Google today unwrapped Google Distributed Cloud, a platform spanning hardware and software designed to push Google Cloud to the edge and into data centers. 

The service can be connected to Google’s more than 140 edge locations globally, enterprises’ on-premises infrastructure, customer-owned data centers and colocation facilities, and mobile network operators’ edge locations. Google Distributed Cloud runs on the hyperscaler’s Anthos hybrid-cloud platform, which is based on Kubernetes, and was previously positioned for operators’ network-centric applications under the offshoot Anthos for Telecom platform. 

“This portfolio allows customers to focus on applications and business initiatives, rather than the management of their underlying infrastructure,” Sachin Gupta, VP and GM of Google Cloud open infrastructure, said during a media briefing.

Google showcased a pair of initial products arriving under the expanded portfolio, including Google Distributed Cloud Edge and Google Distributed Cloud Hosted. 

Google Distributed Cloud Edge allows operators to run radio access network (RAN) functions and core network elements at the edge, providing enterprise customers high-speed bandwidth with private 5G and localized compute, Gupta explained.

The hyperscaler expanded its 5G telco offering to allow network operators to run workloads on Intel and Nvidia processors, related software, and data services. Google also announced continued efforts with Ericsson and Nokia to collaborate on new services for a cloud native 5G core and business applications running on the network edge.

Early customers of Google Distributed Cloud Edge include AT&T, Bell Canada, Telus, Telecom Italia Mobile, Jio, and Orange. “Some of these customers are running packet core and RAN applications as well,” Gupta said. 

The Google-managed variant of Google Distributed Cloud runs on hardware sourced from Cisco, Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and NetApp. Gupta described it as a standard hardware stack that uses an open source control plane based on Kubernetes with additional open source platform components at play. 

Google, similar to any company operating in the telco market today, expects 5G paired with edge infrastructure to unlock new services, revenue streams, low-latency applications, and experiences that aren’t possible in previous generation infrastructure. 

Google Distributed Cloud Hosted targets enterprises and public-sector organizations with strict data residency, security, or privacy requirements that typically preclude comprehensive use of public clouds. This variant, which Google expects to make available as a preview in the first half of 2022, manages infrastructure, services, APIs, and tooling, and uses a local control plane provided by Anthos. 

“It provides a safe and secure way to modernize on-premises deployments without requiring any connectivity to Google Cloud,” Gupta said. The hosted service also adheres to and aims to foster the Trusted Cloud Principles initiative it formed earlier this month with other cloud providers and infrastructure vendors, according to Gupta.

“Our approach with Google Distributed Cloud is differentiated in three key ways,” Gupta said. This includes the provision of Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics at the edge, the Anthos multi-cloud platform with a cloud native control plane, and the additional customization customers can enable by integrating third-party services and hardware from supported partners. 

Google Cloud’s revenue grew 54% year over year to $4.62 billion during the second quarter of 2021, and it’s operating loss shrunk 59% during the same period to $1.42 billion. It remains the No. 3 cloud provider behind Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.