Google to launch a digital marketplace for cloud-based apps

Google is building a digital marketplace that will offer cloud-based services to businesses and organisations, in an effort to close the gap on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The cloud giant is working with MobileIron, a firm that offers cybersecurity and management tools for mobile devices, to develop a platform that combines the capabilities of the two companies to allow customers to buy cloud services and distribute them to employees.

The new service will make use of Google's existing Orbitera commerce platform and MobileIron's app distribution and analytics tools and give resellers, enterprises, OEMs and ISVs access to a "scalable, flexible way to secure management, delivery and mobile app procurement through an integrated platform that supports multiple operating systems and devices", according to Google's head of commerce platform, Marcin Kurc, and senior product manager Brian Singer.

The tie-up will include customised bundled services based on customer segments, single billing for every device, data, voice and third-party cloud services in one monthly invoice, secure access to the cloud with permissioned authentication, and usage analytics.

Google will bolster its current G Suite services with the new addition, providing customers with a choice of third-party applications, something that rival providers, such as AWS, already offer.

AWS launched a similar service in 2012, known as AWS Marketplace, providing a way for customers to source and deploy software from leading providers, including Canonical, CA, IBM and Microsoft.

The marketplace wil be made available through mobile telecoms operators during the second half of 2018, according to a report by Bloomberg.

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