Use Too Much Space on iCloud and Apple Won't Deliver Your Messages
Apple's (AAPL) iCloud may be a little more of a pain in the rear than users thought. According to a MacRumors post, if you run out of your allotted 5GB of space, backups grind to a halt and iCloud no longer routes your email. That's a big oops, but the issue is beyond Apple and its iMinions.
Making cloud computing work for consumers, and not just corporate IT departments, requires making it all private, secure and simple right off the bat. Sure, Apple will probably fix this initial problem, but it suggests how awkward its initial foray into cloud services will be, and how much work it will take to get them to work properly for consumers who aren't fanbois and technophiles.
The message isn't terribly descriptive, although it does prompt the user to buy more storage, as the image from MacRumors below shows (click to enlarge):
There are two problems with this approach. First, it's an attempt to make a sale when someone may be in a jam. Sure, the user may decide to purchase more storage space, but the high-pressure tactic can also create massive bad will, because consumers don't like feeling that someone wants to take advantage of them.
The bigger immediate problem, however, is that Apple has yet to publicly release details on what you can get or how much it will cost. So the consumer gets a warning, feels trapped, and then finds out that there's no solution yet.
Some comments on Ars Technica dismiss the potential problem because "the only thing that counts towards your quota are text and settings." But that isn't quite correct. Although Apple tracks whether a give user has downloaded or purchased particular apps or music from Apple, and so doesn't have to store additional copies, there are a number of things that get stored in backups, including the following:
- device settings
- app data
- text and MMS messages
- ringtones
This could add up, and apparently it already has for at least one user. Of course, Apple will eventually offer some insight into its plans. But it's a bad way of doing business with consumers that aren't among the Faithful.
If Apple is making these kinds of simple mistakes, how likely is it that other companies will get everything right from the start? Do you really want to trust a dot-oh service from Microsoft (MSFT)? Will Google work out all the kinks and not freeze out customers as it has done at times with Gmail and Google Apps?
This isn't about Apple or Microsoft or Google specifically. It's about all of them and the rash of other tech companies that want to get into the Cloud Business, but are operationally ill-equipped to do so. Cloud services have to operate like a television. Making people track storage and what will and won't count toward some arbitrary limit in order to keep their service working is exactly the opposite of the turn-it-on-and-it-works functionality they'll be looking for.
Related:
- WWDC: Apple Blows an Opportunity To Change the World
- How Apple's iCloud Could Change Everything -- Again
- Cloud Computing: Can't Anyone Play This Game?
Erik Sherman is a widely published writer and editor who also does select ghosting and corporate work. The views expressed in this column belong to Sherman and do not represent the views of CBS Interactive. Follow him on Twitter at @ErikSherman or on Facebook.
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