On Wednesday, October 25, Google announced it would be partnering with Cisco to help both the firms’ clients develop more competent hybrid cloud solutions. The newly-formed partnership between Google and Cisco revolves around the Mountain View-based firm’s Istio service mesh, as well as the incubated Kubernetes container orchestration tool. Google uses the above-mentioned tools to connect and secure micro-services across cloud systems.
A new partnership gets forged in the cloud computing space
Diane Greene, the CEO of Google’s cloud division, stated that both the firms are committed to helping consumers build better cloud systems as they forge ahead in this direction.
She further noted that the partnership between Cisco and Google would aid IT departments and developers. She stressed that the secure and open tools at their disposal would help create new apps amid a hybrid environment. The new partnership will bring together Google’s skills of creating open source software and building big data centers, and Cisco’s excellent consumer support, security, and sales force.
Incidentally, both Chuck Robbins, the CEO of Cisco, and Greene were tasked with the CEO responsibilities of their respective companies in 2015. At the time, when Robbins became the Cisco CEO, the firm was on the brink of losing its relevance in the industry. In the same year, Greene was trying to bridge the gap between Google’s cloud systems and Amazon Web Services.
Now after two years, both the senior executives have joined hands to compete with a common enemy, i.e., Amazon.
Partnership aimed at outpacing Amazon Web Services?
Although Cisco and Google announced the news of their partnership to the world, both companies were pretty vague as to what the combined solution of the efforts would be.
However, both firms highlighted the importance of a multi-cloud solution. They stressed that it was necessary to include security support and configuration, along with the policy requirements.
According to the New York Times, the Mountain View-based company hopes to take advantage of Cisco’s close working relationships with corporate clients.
If Google succeeds in doing so, it will be able to maintain an edge in the cloud computing market, which is currently ruled by Amazon and Microsoft. Cisco, on the other hand, has joined hands with Google to gain ground in the cloud computing business, which has posed a serious threat to its hardware business. Earlier, individuals and businesses relied heavily on physical storage. However, with the introduction of cloud computing, more and more consumers are opting for the new technology, especially from Amazon, which is the cloud services leader. For the unfamiliar, according to the Synergy Research Group, Amazon Web Services owns 34 percent of the market share in the cloud computing business.
