In preparation for the relaunch of the Cloud Computing application Opis Cloud, I sat down for an Interview with Jordan Park – Co-Founder & Ops Director, and Vince – Head of Marketing at Opis Group. Jordan and Vince answered questions about the highs, lows, past, and future of the project.
Q1) What was the inspiration behind the Opis Cloud Application?
Jordan: Initially, Opis Cloud started with the realisation that we could provide scientific researchers with the computation power they need to solve complex equations and crunch numbers while rewarding the compute provider using blockchain technology. But, it’s grown substantially since then. It seems like years ago when we first put the idea together sat at a conference listening to researchers complain about their lack of power and the costs involved. But now when I see the application in testing, getting ready for release, I can almost hardly believe how far we’ve come!
Q2) Cloud Computing has come under fire recently, highlighted by an MIT article about its environmental impact, does this affect Opis Cloud?
Vince: Yes, but not in the way most might think. The MIT report was very much focused on the current problems of Cloud Computing, in its centralised form. MIT’s article justifies the reasons why we’re so dedicated to the idea of Opis Cloud and mobile cloud computing. We built this app because we believed the explosion of AI and the increased need by organisations for computational power will see an exponential rise in carbon emissions from server farms. MIT highlighted that Cloud Computing is already an issue, but the rise of big data isn’t going to stop. So we need to find solutions that optimise the use of such technology to minimise the environmental impact of the data age.
https://opiscloud.io/2022/04/22/mit-release-case-study-on-cloud-computing/
Q3) You reward people for using the app with crypto, but isn’t crypto also bad for the environment?
Jordan: To establish good or bad I think it’s helpful to have some context. Crypto like all industries produces carbon emissions. But in comparison to the traditional global banking system, Bitcoin on average produces 3 times less carbon emissions. But even if we just look at crypto itself comparatively, there are different levels of impact to the environment due to the method of creation.
Most people think the environmental problems of crypto come from using proof of work, instead of proof of stake. Proof of stake is perceived to be a much more environmentally friendly method than proof of work. This is because proof of work as used by Bitcoin means it becomes progressively harder to acquire coins through mining, requiring more computational power, and thus more emissions.
Like Bitcoin, Opis Cloud will be based on proof of work. However, with our cloud app, the computational power (or work done) isn’t a mining task for the sake of it. Tokens are rewarded based on completing tasks, but these tasks are tasks with real-life application that actually make a difference, such as solving equations for scientific research projects. They don’t get progressively harder, it’s just whatever equations or tasks need to be solved, and it won’t become increasingly difficult to acquire tokens, the reward rate will be consistent.
Unlike Bitcoin, the proof of work method of our application that we are using consists of decentralised mobile technology, not mining rigs and server farms. So, not only is it not the case that crypto is always ‘bad’ for the environment, but additionally, proof of work isn’t necessarily ‘bad’ either.
https://opiscloud.io/2022/04/05/is-proof-of-work-always-bad/
Q4) Can you achieve carbon zero?
Jordan: I think we have to offset it to achieve that, after all, blockchain is a technology and technology will always have some kind of carbon footprint. So we can’t say that ours is or perhaps ever will be completely zero. However, providing companies with a cloud computing network that has a ridiculously lower carbon footprint than that of data centres would also offset any use of crypto or mobile devices we use.
Q5) You’ve rebranded recently, what are the differences now?
Vince: The original company and application once called Opis Hub is now the subsidiary and solution Opis Cloud. Opis Group is now the parent organisation of both Opis Cloud and Opis Games. The reason for this change was that Opis Hub didn’t really capture what our company has grown to encompass. We have a number of projects planned that will require different subsidiaries; one of which is our plans for Opis Hub.
https://opiscloud.io/2022/02/22/the-emergence-of-opis-cloud/
Q6) Originally the Cloud app was scheduled to be released much earlier, but now it’s out in Q3 2022. How come?
Vince: When the Opis Cloud application was in its testing phase we encountered some challenges. To have released as planned would have let down some of the community who were anticipating the launch. That’s not how we wanted to start. We needed to perfect the reward rate of Opis Cloud, as it wasn’t quite there. Now, it’s due for launch in Q3 2022 and everything is looking good.
The delay gave us the chance to brainstorm ways to improve the utility token of Opis Cloud, which led us to a new idea. We started pushing development for a play to earn game we’d been thinking about; OpiPets, and that’s also due for release now in Q3 2022. So it’s going to be quite an exciting quarter for us.
Q7) So is there synergy between OpiPets and Opis Cloud? How does that help the utility token?
Vince: The in-game token of OpiPets and the utility token of the Cloud are the same token. So the cross-functionality, and strength of the two projects, will likely have a significant impact on the value of the utility token. It should be a benefit for the Cloud and OpiPets communities, and doubly beneficial for anyone who uses both!
Q8) Do you need to be involved with both projects?
Jordan: No. Tokens in the cloud will help with OpiPets. However playing OpiPets doesn’t mean anything for the cloud. It just means more tokens for you personally. You can use the cloud application and not use OpiPets at all, and vice versa.
Q9) Is there going to be a governance token for Opis Cloud, as well as the utility token?
Jordan: Yes. Both OpiPets and Opis Cloud will have their own unique governance tokens.
Additional Information
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