Alphabet Inc.’s Google is buying data migration specialist AloomaOpens a new window as it ramps up its cloud business to compete with bigger rivals Amazon and Microsoft.
Founded in 2013, Israeli start-up Alooma helps enterprises move data from different sources into a cloud-based data warehouse – vital for businesses as they migrate their databases to the cloud.
Businesses might store their data in different locations, such as their own data center, in a public cloud or in multiple clouds. The data could be held on Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle or by app providers like SalesForce or Xero.
Alooma’s data pipeline tool allows companies to move all that data into a single data warehouse, whether Amazon Redshift or Google BigQuery. Google Cloud will permit existing Alooma customers to move their data to any cloud service. But new customers will only be able to move their dataOpens a new window onto Google Cloud Platform, a spokesperson told one website.
Google Ramps Up Cloud Spend
The acquisition is the first by Google Cloud’s new supremo Thomas Kurian, a former Oracle executive who took the helm in November. Analysts speculated that he would make a string of acquisitionsOpens a new window to boost Google Cloud, which has 8.5% of the global enterprise cloud market, according to CanalysOpens a new window . It lags way behind Amazon Wholesale Services with 31.7% share and Microsoft Azure with 16.8%.
But with only an estimated 10% of businesses having moved their services to cloud providers, there is a huge potential market to tap.
Terms of the Alooma acquisition were not disclosedOpens a new window , though one Israeli website quoted “market sources†who put the price tag between $100 million and $150 million, a relatively small acquisition and follows Google’s purchase of another Israeli start-up, Velostrata, last May. This business also helps companies migrate to the cloud, though it specializes in migrating data storage and moving on-premises virtual machines to the cloud.
With both Alooma and Velostrata under its wing, Google Cloud offers a suite of tools to tempt enterprises moving to the cloud. The acquisitions take two migration tools off the market, making it harder for businesses to migrate to rival cloud providers. By contrast, offering these tools makes it easier for those businesses to move onto Google Cloud.
Google launched its enterprise cloud offer in 2008 and still must shoulder its way into the market. AWS was the first big cloud provider, launching in 2006, and has streaked ahead of the the pack. Microsoft has been able to tap its huge number of enterprise customers to build its Azure business.
But Google is relatively weak in the enterprise space, having grown as an advertising platform and consumer search engine. Analysts speculate that Kurian would use some of Google’s cash pile — or fund an acquisition through loans — to buy up a tech player with a strong enterprise customer base. Targets could include Salesforce, ServiceNow or Workday. These businesses also boast a set of SaaS tools which Google lacks.
Then again, it might look at a mega-tech acquisition of SAP. At a swoop, Google could buy its way into the enterprise market, though any serious acquisition could cost over $100 billion.
Google Cloud has several advantages over its rivalsOpens a new window , offering fast and secure content delivery and wide global coverage. It has thousands of miles of fibre optic cable to move data around, which reduces latency. Businesses including Apple, Netflix and Spotify have migrated data away from AWS and Azure to the firm.
In 2016, Spotify started moving 1.5 billion files from AWS to Google Cloud and is migrating all of its data to the provider. Google also backs dozens of open-source applications. These include TensorFlow, the most popular machine learning library. Google also offers Kubernetes container management and Internet of Things applications.
In truth, the main cloud providers are busily snapping up small specialist services: AWS bought the CloudEndure disaster recovery and cloud migration service in January in preparation for a huge boom in cloud business over coming years. In such a huge market, estimated to reach over $500 billion by 2022 by CB Insights, Google will attempt to leverage its market power and deep resources to become a leading player.