Reliance’s Jio Cloud PC: Unpacking the virtual ‘game-changer’ that could reduce digital divide

Jio Cloud PC is a service that will let users pay to bring the power of a personal computer or even multiple PCs to Indian homes and businesses. Reliance says it does not require any upfront investment and does away with the need for any upgrading

At its 45th Annual General Meeting on Monday, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani made a slew of blockbuster announcements including Stand-Alone 5G, the world’s largest and most advanced 5G network, and JioAirFiber.

Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani, unveiling the JioAirFiber, which he described as a wireless, single-device solution that can be used by simply turning it on, also announced the Jio Cloud PC.

But what is it? How will it work? Let’s take a closer look:

As per News18, Jio Cloud PC is a service that will let Jio users pay to bring the power of a PC or multiple PC to Indian homes and businesses.

It will work by processing data over a company server, making that server take the load for all the processing that is happening on the user’s device, instead of the device itself.

As per Business Today, the Cloud PC is likely to be compact hardware (just like a router) with one HDMI, four USB, one LAN and a 3.5mm port and will have to be connected with a display, keyboard and mouse.

“Using JioAirFiber, people can do away with all expenses related to buying computer hardware and periodically upgrading it, and opt to use a virtual PC hosted in the cloud – called Jio Cloud PC,” the company said.

Jio Cloud PC can help reduce software piracy as well as eliminate the digital divide.

As per Business Today, it could contribute to eliminating e-waste by doing away with upgrading PC hardware. India generated 1,014,961.2 tonnes of e-waste in 2019-2020, ranking third after USA and China, as per the report.

Details on the price and availability are awaited, however as per Business Today it is expected to be priced nominally.

“Largely, I think it means to reduce the TCO (Total cost of ownership) and accessibility and bridge the digital divide. However, there will be a big learning curve to overcome the resistance to use especially looking at the target audience or first-time users,” Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research told Business Today.

“With Cloud PCs, users will be able to simply pay for, and consume the software as a service in a secure way. They will no longer need to worry about time-consuming, capital-intensive PC architecture, installation and operational management tasks – all of which will be vendor-operated, and can instead, focus on being creative, productive, and most importantly, enjoy power performance. In the aftermath of the pandemic, and with new enterprises and consumers joining India’s growing digital economy from Aspirational India, Jio Cloud PCs will be game changers,” Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR), told the outlet.

‘Game-changer’
Reliance Industries president Kiran Thomas was quoted by Mint as saying “Now using JioAirFiber, customers can do away with all such expenses, and opt to use a virtual PC hosted in the cloud. We have named this concept, Jio Cloud PC. No large upfront investments, no upgrades. You only pay to the extent you use the Cloud PC, resulting in a super-affordable way to bring the power of a PC, even multiple PCs, to every Indian home and business.”

“Be it a pharmacy or a doctor’s clinic, a grocer or a hotel, a consultant or a Chartered Accountant, everyone can get an affordable computer through Jio Cloud PC and JioAirFiber.” Thomas added. FirstPost