Google Kicks-off Google Cloud Next OnAir 2020 to Advances Multi-Cloud Vision

Google kicked off its Google Cloud Next OnAir event on July 14, the first in a nine-week online series serving as its annual customer conference in light of COVID-19.

The health crisis has prompted dramatic changes in every industry and every company, including Google Cloud. All eyes are on the company as the current bronze medallist in the cloud computing race, to see what it will do to close the gap on AWS and Microsoft. Backed by some important strategic shifts since CEO Thomas Kurian took the helm in January 2019, a more attentive Google Cloud is emerging with a nuanced and differentiated strategy. This is befitting of a strong challenger, but most of all, it matches the changing market requirements of a post-pandemic world.

Let's look at some of the leading themes and announcements in Kurian’s opening keynote and assess what they mean for Google’s long-term position in the cloud market.