Robert Stroud, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc., had some words to warn Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS), the leader in public cloud computing market. This was in response to Google’s recent refocusing on its cloud operations.
“Watch out AWS!” Stroud posted a blog yesterday titled “Will the answer be in the public cloud be Google?”
Forrester analyst, John Greene, commented on Google’s Nov. 19, announcement that it was investing in a future cloud it believes is brimming full of untapped potential. In a blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated that Diane Greene would lead a new team that will combine all of our cloud businesses, including Google for Work and Google Cloud Platform. “This new business will combine product, engineering and marketing, and allow us to operate more integrated and coordinated.”
Greene, an industry veteran, co-founded VMWare Inc., served as its CEO, and also held a seat on Google’s board of directors. This post she will keep.
Pichai stated, “I’m equally excited about Google having entered into an agreement for the acquisition of a company founded Diane.” “Bebop allows you to easily build and maintain enterprise applications. This will allow more businesses to find great apps and reap the benefits cloud computing. Bebop with its talented team will allow us to provide integrated cloud products at all levels: end-user platforms such as Android and Chromebooks, infrastructure services in Google Cloud Platform, developer frameworks and mobile applications like Gmail, Docs, and developer frameworks for enterprise and mobile users. After the acquisition closes, both Diane and the Bebop Team will join Google.
Stroud, Forrester’s analyst, suggested the potential significance of Greene’s hiring as well as the acquisition of Bebop. Stroud stated that Google’s news is a sign that it is looking to capitalize on the changing paradigm of computing. “Google already has a presence within the Cloud arena, including its Google Cloud Platform. The cloud business’s goal is to channel its resources to build momentum in the market. The journey to success is not easy. It has the resources, including people and cash, market awareness, and application stack offerings, to be able to compete in this rapidly expanding market.
Pichai stated that the market is showing great momentum but still has room for growth. The Google CEO stated that only a small fraction of the world’s data are currently in the cloud. Most businesses and applications are not cloud-based yet. “This is an important area for Google, and we’re investing in the future.”
Forrester’s Stroud stated that this investment should alarm AWS and its cloud competitors. He said that AWS, Microsoft, IBM, and other cloud vendors should be concerned about this new entrant to the market. “But, they all have the advantage being established. They could also be caught in a discount spiral if they don’t invest in innovation or move beyond the highly commoditized Infrastructure as a Service play. This could be a feature in cloud in 2016.
Stroud stated that developers and other users of public clouds infrastructure will reap the benefits of increased competition. The real winner will be the cloud service consumer, the Forrester analyst said. “With Google’s refocused entry, there will be continued price pressure and innovation acceleration, making public cloud an even greater component of your compute workload options.”