Cloud Computing for the Poorest Countries

As companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft sell computing everywhere, the most dramatic changes may be in places most of us do not now see.

Already, places without clean water, decent sanitation or steady electricity are using supercomputers. Unlike the developed world, where speed, agility and cost are factors that make Amazon Web Services attractive, in the developing world it’s good to be on battery-powered phones and servers in California, instead of relying on an often-brittle electric grid. Amazon itself holds seminars for start-ups in India, Indonesia and many other countries, hoping to foster more consumption of advanced technology among the developing economies. So does Google, for its business applications, and it will very likely do more once its cloud computing offering, part of Google Cloud Platform, gains traction.