Cloud computing was an extremely broad concept. No one could define it in just a few short sentences, which was also why, for a long time after the idea was proposed, many people dismissed it as a gimmick.
But before Simon's rebirth, cloud computing had already become deeply ingrained, everywhere and unavoidable.
For end users years later, online drives, cloud documents, mini apps, streaming media, and so on were all concrete applications of cloud computing.
For businesses, cloud computing meant using large scale distributed parallel computing to maximize the efficient use of software and hardware resources.
Ordinary people tended to link cloud computing with website hosting and server leasing. In reality, those were only the most basic services it could provide. And even then, true cloud based hosting and leasing were still very different from traditional hosting.
With traditional hosting, once a user reserved server space, that set of servers was dedicated exclusively to that user. Even if the site had zero traffic during certain periods, the servers still had to keep running, causing massive waste.
Cloud computing offered highly elastic virtual server space. Users didn't have to specify a particular physical server. The cloud system allocated resources automatically, and users could purchase capacity on demand, billed by time. That meant a single server could serve multiple users at once, and idle resources would be far less severe.
For example, if a user normally only needed 10 gigabytes of network space, they could rent just 10. But during certain periods, when traffic surged, they might suddenly need to raise capacity to 100 gigabytes. With traditional hosting, that scenario was basically a disaster. To avoid it, companies often had to buy 100 gigabytes upfront, driving costs sharply higher and wasting resources. With cloud computing, all it took was a simple online scaling operation. And you didn't have to keep renting 100 gigabytes forever. Once the peak passed, you could quickly drop back to the 10 gigabyte pay by time level.
Because it maximized efficient use of software and hardware, with the same underlying hardware scale, cloud computing could deliver storage and compute power more than ten times the capacity of traditional server usage models. And that also meant cost advantages far beyond traditional models.
San Francisco, Palo Alto.
Simon arrived here on September 17. While mediating the conflict between Jeff Bezos and Carol Bartz, he spent several straight days pulling Ygritte's three executives into intensive discussions about Carol Bartz's one stop website solution plan built around cloud computing. Through repeated debate and refinement, the business plan kept evolving.
The internet industry had long since passed the earliest sprout stage, but the seedling was still very fragile.
Thanks to the powerful practical utility of HTTP and HTML, the expansion of web technology over the last few months had been much faster than Simon expected. Even so, many functions were still under development.
Simon never forgot that, which was why he avoided overly aggressive promotion strategies.
Right now, he even held a draft of the "information superhighway" plan that Senator Al Gore had been pushing for years. At Simon's current status, he could easily generate momentum for it, but to give Ygritte more time to steadily accumulate technical depth, he chose not to.
At the moment, one major factor limiting the internet's development was the lack of computing power and storage capacity in computer hardware. Achieving widespread cloud computing adoption and application earlier could solve that problem to a significant degree.
Ygritte's West Coast data center was in a building near Ygritte headquarters in Palo Alto.
It was already Friday, September 21.
Simon had been here more than once recently. After several days of discussion, he again brought Tim Berners Lee, Jeff Bezos, Carol Bartz, and others into the data center. Looking around at rows of expensive minicomputers mounted in server racks, each costing tens of thousands of dollars, everyone's eyes carried a new trace of disdain.
Yet this clean, serious looking server array was precisely the era's traditional data center model.
Compared to the massive server clusters in Simon's memory, built in cold regions near water sources with hardware laid bare in a futuristic sprawl, this data center was not only expensive, it was inefficient.
Because each minicomputer was a standalone unit, once a fault occurred, repairs were only part of the problem. The bigger issue was that it could impact Ygritte's network services. As a result, daily maintenance costs were also substantial.
The first step of Ygritte's cloud computing plan would be to virtualize and transform the existing data center. That, of course, couldn't be done overnight. It would likely take a year to develop dedicated cloud control software.
At the same time, the team would establish a hardware R and D department, purchasing components directly from upstream chip, motherboard, and storage suppliers. Following the blueprint they had finalized in recent days, the hardware team would work with the cloud software team to develop integrated server cluster style data centers.
One data center would become a single whole. Or when connected with other data centers, the entire Ygritte data system would become a single whole, an ultra powerful supercomputer with enormous compute and storage capacity.
In Simon's memory, the ultimate vision of cloud computing many companies talked about was that one day the world would have only one, or a handful, of "computers" left.
Current server leasing was still mainly aimed at mature enterprise clients. That constrained website growth, because small businesses and individual operators simply couldn't afford server purchases, leases, or maintenance.
Recently, Simon had been considering offering cheap, even free, online space to developers to build their own sites, to accelerate the web's expansion.
Once Ygritte's cloud plan was complete, Ygritte could use its own excess server resources to push that forward rapidly.
They listened to technical specialists, discussed the data center retrofit plan, and confirmed cloud development details. Before they realized it, the entire afternoon had flown by.
When they left the data center, it was already evening.
After sending the other accompanying staff away, Simon took only Ygritte's three top executives to a nearby restaurant.
Once the four sat down and ordered, Simon said to Bezos and Bartz, "This morning, Tim signed a share transfer agreement. I'm now the one hundred percent owner of Ygritte."
Jeff Bezos and Carol Bartz both looked instinctively toward Tim Berners Lee.
Tim only smiled and gave a small nod.
They turned back to Simon and waited for him to continue.
In Simon's previous funding rounds, he'd always taken care to protect Tim Berners Lee's interests. That was partly because funding had to be allocated cleanly and fairly.
But the dispute between Bezos and Bartz over how to divide that last fifty million made Simon realize he needed to resolve Tim Berners Lee's equity situation. Only then could he allocate funds into Ygritte more freely.
