration between each other, so it only makes sense to use each platform separately, right?

Now let’s add interoperability into the mix. 

Applications within the ecosystem can now enable AWS-stored data to seamlessly connect with Azure machine learning capabilities, resulting in a more cohesive, unified, and efficient workflow on your end.

(AWS wrote a perfect example of interoperability deployed in the health sector. Click here to read it.)

Can you picture the breadth of time and options this integrative mechanism can unlock for your operations? This is the reason why Interoperability is becoming an integral part of the cloud computing solutions of today.

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The Challenges of Interoperability

Adopting such an innovative approach to data storage utilization is not always smooth sailing. There are two key challenges to interoperability applied at a glance: security concerns and managing data at scale.

First and foremost, interoperability as a whole fosters great collaboration between a wide array of applications. But one of the many concerns about this is the potential for security risks.

By design, strong security measures need to be implemented if data is going to have any chance to flow smoothly across platforms. Otherwise, data would just get lost or diluted in the process.

The data storage platform in question would need to implement encryption methods, secure APIs, and access controls to ensure that the promise of interoperability does not jeopardize data integrity. 

Secondly, there is the challenge of carrying this out at scale.

Deploying interoperable systems requires the platform to coordinate data from multiple sources. And here is usually where centralized cloud computing systems show their fragility.

Legacy systems store information in isolated databases with incompatible formats. Which means that extracting, cleaning, transforming, and loading all of this data into shared storage requires a great deal of resources. 

And this process is often reflected in the hefty price tags centralized cloud providers charge for their services.

Ultimately, the final boss is for the data storage platform to crack the code to interoperability without disrupting operational workflow.

The most recent evolution of blockchain technology has shed some light into how to ease away the concerns regarding interoperability.

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How Impossible Cloud Network Is Approaching Interoperability

Impossible Cloud Network (ICN) will furthermore be a platform where Service Providers can offer Cloud Services, like object storage, to many customers worldwide. Impossible Cloud, the original Service Provider on the Impossible Cloud Network, started to successfully provide decentralized cloud storage solutions that are secure, efficient, and accessible.

With a growing network of hardware providers meeting real-world demand, the foundation of the Impossible Cloud Network (ICN) will now expand the suite of decentralized services available and be the first to offer a decentralized, multi-service cloud.

Many DePIN solutions today focus on specific hardware or one single use case at best, such as cloud storage or GPU compute. ICN is different.

It will introduce a groundbreaking architecture designed to be compatible with any cloud service, and offer the promise of interoperability and collaboration at scale within a single ecosystem.

To get a clearer idea of how ICN works, we encourage you to read our recent article on the core feature of Impossible Cloud Network. Stay in the loop of future pieces so you don’t miss out on the latest news on the network.

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Thanks for reading.

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