Cloud Egress Fees Out the Door at Google Cloud, Broadcom Bids Adieu to VMware Campus
In this week's cloud computing news roundup, we also have a look at Google Cloud's new AI GTM lead; Microsoft's Azure moves in the EU; and SAP’s cloud-first shifts.
![Cloud egress fees end at Google Cloud Cloud egress fees end at Google Cloud](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blte5406b8dcf855a48/65a04586fe107e040ad8328a/Out_the_Door.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Morakot Kawinchan/Shutterstock
Google Cloud has lobbed a major cloud computing volley into its rivals’ courts.
On Jan. 11, the hyperscaler said it’s eliminating cloud egress fees.
“Starting today, Google Cloud customers who wish to stop using Google Cloud and migrate their data to another cloud provider and/or on premises, can take advantage of free network data transfer to migrate their data out of Google Cloud,” wrote Amit Zavery, general manager and vice president, head of platform, in a blog. “This applies to all customers globally.”
Google Cloud appears willing to challenge the cloud industry’s status quo — and, to be sure, the company has been more vocal of late about criticizing its rivals. Zavery said the vendor’s move comes down to making processes easier for end users. Indeed, vendor lock-in has remained a major concern among organizations migrating to the cloud. Public cloud interoperability is nonexistent, at least as a native solution, and each provider has its own proprietary technologies and approaches in play. These factors keep customers tied to a specific brand for years and make it difficult, if not nearly impossible, to switch among platforms.
To that point, Zavery noted, “Making it easier for customers to move from one provider to another does little to improve choice if customers remain locked in with restrictive licenses. Customers should choose a cloud provider because it makes sense for their business, not because their legacy provider has locked them in with overly restrictive contracting terms or punitive licensing practices.”
Former Google Cloud vice president Oliver Parker (pictured) is back at the company, this time to lead AI efforts in a new go-to-market organization.
Google Cloud announced the news internally this week, and Parker confirmed his rehiring on LinkedIn on Jan. 11.
“I am thrilled to rejoin Google Cloud,” Parker wrote. “Cloud computing fundamentally reshaped how organizations leverage technology for their digital transformations and generative AI presents the next significant advancement. It has the potential to materially revolutionize businesses. At Google Cloud, we are determined to seize this opportunity and empower our customers and partners to unlock new efficiencies, create groundbreaking solutions and redefine what’s possible.”
Parker returns to Google Cloud from a nearly two-year stint at Okta. Prior to that, he served as a top Google Cloud executive for four years. Parker spent the previous 18 years at Microsoft in various roles. Now, he’s overseeing AI strategies, including sales and technical resources, Google Cloud told Channel Futures.
“This move is part of Google Cloud’s focus in aligning its AI portfolio to its customers’ most critical needs,” a spokesperson elaborated, confirming that Parker’s organization “will work closely” with the unit that oversees managed service provider relationships.
Google Cloud, alongside the larger Google business, recently made leaps in the hyperscalers’ AI wars with the introduction of Gemini.
Broadcom is looking to offload nearly all of the 1.6 million-square-foot Palo Alto campus it got when it bought VMware.
The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the pending sale on Jan. 10. According to the newspaper, Broadcom intends to sell about 1 million square feet of the property at 3401 Hillview Ave. The chipmaker will keep, and occupy, the leftover 600,000 square feet for its headquarters, per reports.
Broadcom is divvying up the rest of the VMware campus into two parcels and selling them through commercial real estate firm CBRE. Pricing remains unknown. Channel Futures searched the CBRE website for information, but, like other outlets, did not find how much Broadcom is aiming to make from a sale of the VMware campus. It’s also unclear what Broadcom will do with its San Jose headquarters as it moves to Palo Alto.
Broadcom announced plans to buy VMware in May 2022 for $61 billion. The final closing price came to $69 billion. Broadcom now is seeking ways to recoup the money it spent. Some of the ways it’s doing that include terminating the VMware partner program and taking the top VMware customers direct. Expect more coverage on these developments from Channel Futures very soon.
Microsoft has launched a phased plan to allow its cloud computing customers in the European Union to process and store all their personal data in that region.
Microsoft’s Azure move follows that of rival Amazon Web Services, which said in October it would support data storage on EU servers.
The development from Microsoft means end users now may protect their data in system-generated logs, as well as other information that is not automatically created.