Yesterday at lunch, Simon had invited Tim Berners Lee to eat alone, and proposed buying Tim's remaining 2.5% stake.
Simon was candid about why. He offered five million dollars, a high price, twice the implied value of Tim's stake in the recent funding round. Tim also understood that for Ygritte to grow fast, it needed uninterrupted infusions of capital, so he agreed without much hesitation.
Simon believed Bezos and Bartz, both smart, understood his intent. He didn't bother circling around it. "So from now on, when it comes to funding, I can guarantee this. However much you can spend, I can provide. But the premise is that you must deliver results that satisfy me."
Bezos and Bartz nodded together, and then couldn't help glancing again at Tim Berners Lee.
Simon noticed. "Tim will still be Ygritte's CEO. That won't change. Because neither of you is suited to lead this company right now."
Carol Bartz couldn't help saying, "But Simon, I think the company needs a single leader."
"Yes," Simon said. "Tim will act as a buffer between you two. As for leadership..." He smiled and pointed at himself. "I'll personally take charge."
Carol Bartz was still unwilling to let it go. "If you could stay in San Francisco all the time, that would be perfect. But you might not come here even once in a month. I think it would be best if I ran the company. Tim focuses on R and D, and Jeff can concentrate on operating his network division."
Simon shook his head again. "Carly, you need to understand one thing. The network division and the software division are equal within Ygritte. To be honest, my expectations for the network side are even higher. So Ygritte's network and software divisions must advance together. And I believe you understand this too. Without network support, without enough web content resources, no one will care about the underlying application technologies of the web. And the browser software we develop won't sell."
Carol Bartz insisted, "Web technology also has broad application prospects on existing enterprise intranet data platforms. And the customer base there is already substantial. We can focus on that first."
Simon sighed and stopped trying to persuade her with logic. His expression turned serious. "Carly, I believe our discussions on Ygritte's direction are already mature. Next, your job is to build a complete software sales network as fast as possible. Tim's job is R and D. Jeff is responsible for running the network division. At the same time, the three of you must cooperate, because every part of Ygritte's business supports the others. I've solved your funding allocation problem. Now you need to run this company according to what I, your boss, want. Or you can find another place to work. Understood?"
Feeling the non-negotiable weight in Simon's tone, Carol Bartz glanced at the other two, paused, and finally nodded. "All right, Simon."
Simon looked at Jeff Bezos.
Jeff Bezos nodded as well. "No problem from me."
"Then let's talk compensation," Simon said, easing his tone. "I assume you've seen that Forbes article about the Westeros system's hundred million executive club. A lot of media reported on it recently."
All three nodded slightly.
Simon continued. "I don't want to keep repeating that I'm not stingy. The three of you joined Ygritte in a hurry, and your compensation terms aren't fully structured. So I've had James draft a brand new five year contract. Over five years, if you hit the performance targets, you'll receive a deferred equity award. The restriction is this. You can only cash it out after five years. If you resign within five years, or if I fire you, the corresponding award will be bought back at the contract price in your compensation terms. Roughly speaking, over those five years, each of you can earn about five percent of Ygritte."
He paused, then said, "As for what those shares will be worth, all I can say is this. Daenerys went from an empty shell to Forbes valuing it at ten billion in just four years. Cersei Capital made more than ten billion in the last two years. And in Europe, Melisandre tripled the value of her Gucci stake in one year. Ygritte is Westeros Company's 'fourth woman.' I don't believe she'll be any worse than the first three. Of course, whether this company ends up worth one billion, ten billion, a hundred billion, or more, depends largely on you."
After settling things on Ygritte's side, Simon flew back to Los Angeles after dinner.
If Bezos and Bartz still couldn't get along going forward, Simon would kick them out without hesitation. He would not allow his internet strategy to be obstructed by personnel issues.
A few days ago, Sophia Fache contacted them. The British United Lyons Company, which owned France's Chateau Latour, was considering selling the estate.
Simon's view was that collecting a national treasure level vineyard was more worthwhile than any artwork. Janet had also always wanted to buy a top tier vineyard. Previously, with no suitable target, she'd only built a small vineyard in Tasmania as a hobby.
The other four of Bordeaux's five first growths were basically not for sale. Since United Lyons wanted to sell Latour, Janet flew to Europe on Wednesday.
Even though the two planned mega acquisitions would require enormous capital, Simon had no intention of depriving himself when it came to spending. He didn't have Warren Buffett's mindset of saving a hundred million to invest and multiply later. Living well now mattered more.
At the villa on the west side of Point Dume.
Simon got home. It was already after nine at night.
Calculating the time difference, it was five in the morning in London, so he didn't call.
After showering, he sat in a small seaside sitting room off the living room, reading the materials Daenerys Entertainment had delivered late at night. He didn't draw the curtains. Beyond the floor to ceiling windows lay deep night, and he enjoyed the quiet peace of being alone.
The materials were about the Venice Film Festival, which had closed yesterday.
Daenerys Entertainment had two films in the main competition this year: Robert Altman's Short Cuts and Jane Campion's An Angel at My Table.
At yesterday's closing awards ceremony, Short Cuts not only won the festival's top honor, the Golden Lion, it also took three other awards. Likely for the sake of balance, An Angel at My Table, which had also earned strong press praise during the festival, won nothing.
Still, it was good news. The company had already decided to hold a celebration party tomorrow at Daenerys Studios.
Besides Short Cuts and An Angel at My Table, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas had also been in the main competition and won Best Director.
Flipping to the end, Simon found a clipping tucked into the materials, an article praising Goodfellas lead actress Rene Russo.
Simon only smiled and set the clipping aside.
Some women were always just passing through.