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The entire world is undergoing a big transformation due to the arrival of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, advanced data analysis, and new financial solutions. However, the arrival of these technologies has increased the demand for computing power at an affordable cost. It is one of the greatest challenges faced by the IT sector.
To overcome the challenges blockchain technology company iExec has released the first ever decentralized cloud marketplace for trading computing power.
Similar to trading commodity on a dedicated exchange, the iExec’s decentralized marketplace enables developers to access secure, affordable, and scalable computing power as and when needed. Presently, TFCloud, Stimergy, Cloud&Heat and Nerdalize are the four cloud providers who have announced their participation in the market. The Proof-of-Contribution algorithm verifies all the off-chain computation executed. This means all transactions between buyers and sellers are securely audited and certified by the algorithm.
The Berlin, Germany-based company has created a new cloud computing model where computing power is traded like a commodity in a global and open market. The iExec marketplace offers computing power in a standardized manner, irrespective of the provider. At any point in time, a developer will have access to large computing power at the best rate.
There are only bare minimum barriers of entry, as the platform is decentralized. Providers of computing power can set their own prices in the P2P market where iExec does not charge any fees. The blockchain based platform provides high level of trust and transparency. The iExec team has launched the marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain. The marketplace uses RLC tokens as the medium of payment.
After entering into the marketplace, “work orders” based on pre-determined categories are placed by users. Likewise, cloud providers present their price quotes for which they are willing to execute computations. More cloud providers and individuals are expected to join the marketplace soon and earn RLC tokens.
The iExec team provided additional details regarding the marketplace during the Blockshow Europe.
This includes “a public and private worker pools, scheduler per pool to manage and organize machine contributions, a new pricing model labeled “pay-per-task” that allows providers to unify resources despite their heterogeneous offers, and finally Proof-of-Contribution (PoCo), a new consensus algorithm for the verification of off-chain computations, ensuring trust on a decentralized marketplace.”
In the meanwhile, the iExec team is continuing with its cybersecurity research program. During Consensus 2018 in New York, the first results with Intel were presented. iExec is also planning to organize a “Worker Contest” where RLC tokens will be granted as prize to the indivduals who come forward to share their machines on the iExec network.
