Google shuts down cloud project; Says no plan to offer cloud services in China

New Delhi, July 9: In the wake of rising geopolitical tensions in which China has a key role to play, the Alphabet Inc's Google decided to abandon plans to offer a major new cloud service 'Isolated Region' in China and other politically sensitive countries. The search engine giant, however, added that is never offered cloud platform services in China. Well, having read the detailed note by the two Google employees it is clear that 'Isolated Region' was just one of the paths explored by the company to address requirements related to adoption of cloud technology.

 

 

In January 2019, amid growing tensions between the US and China, Google decided to pause its plans for Isolated Region in China and instead began to prioritize potential customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. But the project was scrapped entirely this May and Google since then has weighed a pared back cloud offering to enter China. It is in the month of May that the search giant had shut down the said initiative and which sought to address nations' desires to control data within their borders.

 

The action was considered a 'massive strategy shift, according to the employees, who said 'Isolated Region' had involved hundreds of workers scattered around the world. Alphabet Inc.'s Google is pouring money into cloud computing, part of a broader effort to find new sources of growth beyond search advertising. Google Cloud generated $8.9 billion in revenue in 2019, a 53 per cent increase over the previous year - as it has pushed into sectors such as finance and government that require special security clearance and features that shield confidential data. Rivals Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc. already offer these capabilities via their cloud units.

 

Google's recent decision to nix the Isolated Region project was made partly because of global political divisions, which were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the two employees who communicated exclusively to a news agency. The geopolitical issues placed demands on Isolated Region that it couldn't deliver. Documents provided to workers also detailed global tensions and their influence on Isolated Region's closure.

 

The initiative would have allowed Google to set up cloud services controlled by a third party, such as a locally owned company or a government agency. The result would be a business sequestered from Google's existing cloud computing services, which include data centers and computer networks.