Cloud computing is a big part of the future – and Google is making sure it is part of that future with a few key strategic moves.
Google announced in March that it would be doubling its office space near Seattle, just a stone’s throw away from the campuses of Amazon and Microsoft. The space will be filled with engineers dedicated to working on cloud technology.
Why the cloud? In cloud computing, thousands of computer servers are used in conjunction to create a high-powered machine that is capable of lots of tasks at once. They often store data to run websites, but can also be used to handle analytical problems. These services are rented by independent software developers, large companies and government entities that want computing power without the high costs associated with buying their own machines.
Google’s purchase of office space near Amazon is significant – currently their web services department (A.W.S.) is the leader in cloud services. Microsoft is a close second to Amazon in terms of cloud service providers with their Windows Azure service.
Google’s cloud strategy. Although Google is looking at the cloud business as a new source of profit, analysts say that it’s a strategy to encourage developers and businesses to use Google products instead of the rivals. Cloud business has become so important in other businesses, such as mobile apps, online video and streaming music, that the demand is increasing.
Even though cloud computing is relatively new, Google is still behind its competitors. Amazon was the first company to rent its data storage to other people – and it started in 2004. Microsoft came next, followed by Google.
Google sells businesses cloud-based word processing storage and spreadsheet tools. The Google App engine for building and hosting web and mobile apps has been popular. It was launched in 2004 and has 250,000 developers using it to run one million apps. Google also launched Compute Engine for large-scale computing and data center access recently, but the results have been less outstanding. Consumers say that the cloud service is less expensive than the other options, but still it lacks the power that Amazon and Microsoft offer.