At Next '21 Google announced a new 'distributed cloud' offering of hardware and software that can 'extend its cloud infrastructure into the customer's data centers and out to the edge of the network'. So there you have it. The distributed cloud builds on Google's cloud-computing business and is a clear signal the company is going to keep chasing Microsoft and AWS to be number one in the public, hybrid and private cloud space.
Google calls it's distributed cloud (click here to preview) 'a portfolio of solutions consisting of hardware and software that extend our infrastructure to the edge and into your data centers'. According to the announcement Google Distributed Cloud can run across multiple locations, including:
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Google’s network edge - Allowing customers to leverage over 140+ Google network edge locations around the world.
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Operator edge - Enabling customers to take advantage of an operator’s edge network and benefit from 5G/LTE services offered by our leading communication service provider (CSP) partners. The operator edge is optimized to support low-latency use cases, running edge applications with stringent latency and bandwidth requirements.
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Customer edge - Supporting customer-owned edge or remote locations such as retail stores, factory floors, or branch offices, which require localized compute and processing directly in the edge locations.
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Customer data centers - Supporting customer-owned data centers and colocation facilities to address strict data security and privacy requirements, and to modernize on-premises deployments while meeting regulatory compliance.
Google Distributed Cloud is built on Anthos
Anthos is an open-source-based platform that unifies the management of infrastructure and applications across on-premises, edge, and in multiple public clouds, all while offering consistent operation at scale. Google Distributed Cloud taps into our planet-scale infrastructure that delivers the highest levels of performance, availability, and security, while Anthos running on Google-managed hardware at the customer or edge location provides a services platform on which to run applications securely and remotely. Using Google Distributed Cloud, customers can migrate or modernize applications and process data locally with Google Cloud services, including databases, machine learning, data analytics and container management. Customers can also leverage third-party services from leading vendors in their own dedicated environment. At launch, a diverse portfolio of partners, including Cisco, Dell, HPE, and NetApp, will support the service.
