Google's Latest Groundbreaking Cloud Move is Unveiling Arm-Based Server Chip

Google unveiled its latest endeavor to democratize cloud computing costs, announcing a forthcoming custom-designed Arm-based server chip at its Cloud Next conference in Las Vegas.

Scheduled for release later this year, this move signifies Google's bid to level the playing field against competitors like Amazon and Microsoft, both of whom have long embraced similar strategies.

In the fiercely competitive landscape of cloud infrastructure, where organizations lease resources from remote data centers based on their usage, Google aims to bolster its position.

While the tech behemoth still relies heavily on advertising, accounting for three-quarters of Alphabet's revenue, the cloud segment has been rapidly expanding and now contributes nearly 11% to the company's total revenue.

Furthermore, this sector, encompassing corporate productivity tools, has proven to be profitable for Google.

Despite Google's significant strides, it holds a modest 7.5% share of the cloud infrastructure market, according to Gartner's 2022 estimates, while Amazon and Microsoft jointly command approximately 62%.

Nonetheless, Google isn't entirely new to the Arm architecture, having already integrated Arm-based chips into its operations this year through virtual machines supplied by Oracle-backed startup Ampere.

Internally, Google has leveraged Arm-based server computers to power various critical functions such as YouTube advertising, the BigTable and Spanner databases, and the BigQuery data analytics tool.

The transition to cloud-based Arm instances, branded as Axion, will be gradual as these instances become available for broader deployment, according to a spokesperson.

Source: Jordan Novet / CNBC