'Google tends to lose interest and drop things' says expert panel
Panel compares AWS, Azure and Google clouds. One expert admits that his firm uses machine learning just to understand the volume of AWS services it's consuming, and how much it will cost
Google tends to lose interest in certain of its cloud products and use cases, meaning some areas grow neglected and miss out on important features.
That's the opinon of a panellist at Computing's recent IT Leaders Forum event 'Data Strategy: Building a framework for success'.
"Some of the research Google is doing in Genomics is incedible, but they tend to lose interest and drop things, which the other two don't," said Paul Fitzpatrick, a consultant at Human Longevity. "So we put mission critical things on Azure and AWS," he added.
Fitzpatrick added that his firm is a big user of AWS, but that it's so expensive, and the pricing so complex, that it uses machine learning tools to work out the costs.
"If you want to go fast it's in the cloud, and Human Longevity is all in AWS. We have around four petabytes of data in AWS, and all of the data processing is done there. A big chunk of our money goes to AWS every month, it's a considerable cost. We actually use machine learning to understand how much we're using, and how they charge us.
"We also work with the Cancer Research Institute, and everything we do for them is in Azure, and it is a little tricky moving between the two," he added.
Jason Nathan, group MD for data at analytics firm Dunnhumby explained that he feels the cloud can be as secure as any other system, and added that his clients, who are largely retail organisations, refuse to use AWS because they view it as a competitor.
"Some organisations are reticent to use cloud, but when it comes to security you have to face up to the question as to whether it's really less secure than what you do today?" said Nathan, who earlier stated that firms who aren't moving towards being data-driven are either sinking, or already sunk. "The answer is mostly no. The second thing for us is, 50 per cent of our clients won't touch AWS as it's a competitor, so we use Azure. If Google extend into the world of retailing that would make an impact," he added.
Gopal Sharma, practice head (global) - strategy and architecture, at Liaison explained that questions around the security and viability of cloud strategies will diminish over time.
"AWS is becoming industrialised, and it's now compliant with so many regulations," said Sharma. "They're investing really heavily in product upkeep. Why do you put money in the bank? It's because of the trust, you have for them, because it's become industrialised. In two years cloud will be the same, we'll see fewer questions like 'is it secure?'"