In conversations with customers of Google Distributed Cloud (GDC), I have repeatedly heard just how important it is to support local compute and storage. These two functions are essential to innovative new edge cloud applications. To respond to customers with a cutting-edge solution, Google Cloud partnered with Rakuten Symphony to integrate its Rakuten Cloud-Native Storage (CNS) into GDC.
In this video, Vijay Tewari, Head of Product Management for Google Cloud, and I discuss our partnership and how it is meeting the needs of these emerging applications.
One of the fastest growing applications requiring local compute and storage is AI. Customers can use the cloud for training and refining models, moving that model to an edge compute node for inferencing of real-time data. The heavy data processing requirements for AI inferencing makes local compute and storage essential.
Retail store operations is another good example. One of our customers, a major restaurant chain, has adopted an edge cloud store management system for its tens of thousands of locations across the globe. Worried that a loss of internet access to this system would shut down a restaurant, the company wanted the solution to be self-sustaining and able to run even during a network outage. This requires local compute and storage.
“We started to see a pattern where people needed a facsimile of what they have in the cloud, at a much smaller footprint at these edge locations, but with a very large number of sites that were deployed,” Tewari said. “We’re seeing a lot of innovation happening in this space where customers are deploying innovative applications out at the edge, where they need both compute and storage which is where our partnership with Rakuten comes into play.”
Watch the complete interview with Vijay Tewari for more insight into Google Cloud’s collaboration with Rakuten Cloud.
