There has been an announcement of Java support for Google App Engine (GAE) last week, along with several new features aimed specifically at businesses to try out cloud computing. The notice has been served by Google to reconfirm the Internet giant’s interest in providing enterprises with its evolving cloud computing capabilities. So, I am examining what’s new and what’s missing in GAE for enterprises that are looking to try out cloud computing.
The enterprise software market has so far remained fairly resistant to Google’s offerings including, search to SaaS products, at least compared to the uptake in software from established enterprise leaders that include Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and SAP.
Today’s the scenario is different with increasingly broad interest in cloud computing that may provide Google with an ideal opening provided they can successfully deliver their unique strengths in the technical and economic underpinnings of networked computing in a form businesses that are found compelling for cutting costs, becoming more agile and transitioning successfully to the next generation of computing.
The good news for Google is that only Microsoft currently has a credible cloud computing offering heading to the market with Azure, though IBM and Oracle are certain to follow shortly. Thus, there is a clear opening for Google if it can offer businesses what they really need in the cloud before the leading enterprise software firms manage to arrive and increase competition. This will not be easy as the network is Google’s turf and it is clear that the platform wars have indeed returned.
The original GAE was primarily a consumer Web application which focused cloud computing offering at the outset and was concerned about performance and high scalability much more than it cared about a robust feature set. It took cloud computing to a new level that was also about making it run quickly. GAE also required that you adopt its choices in programming language (Python), database (proprietary data store) and request or response application model. The latest additions promise to bring several of the capabilities and technologies that enterprises will require and open up Google’s nascent cloud computing platform for a much broader range of uses for all business enterprises. These additions will move Google much closer to the enterprise space than it was earlier, though there is still clearly plenty of work to do in order give Google the definite edge in cloud computing. .
