GOOGLE CLOUD, the cloud-computing arm of tech giant Google, has launched new solutions for its smart data analytics and security portfolios including memory encryption for cloud-based workloads and the BigQuery Omni solution meant to provide a “unified analytics experience.”

“Organizations [whose workloads] are on the cloud…[what’s] always top of mind is around protecting sensitive data,” Sunil Potti, general manager and vice president of cloud security at Google, said during a digital conference on July 10.

Mr. Potti said that while Google “actually has quite a bit of capabilities…both for enforcing and monitoring sensitive data,” data becomes vulnerable during processing as it is decrypted for processing. Now, Google is said to stop that loophole with Confidential VMs, the first product of Google Cloud’s new Confidential Computing portfolio.

Confidential VMs, now in beta, offer memory encryption so that “customers can further isolate workloads in the cloud,” according to a release. The product is available on AMD CPUs and takes advantage of the secure encrypted virtualization supported by 2nd generation AMD EPYC CPUs.

Industries who can benefit from this new product are those who are “navigating the complexities of compliance and privacy in the cloud, especially those in regulated industries,” said Mr. Potti in the statement before adding that such industries include financial services, healthcare, and government agencies.

Among the newest industry partners using Google Cloud and its new solutions are Deutsche Bank, Groupe Renault, Verizon, and Fox Sports.

“Confidential VMs will help us better serve customers in these industries, so they can securely take advantage of the innovation of the cloud while also simplifying security operations,” he explained.

Another Google Cloud solution launched in the conference is BigQuery Omni which will allow customers to connect directly to their data across Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and in the future, Azure, for analysis without having to move or copy datasets.

This solution will give users the ability to analyze data in the region where it is stored through a single user interface.

“For customers, moving data across different clouds is both cumbersome and expensive. To address this, we continue to invest in multi-cloud in an effort to democratize access to the best technologies for our customers, no matter what cloud provider they’re using today,” Debanjan Saha, general manager and vice president of engineering at Google Cloud, said in the release.

BigQuery Omni, he added, provides enterprises “the openness and portability they need to break down silos and create actionable business insights” without having to pay “expensive egress fees” for moving data from other cloud providers to Google Cloud. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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