Bloomberg reported quoting an anonymous source that the company is building its own long-haul network to transport traffic between its US data centers and increasing its use of customized commodity hardware as opposed to off-the-shelf IT products. In February, the tech giant had announced plans to change its Arizona-based sapphire production plant into an all-green data center that will be powered with 100 percent renewable energy and employ 150 full-time people. Bloomberg said Apple is not likely to replace the hundreds and thousands of machines in its current data centers and will use more of its own, third-party designed equipment at new facilities, of which two are planned for Denmark and Ireland. Apple users by downloading iTunes content and using iCloud to store and sync their personal files already chew up network data streams. According to Bloomberg, the end game for Apple is to combine its data centers and networks into “one highly automated system,” which would be useful if and when Apple launches a streaming music service. On Monday, Apple will reportedly announce its own music streaming music service at its Worldwide Developers Conference, thus putting more responsibility on the company to provide the necessary network bandwidth. Over the years, reports have been doing the rounds that Apple wants to start its own online TV service. With all that potential data, Apple doesn’t want its users getting stuck into traffic jams, hence a potential need to build its own network. Owning the network that connects its data centers will give Apple more control over the quality of services it delivers to its customers than it has now, using network-carrier services. “User experience is very important to Apple, but delivery of its content is the one part of that experience it doesn’t control,” Andrew Schmitt, an analyst at IHS Infonetics Research, told Bloomberg. “If they want to control and maximize that user experience, they’re going to have to control that last piece.”
