It was reported yesterday that Apple was looking to move much of its iCloud business from Amazon Web Services to Google Cloud Platform, but now it looks like that might be just the beginning of Apple’s long-term cloud plans. According to a report from VentureBeat, Apple has been working on something internally referred to as “Project McQueen” that could be a start to the company building its own data network and infrastructure…

The report says that, in an effort to reduce reliance on companies like Amazon and Google, Apple is working to build out its own infrastructure for cloud services. Doing this should pay for itself for Apple in three years, the report claims. As Apple continues to grow and its cloud products continue to go down, the cost of using third-party infrastructures, like Microsoft’s Azure, which powers iTunes and AWS, increases at a dramatic rate. Essentially, Apple would be removing the middle-man that is Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, and building data infrastructure tailored perfectly to its own needs.

The report says that Apple’s motivation to build out its own infrastructure came after a conversation with Microsoft. Microsoft won’t be able to handle Apple’s continued growth in the cloud, meaning that Apple would have to aid Microsoft in growing Azure. So in the long run, it makes much more sense for Apple to work on building out its own networks rather than supporting Microsoft’s.

Furthermore, the report notes that Apple is not entirely happy with the services provided by its current providers, namely Amazon. Apple is reportedly frustrated that Amazon Web Services is not able to quickly load up images and videos to user devices.

Apple has also been buying up land in China and Hong Kong to build out data centers, according to the report, although specific details are unclear.

It’s an interesting idea for Apple to reduce its reliance on companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. It’s similar to the approach the company has taken with many of its software initiatives such as Maps, as well as hardware. For instance, Apple is reportedly working on developing thinner and brighter screens in a secret lab in Taiwan, looking to reduce reliance on LG, Samsung, and Sharp.

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