Google has revealed that cloud customers can move their data to another cloud service provider for free.
The company said that removing fees for moving data between cloud providers would make it easier for users to switch providers.
However, it was pointed out that this doesn’t fix the main problem that keeps many customers from working with their chosen cloud provider in the first place: unfair and restrictive licensing practices.
Customers who use Google Cloud services like BigQuery, Cloud Bigtable, Cloud SQL, Cloud Storage, Datastore, Filestore, Spanner, and Persistent Disk can request permission to leave Google Cloud for free using a form.
They will have 60 days to move their data after getting permission, and if that time runs out, they will have to make a new request.
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Cloud ecosystem support
Google Cloud GM/VP, Head of Platform Amit Zavery, said, “We support a thriving cloud ecosystem that is open, secure, and interoperable.” When customers’ business needs change, the cloud should adapt.
Users who leave Google Cloud and switch to another cloud provider or on-premises can use free network data transfer starting today. It applies to all clients globally.
Making switching providers easy doesn’t promote options if customers are tied in with restrictive licenses. According to Zavery, consumers should choose a cloud provider because it makes sense for their firm, not because their former provider locked them in with onerous licensing requirements or restrictive contracting conditions.
Google said the cloud will allow businesses and governments to scale technology quickly. It said eliminating fees builds on recent efforts to improve data transport and value for large and small Google Cloud workloads.
What to know
According to IDC, 99% of the storage users have paid egress fees (outgoing data transmission fees), an average of 6% of their costs.
According to a separate Global Market Intelligence poll, 34% of organisations repatriated data on-premises or switched to a service provider without egress costs due to the storage egress fees.