Google working to increase cloud adoption in enterprise with Intel alliance

In trying to compete with the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud has been moving at breakneck speed. After a strong push into machine learning and AI earlier this week, Google has announced a strategic alliance with Intel to increased enterprise cloud usage.

The two companies have already been working for many years on engineering and validating data center processor technology and are now expanding the collaboration to accelerate the use of cloud technology in the enterprise. Specifically, Google and Intel will help enterprise businesses move existing infrastructure to the cloud.

These efforts include joint advertising efforts, technical education, and technology integrations. Of course, there is a focus on machine learning and optimizing TensorFlow performance on Intel processors, as well as improving the security between Intel hardware and the Google Cloud Platform.

The full areas of focus are below:

• Kubernetes – Optimizing Kubernetes for Intel architecture to support a broad range of workloads. Intel is a major contributor to the Kubernetes ecosystem and enables enterprises to run OpenStack as a managed Kubernetes workload. Intel and Google engineers have already delivered code optimizations that have improved feature transparency on Intel architecture. This work is also expected to improve workload capabilities, including virtual network performance and prioritization of shared resources.

• Machine Learning – Accelerating TensorFlow performance on Intel processors, for example by allowing TensorFlow to leverage all CPU cores and vector lanes for improved parallelism, integrating high-performance libraries such as the Math Kernel library (MKL) into TensorFlow, and optimizing memory allocation and data layer operations across a range of topologies.

• IoT – Creating a secure platform for connecting Intel’s IoT edge devices to Google Cloud Platform (GCP), where the data can be analyzed to inform better decisions — a critical capability for industries like retail and manufacturing.

• Security – Enhancing security integrations between Intel hardware and GCP infrastructure that will further improve security for enterprise customers.