Monday, February 22, 2016

Google Seeks Most-Flexible Cloud Crown

              The “cloud” has been one of those terms used in technology over the past few years, and it has made a difference in how we store information and transfer it to other products. When I think of the “cloud”, I think of Apple’s iCloud where I can store all of my music and applications from iTunes. The information there can be used on multiple devices such as a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone. This concept is simple for the average customer, but there is another side to the “cloud” which is used in the business world.
               More and more companies are using the “cloud” in order to run their company faster and more efficient. They are able to share and use data more due to the on-demand feature. They can increase and decrease their computing needs such as storage depending on their demands. They can also pay for just what they need, instead of spending tons of money on a set amount of infrastructure.
               The most successful at this business practice has been Amazon with its Amazon Web Services that have been a hit with large, public companies. Another successful “cloud” provider is Microsoft with its Azure product. The next “cloud” provider that wants to bring in new clients is Google with its Custom Machine Types. The trick with Google’s Custom Machine Types is letting the customer use enough processing and memory as it needs on specific task. This alleviates the pain of unused storage going to waste, and makes a company’s spending more flexible.
               I can only image if I had access to these resources in the form of memory and storage. If my laptop was able to gain memory and process faster when I needed to do a big project, I could get it done faster than typing this up right now! Also, anyone who has storage problems on their smartphones would love for more storage without going through tons of memory cards. While these examples don’t necessarily involve the cloud, this is how flexible a company is when using cloud computing.

               The article made the point that the cloud computing services from Amazon and Microsoft will be used more than Google’s just because of the familiarity of those two companies, especially with all of the other products they have provided such as Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Microsoft Office. Where I think Google will succeed at first will be with new companies just getting off the ground, and building it from there in order to get market share. It is pretty incredible where the technology is heading. 

http://fortune.com/2016/02/17/google-seeks-crown-for-most-flexible-cloud/
http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-computing

2 comments:

  1. In this article, Google made a new program, the Custom Machine, that allows users to use memory and processing features as they need. This is important because consumers will not waste money on buying memory and a higher level of processing that they do not really need. It is sort of a pay as you go system. I think this system has many pros to it that makes Google’s Custom Machine more attractive. Some of the pros include all of the information being stored in a cloud so businesses do not need to worry about backing their information up, their program crashing, or their technology becoming outdated. Another good thing about the Custom Machine is that businesses will pay for less physical materials and storage of these materials. Since everything will be stored in the cloud, they will not need to purchase things such as external drives to backup their data. By using the cloud, data can not be retrieved faster and more efficiently, and only will be charged for the amount of processing and memory used for this data. The ability of Google’s Custom Machine being able to use different amounts of processing and memory for different tasks is a major advantage because usually computers, cell phones, and tablets crash or slow down when you have too many different programs running or are trying to do too much at once. I also think this is a good program because like any cloud, I’m sure the technology and software being used are constantly updated.
    I think a con of this new program is some people still fear their data and information being stored in the cloud because they think it can be hacked and stolen. I know I am guilty of this because I don’t like saving my credit card information on websites that I order things off of a lot because my account has been hacked a few times and my information wasn’t even saved on my computer. I think another con of this program could be because it’s a new program, people might be hesitant to switch to this from the program they are currently using because they do not know how successful this program has been for users.
    I am confused if this article is trying to say that Google’s Custom Machines type will be competing with Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud, or if its main function is to provide a new technology that is able to alter the amount of processing and memory when using their technology. If it is not competing with Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud, then I want to know which cloud Google prefers to work alongside with, or if it doesn’t matter. I am also curious to know if they are only talking about the processing speed and memory on a computer, or on a program used in companies, or any tablet or phone.

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  2. I find the idea of the cloud very interesting, because it holds tons of data, but doesn’t actually store it in a set place. I think it is very wise that Google is implementing their own cloud, because they are a very reputable company, and potential customers will trust them with their data because Google is so well known. I also like how Google is making their cloud different from other companies—allowing customers to pay for what they use, rather than guess what they might use and overspend just to have extra storage space. Google really took their customer’s needs into account when creating their cloud product, and that will be a huge selling point for them.

    The one flaw that sticks out is that Google is one of the last companies to come out with their own cloud. Although it is one of the most convenient clouds for customers, it is likely that most people who need to purchase cloud space to store their data have already purchased it from someone else. Google can try to fix this problem by hiring a good marketing team, but if someone already has all of their data on a cloud, it is unlikely that they will move it to another one.

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