Mobile operators pioneered cloud music space pre-Google, Amazon

DUBLIN – Cloud computing is the buzz word associated with the trifecta of mobile technology: the ability to access information and files from a home computer, a mobile device and a work computer or tablet. One of the most obvious applications of cloud capabilities is for accessing music between devices.
There has been much hype about the future of cloud music players, with Amazon arriving on the scene first, quickly followed by Google Inc. (GOOG) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) Although the hype is strong right now, cloud music players have existed amongst major mobile carriers for years now.
One company, NewBay Software, based in Dublin, Ireland, has provided solutions for the likes of Verizon Wireless, Motorola Inc., LG Electronics Co. Ltd., and others in the cloud computing space. With its LifeCache Digital Vault, mobile users can store files, music, and media for remote access and sharing. Of course, LifeCache is white-labeled across different mobile carriers.
Although mobile carriers have had cloud offerings to access not only music, but files, pictures and videos for some time, they have not received the same hype as more recent cloud music options.
NewBay uses the cloud in the typical sense to access files and media between devices, but it also uses the cloud for social sharing, image and video editing and backing up text messages or voicemails.
Statistics released by NewBay say its “Live Services” for cloud access and backup are available through four of the five top handset manufacturers globally and four out of five of the top operators in both Europe and the United States.
One example of a company using NewBay’s cloud services is AT&T Inc.’s Mobile Share, which utilizes the cloud to store content within the AT&T Locker and Mobile Share desktop and mobile applications. Another example is the Verizon VCast Media Manage, which acts as a cloud-based digital vault service for pictures, videos and other content.
Although the cloud has been utilized by mobile carriers for some time, perhaps it’s just getting the attention it needs thanks to the offerings from Google, Amazon and Apple.