Cloud computing has changed the way businesses operate. The latest data from Cloudwards shows that 94 percent of all businesses use the cloud to some extent and almost half use it to store their most sensitive and important data. It’s an industry that is predicted to be worth over $830 billion by 2025, and right now, is dominated by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
Google lies in a distant third place, its current revenue around a tenth of Amazon’s. It’s a position that doesn’t come naturally to the team from Mountain View, and while analysts predict that it will rise by more than 50 percent this year, it will still be lagging well adrift of the front runners. That’s why the tech giant is adopting a new strategic approach.
The rise of multi cloud
As the name implies, multi cloud leverages the resources of multiple cloud platforms instead of relying on a single one. It’s a concept with which many businesses are familiar at the micro level; some already adopt a hybrid cloud approach, whereby some data is stored on the cloud and some resides on traditional local servers. Multi cloud takes this concept to the macro level, using the combined forces of multiple cloud networks.
The advantage for users is that it means they are not tied to a single supplier. However, they still need a single interface to access the distributed network – and that is where Google is aiming to focus.
On the edge of the cloud
A separate but related shift lies in the area of distributed cloud networks. Again, this is all about cloud computing taking place across a broad network as opposed to single giant clouds, but it takes the proposition a step further. It’s important to remember that despite the impressive size of cloud computing from a revenue perspective, the technology is still relatively new, and represents less than 10 percent of the IT market. As demands on the cloud continue to grow, response times will inevitably be affected.
Distributed networks preempt this problem by moving processes to smaller local networks. It can be visualized as moving computing from the center to the outer edge of the cloud, and it means end users get all the benefits but with lag-free responses.
Edge computing, as it is becoming known, presents opportunities for smaller businesses to enter a cloud market that is currently dominated by the three giants. However, like multi cloud, customers will expect a single interface.
Changing times
The IT sector never stands still, but times are changing exceptionally rapidly in the world of cloud computing. When the cloud first took off a decade ago, Google was slow off the blocks and has never managed to make up ground. Multi cloud and distributed networks could provide the opportunity it has been waiting for.