Google Cloud, AWS Team Up to Enhance Cross-Cloud Connectivity

Two of the biggest names in cloud computing have joined forces by partnering together. Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services have announced a groundbreaking partnership that will make it easier for businesses to connect their services across both platforms. This collaboration is particularly notable because these companies are usually fierce competitors in the cloud space.

The new partnership introduces a service that combines AWS Interconnect with Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect. What does this mean for businesses? Simply put, companies can now set up private, high-speed connections between their Google Cloud and AWS environments in just minutes instead of waiting weeks or even months.

Before this collaboration, connecting different cloud services was a nightmare for most organizations. Companies had to manually set up complicated networking components, arrange physical connections, and coordinate with multiple teams both inside and outside their organization. The entire process could take weeks or months to complete. It was like trying to build a bridge between two islands while standing on different shores, managing different construction crews, and using different building materials.

Now, things are much simpler. The new solution moves away from managing physical equipment and infrastructure toward what both companies call a “managed, cloud-native experience.” Think of it as going from building your own roads to simply ordering a ride-share service. The complex stuff happens behind the scenes, and you just get from point A to point B without worrying about the mechanics.

The timing of this announcement is interesting. It comes just over a month after AWS experienced a major outage in October that disrupted thousands of websites and apps worldwide. Popular platforms like Snapchat and Reddit were affected, and one analytics firm estimated the financial impact on US companies at somewhere between five hundred million and six hundred and fifty million dollars. That massive disruption has renewed conversations about the importance of having backup systems and multiple pathways for keeping services running.  For businesses, this partnership addresses a real and growing need. A recent survey found that eighty-two percent of companies expect that the rise of artificial intelligence services will increase their need for connections across multiple cloud platforms. This is because AI resources are often specialized and scarce, and different providers offer different AI tools and capabilities. Companies want the flexibility to use the best tools from wherever they’re available.

The new service offers several key benefits that matter to businesses of all sizes. First, there’s the speed factor. Setting up connections that used to take days or weeks now happens in minutes. Second, it’s flexible. Companies can choose bandwidth starting at one gigabit per second and scale up to one hundred gigabits as their needs grow. Third, it’s secure. The connections are private and protected, which is crucial when moving sensitive business data between platforms.

Google Cloud and AWS have also done something significant for the broader industry by making this an open specification. This means other cloud providers can adopt and implement this same solution in their own environments. It’s not just about Google and Amazon working together; they’re creating a standard that others can follow. This approach could reshape how all cloud providers think about working together.

Robert Kennedy, who leads network services at AWS, described the collaboration as representing a fundamental shift in how multiple clouds connect with each other. The partnership removes the complexity of physical components while building in high availability and security from the start. Customers no longer need to do heavy lifting to create the connections they need.

From Google Cloud’s perspective, this partnership delivers on their Cross-Cloud Network vision, which focuses on providing an open and unified experience for customers using multiple cloud platforms. Rob Enns, who oversees cloud networking at Google Cloud, emphasized that the announcement helps customers move their data and applications between clouds with simplified global connectivity.

Major companies are already taking advantage of this new capability. Salesforce, for instance, has adopted the joint approach. For Salesforce, being able to connect their Data 360 service with other parts of their technology landscape requires robust, private connectivity. The new service allows them to establish these critical connections with the same ease as deploying internal AWS resources.

The three biggest cloud providers, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, are all pouring billions of dollars into infrastructure to support growing AI workloads. AWS remains the revenue leader among cloud providers, generating thirty-three billion dollars in the third quarter alone, which is more than double Google Cloud’s fifteen billion dollars for the same period. Despite being competitors, they recognize that customers want their services to work together seamlessly.

This collaboration also sends a clear message about the future of cloud computing. The future isn’t about choosing one provider and sticking with them exclusively. Instead, it’s about shared infrastructure and services that work together across platforms.