Google: Maximizing Profit via Education Policy?
February 14, 2022
A few days ago, I summarized one of the policy changes which benefit Google, put academic researchers in a budget pickle, and change the rules for certain types of university-type research. A year ago, Google wrote a chipper Googley blog post letting those in academia know that the institutions would have to pay up for storage after crossing the 100 terabyte boundary. You can read that Beyond Search essay at this link.
I spotted on the blog alternative service Medium (as in medium when ordering a grilled mushroom sandwich) this article “Learn from Google’s Data Engineers: Dimensional Data Modeling Is Dead.” If Google wants something dead, Google delivers.
You can grind though this essay with interesting sentences like this one: “In early days of computing, storage cost a premium; as much as $90,000 in 1985.” Helpful, right?
Here’s the meatiest statement in the write up by an honest-to-goodness Googler:
The cost of 1gb of Google Cloud storage per month is just 2 cents.
Let’s assume that this metric is on the money. What about those fees Google will charge or plans to charge the colleges and universities disabused of the “free” storage. When one is faced with losing irreplaceable or uncopyable volumes of data in the time available before deletion, what does one do?
Answer: Probably pay up.
How much money will Google make? I am not sure. Why not use some downtime to figure out how the one gigabyte to $0.02 works out? Start your calculations using these helpful parameters. Be Googley, of course. And remember Google explained what would happen a year ago in a nifty and smiley-face type essay. Helpful? For sure.
Will this move be profitable? Yep. Yep.
Stephen E Arnold, February 14, 2022
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