Following hot on the heels of Amazon, Google has unveiled a new cloud computing product – ‘Compute Engine’.
As services online look to cater for larger audiences, they need the assistance of cloud computing and storage to help them handle the vast amounts of data and traffic they receive. Netflix and Lovefilm are prime examples of websites serving sizeable collections of data to huge numbers of clients.
Amazon has so far been the commercial leader in this area; its AWS (Amazon Web Services) product became the go-to service for SMEs which needed cloud computing solutions. With Google now entering the fray, it will be interesting to see what services are offered to entice the loyal Amazon following.
The fear with cloud computing has always been reliability of service. However, Google’s track record has been excellent and it has offered additional guarantees in the shape of built-in ‘live migration’ technology. This means that even during scheduled maintenance, users will never experience down-time. This will no doubt be a huge benefit for sites that handle large amounts of live data, especially when downtime could incite instant complaints and negative feedback.
The billing method for Compute currently stands on a per-minute basis; although this isn’t an unusual choice, it might help to instil a culture of efficiency and cost-effectiveness when it comes to applications and web-services.
As with most products Google releases, Compute will no doubt be subject to changes, rumours and assumptions, but the company’s wide-reaching popularity could lead to it developing a ubiquitous web presence.
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