“Last year, as the first step in our phased approach to the rollout of the EU Data Boundary, we delivered the ability to store and process customer data within the boundary for Microsoft 365, Azure, Power Platform and Dynamics 365 services,” Julie Brill, corporate vice president and chief privacy officer, explained in a Jan. 11 blog. Now, she added, Microsoft “further expands our local storage and processing to include all personal data, such as automated system logs, making Microsoft the first large-scale cloud provider to deliver this level of data residency to European customers.”
Data sovereignty and protection are critical topics in the EU, which arguably leads the world in enforcing privacy laws for its citizens. But, for cloud providers themselves, ensuring data residency and storage turns into a monumental task given the scope and breadth of computing availability.
The next phase of Microsoft’s so-called EU Data Boundary initiative will come later this year, Brill said.
“We will ensure that support data is stored within the boundary, and when access from outside the EU is required to enable … support, we will limit and secure any temporary data transfer required through technical approaches such as virtual desktop infrastructure,” she added. “Microsoft is also developing a future paid support option that will provide initial technical response from within the EU.”
SAP says it’s honing its cloud-first focus “in the era of AI” by making significant changes to its board.
This week, the Germany-based software vendor, which continues its transition away from its legacy on-premises model, said it’s forming the Customer Services & Delivery board area, emphasizing cloud computing. Thomas Saueressig will oversee those efforts. Saueressig currently works as head of product engineering. He’ll take on the cloud-focused customer service and delivery role at the start of the second quarter.
"Thomas' demonstrated leadership, expertise and customer focus will be key as he works to build a team responsible for comprehensive value delivery,” said Hasso Plattner, chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE.
Muhammad Alam will succeed Saueressig.
“Together with the best product and engineering team in the world, we will continue our transformation journey and bring incredible innovation to life across and beyond our solutions for customers,” Alam said.
Notably, only SAP customers on Rise with SAP, the cloud version of the S/4HANA enterprise resource platform, will be able to take advantage of cloud innovations, including those around AI and carbon accounting. That was the word from SAP Christian Klein to financial analysts last summer.
Indeed, that pronouncement has incited confusion and fear among SAP’s on-premises end users.
“Customers who have already invested in S/4HANA on-premise may now get the impression that they have wasted millions,” DSAG board chairman Jens Hungershausen told Channel Futures in August 2023.
SAP says it’s honing its cloud-first focus “in the era of AI” by making significant changes to its board.
This week, the Germany-based software vendor, which continues its transition away from its legacy on-premises model, said it’s forming the Customer Services & Delivery board area, emphasizing cloud computing. Thomas Saueressig will oversee those efforts. Saueressig currently works as head of product engineering. He’ll take on the cloud-focused customer service and delivery role at the start of the second quarter.
"Thomas' demonstrated leadership, expertise and customer focus will be key as he works to build a team responsible for comprehensive value delivery,” said Hasso Plattner, chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE.
Muhammad Alam will succeed Saueressig.
“Together with the best product and engineering team in the world, we will continue our transformation journey and bring incredible innovation to life across and beyond our solutions for customers,” Alam said.
Notably, only SAP customers on Rise with SAP, the cloud version of the S/4HANA enterprise resource platform, will be able to take advantage of cloud innovations, including those around AI and carbon accounting. That was the word from SAP Christian Klein to financial analysts last summer.
Indeed, that pronouncement has incited confusion and fear among SAP’s on-premises end users.
“Customers who have already invested in S/4HANA on-premise may now get the impression that they have wasted millions,” DSAG board chairman Jens Hungershausen told Channel Futures in August 2023.
The days of burdensome cloud egress fees could be coming to an end.
On Thursday, Google Cloud pulled no punches, saying it's eliminating the costs associated with leaving its cloud computing services.
The move, which is significant, puts the provider’s fellow hyperscalers on alert. After all, cloud egress fees have been a source of consternation and concern among channel partners and end users; the price of exiting a cloud platform goes sky-high after accounting for data transfer expenses, which, for a long time, organizations didn’t know to expect. Indeed, regulatory entities including the UK’s Ofcom have started investigating cloud egress fees. Google Cloud’s announcement could be a way to stay a step ahead of government pressure. We look at the details in the cloud computing news roundup above.
As part of that, we bring you another development at Google Cloud, this time around artificial intelligence. Find out who the world’s third-largest cloud computing provider has (re)hired to lead its go-to-market AI business.
From there, get the dirt, if you will, on Broadcom’s latest plans around the VMware acquisition. The chipmaker intends to sell significant portions of VMware’s real estate in California.
We wrap up with news from Microsoft around data sovereignty in the European Union, and a look at SAP’s executive shake-up as the vendor pursues its cloud computing ambitions with more vigor.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like