Google Makes it Easier to Migrate VMs from Azure to Google Cloud

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To say that the ‘cloud wars’ are heating up, would be an understatement and quite frankly, outdated way of contextualizing one of the largest shifts in computing since the invention of the desktop PC. Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are spending billions to try and capture the largest piece of the cloud computing pie as possible and there are no signs of the spending slowing down.

While Amazon has the lead in the segment and Microsoft is holding firm in second place, Google continues to play catch-up when it comes to attracting new business. That being said, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has the cash-flow to play in the cloud waters and continues to add new features and functionality.

This week, Google announced a new feature for its Google Cloud Platform that makes it significantly easier to migrate from Azure to Google Compute Engine. The new feature called Migrate for Compute Engine, allows you to lift and shift VMs out of Azure and move them to Google Compute Engine with minimal friction; Google previously had announced this feature for AWS.

Google is not alone in this space, Microsoft offers services to help move away from AWS and of course, to migrate from on-premises to its cloud offering. For Google, this is one more check-box item that will help it attract more customers who may be tempted to deploy a multi-cloud setup, instead of relying on a single vendor.

Will this new feature dramatically move the needle for Google? Probably not, but for Google to grow, they need to be as flexible as possible as they chase down AWS and Azure and with the new migration tool, they take one small step towards achieving that goal.