It’s called Google Anthos and is the platform for the hybrid cloud that Google launched on the occasion of Google Cloud Next to allow companies to run applications on any platform they want, from local instances up to Google Cloud and the competing platforms of AWS and Microsoft Azure.
This approach allows companies to use the public cloud to achieve a completely lock-in hybrid cloud solution that guarantees companies freedom of choice.
Google Anthos: applications on any platform
The cloud does not yet allow us to follow the write once, run anywhere model which should allow us to run applications anywhere without modification or adaptation. Google Anthos, thanks to the use of open standards, allows you to use any platform without having to make any changes to the code.
Anthos is a software layer based on GKE, Google Kubernetes Engine, and as such it is managed directly by Google and is updated and improved automatically. This further reduces the complexity of the system, eliminating the need to perform routine maintenance. To simplify the transition to the new solution, Google has made Anthos Migrate available as a beta. This solution allows you to automatically migrate virtual machines to the new Google platform.
What used to be called Google Cloud Services Platform is now Google Anthos. The main difference between the two products is the fact that the Cloud Services Platform did not allow to manage also AWS and Azure services, limiting the options for the hybrid cloud to the on-site infrastructure and to the cloud of Google itself.
Google Anthos is already used by companies such as HSBC, Siemens and Cisco and boasts the support of VMware, Dell EMC, HPE, Intel and Lenovo. There are also many ISVs that support the new platform, including MongoDB, GitLab, Citrix, Splunk and NetApp.
More information on Google Anthos is available in the official announcement on the Google Cloud blog.