ArsTechnica had an interesting article about the ever-expanding trend of renting vs. owning when it comes to all things digital. First it was renting “cloud” storage rather than providing for your own data backup solution. More recently, the big players like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google brought the option to rent computer processing power, and then the option to rent database management services. Now they’re starting to offer services to remotely manage all those other services. I sort of get why some companies might choose to outsource/rent that functionality, especially smaller companies that might not want to maintain an IT support staff. (The other unspoken reason some companies opt for this is that it gives them a 3rd party to point the finger at and blame if they have angry customers due to an outage).

Software companies like Microsoft and Adobe are already well into the “software-as-a-service” business model. Instead of buying a copy of Office or Photoshop, their new model is to make customers pay a monthly fee to use the software. Stop paying the fee, and you lose the software.

I personally don’t like the the idea of software-as-a-service, and don’t participate in that model. But with applications such as Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom, I can see why some might prefer that model, especially if a photographer is upgrading their camera bodies often, and needs the latest version of the software to support the latest gear. With something like Microsoft Office, however, what percentage of users seriously accesses features that weren’t already available in Office 2007? Who really needs continual upgrades in order to effectively use Word or PowerPoint or Excel?

And then there’s entertainment and media consumption. Apple just announced a computer-games-as-a-service subscription package. Services like Spotify (which I don’t use) and Netflix (which I do on occasion) have largely replaced purchasing music and movies. Those services have their place, but for the music and movies I really like, I refuse to be reliant on a 3rd party content provider and an Internet connection to enjoy them, because

1. Those 3rd parties can, and often do, change their terms, pricing, and content.
2. My Internet connection at home does go out on occasion, and I also don’t like being tethered to the net when I’m out and about.
3. I like supporting music artists by buying their stuff.

So I’ll continue to be a cloud curmudgeon and keep my computing, data storage (including a backup drive in a fire safe), and content – aside from some occasional video streaming – local. I may miss out on some convenience, but I just feel more comfortable with that data backed up and in my possession.

Speaking of which, with possible severe storms and lightning in the forecast for tomorrow, I’m due to run a fresh backup!