Google: The First Mover

If we look at Google, the parleys it has made over the last few years were
aimed at making it a major player in the cloud space. But, by nature Google is a
cloud company as all its services are web centric. So, cloud is just a new name
and from loosely based consumer centric services, Google is being given a better
shape by launching services like App Engine, etc. Google launched App Engine in
2008 and then on has been competing with players like Amazon and Microsoft.
Google is also working on its cloud based PC OS called the Chrome OS.

Offerings

Google is betting big on initiatives like the Chrome OS that will unfold a
new premise in cloud computing and thus, sowing seeds towards commoditizing the
cloud. For instance, in the Chrome OS, the entire experience takes place within
the browser, and there are no conventional desktop applications. This means
users do not have to deal with installing, managing and updating programs.
Secondly, because all apps are within the browser, there are significant
benefits regarding security. Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS
does not trust the applications the users run. Each app is contained within a
security sandbox, making it harder for malware and viruses to infect the users
computer. Furthermore, Chrome OS barely trusts itself. Every time the user
restarts the computer, the operating system verifies the integrity of its code.
The OS is right now in the development stage.

Googles world is the web and it sees the world through this web prism. It
can be called an early mover in the cloud due to its web centric assets it has
created all these years. Hence, Google came out with cloud offerings like App
Engine to became a larger player in the cloud arena. Googles cloud touches
almost every computer user in one form or the otherit may be in the form of
Google Docs or Site search or Gmail or YouTubeall these are made up of user
driven personal data clouds. But, with App Engine, Google cloud has become more
developer and enterprise centric from its scattered macro web territory .

For instance, if we look at the App Engine, it is a platform for creating web
apps and it resides in Google managed data centers. Google says that its App
Engine is a PaaS, and not just IaaS. Google App Engine is free up to a certain
level of used resources. Fees are charged for additional storage, bandwidth, or
CPU cycles required by the application.

Google scores with App Engine because it has got such a huge infrastructure
which makes it an infrastructure king when it comes to hosting and delivery of
cloud services. Sometime back, Google had also launched App Engine for
businesses apart from the original one that the developers use. The business
version is focused on corporate developers who can leverage it to create
in-house applications.

Google is a diversified player and it will add many more cloud based services
going forward. A recent innovative development Google announced in April of this
year was the Google Cloud Print. This is a service that enables any applike
web, mobile and desktopon any device. According to the information available in
Google blog, Cloud Print will work with all printers, including those that are
not themselves web-connected (legacy printers). However, as per Google, the best
experience will be with a new generation of web-connected printers that are
natively cloud aware. Google is working with a number of printer manufacturers
to bring cloud print capabilities to their printers. For instance, recently HP
has announced a full suite of cloud-aware printers ranging from $99 consumer
printers to business-oriented printers. This pioneering work is a big enabler
for the cloud print vision and all these printers will work with the Google
Cloud Print. Clearly, taking an innovative and collaborative approach is what
differentiates players like Google in the cloud space.

Shrikanth G

shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in