Paypal Here vs. Square vs. NFC (Google Wallet)

During Praveen's talk this past Tuesday he showed us a glimpse of the Paypal Here feature that, like Square, will allow payments to be taken using an iPhone or Android Phone.  The two are very similar technologies.  Square, which has been around since 2009 has a made a great first splash in the mobile payment business.  Co-founded by Twitter's Jack Dorsey, they are now a billion dollar company and have the financial backing of Richard Branson (of Virgin fame).  They are the current leader in the space, but are still relatively unknown by many.  Enter Paypal!  They are hoping to use their strong brand recognition to leap over Square in this mobile space.  They are also slightly undercutting Square with a 2.7% transaction fee instead of 2.75%.

Another company to consider in the mobile payment space is Google with their Google Wallet via NFC.  NFC or Near Field Communication is built into the mobile device and uses simply swipe their phone up against a compatible payment taking device from the retailer.  Google is really pushing this technology, but the verdict is still up-in-the-air as to whether or not it will take off.  Experts say that it could be up to 3 years before we know if this technology will be embraced by the public.

I personally do not use any forms of mobile payments at the moment, but it's nice to see that competition between all of these companies is making the landscape that much better for both the consumers and sellers using these offerings.  Like the Blu-Ray and HD DVD battle of a few years ago, it will be interesting to see which company prevails.

SQL vs. Non-SQL (Google Cloud Services)

After watching the Google I/O video on SQL vs. Non-SQL it became clear that each service, while similar, offer unique differences that help in deciding which one to use based on the business’s priorities.  Those used to a more traditional DB setup with SQL will find the Cloud SQL option more attractive.  Those wanting more control over schema changes and more scalability would probably be better off with the DataStore option.

Both of these technologies are built on Google’s cloud services.  Cloud services offer a number of advantages:

• Fault Tolerance
•  Low Maintenance
•  Durability
• Accessibility

These cloud services great affect the way we interact with the world.  No longer are we dependent on having that DB and Web Server combination in the basement of our house, or as some VM Ware solution on some remote island somewhere.  We now focus on our business and not focus on the daily maintenance, setup, and running of these systems.  Cost is another huge savings, we don’t need resources to manage these systems, we can pay a flat-fee and rest the burden of the system upkeep on someone else’s shoulders.  It’s really a whole new way of business that is the future of both the internet from a commercial and consumer perspective.  As a consumer that is going to a site that uses these two cloud solutions, we can be assured of more up-time and possibly lower costs as the cost savings of the company trickle down into the price of their products or services.

Google’s “drive” for these services are more-than-likely revenue driven.  There is a huge amount of revenue to be gained in this particular arena.  More and more companies are realizing the benefits of cloud services and Google wants to certainly gain some of this market share.  Google’s mantra seems to be “get into anything and everything web” at this point and cloud services are really just a piece of the pie.   I think it’s a smart move that could pay dividends down the road if they market and manage the services properly.  Google is a trusted name with everything they do.  They put out quality services and applications so potential users of this particular service can be rest assured that they are putting their business into great hands.

I definitely believe that this functionality is “sound” and has a place in IT and in business.  As stated earlier, many businesses are going to the cloud for a host of internet related things.  From software, to storage, and platforms like Cloud SQL and DateStore.  Businesses are realizing the true benefits of using the cloud.  Demand for cloud services grows daily and having a trusted name like Google to help run their business would seem like an attractive option for many companies.  Though I have not personally used either the Cloud SQL or DataStore products, it’s clear that they are both well thought out products/services.  Cloud SQL is built upon MySQL, a trusted name in internet databases.  It is also backed by the use of SQL, which is a international standard for querying.  You get the benefits of Querying, Transactions, and Consistency with the Cloud SQL service.  DataStore, while similar, is a different option for managing your DB needs.  DataStore focuses more on Scalability, Management, and Schema changes.  Depending on what type of business you are running, you could easily use Cloud SQL on the front end, and then use the DataStore for archiving purposes.  They are two services that complement each other well. 

It seems like the key demographic for these services is business.  Business’s need DB’s to store transactional data, and these toolsets are used just for that.  No longer would they need to manage their own DB Servers, they could rely on the cloud servers to do this for them.  The Google I/O video mentioned the use of a fictitious store called Greg’s List in which they could use both systems in conjunction with one another.  The Cloud SQL could be used to store the active listings on the site and perform more memory intensive transactions.  Whereas the DataStore could be used for archived listings an act as more of a disk storage option.  While you could get away with just using one of the services, in this particular example it makes sense to use both as each has their strength and weakness.  Any type of business, whether it’s a mom and pop website or a full blown Forture 500 company, has a need for this type of cloud service.