Google launches hybrid cloud beta

Image Credit: Google (Image credit: Image Credit: Google)

Adopting a hybrid cloud traditionally means committing to a cloud vendor and purchasing new hardware but Google has taken a different approach with its Cloud Services Platform (CSP) by offering customers a software-based, hybrid offering.

The new platform, which was announced at Google cloud Next last year, brings Google Cloud services into your existing on-prem infrastructure using the power of Kubernetes and Istio.

CSP, which is launching into beta today, simplifies building, running and managing services both on-prem and in the cloud. 

Google's new platform gives businesses the freedom to modernize their applications at their own pace while innovating faster and improving operational security and governance.

Google Kubernetes Engine

CSP is built on top of the Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and the platform includes a managed Kubernetes service called GKE On-Prem that provides remote lifecycle management to your on-prem clusters in order to help keep them updated and secure.

GKE On-Prem also saves businesses time and money by allowing them to use their existing hardware. Users will be able to write once and deploy to the cloud or on-prem. CSP was designed in such a way that organizations can integrate their existing networking, storage and identity capabilities so that they can move to the cloud at their own pace.

Additionally, the introduction of CSP Config Management allows users to create multi-cluster policies out of the box. These configurations can be rapidly deployed across all of your clusters whether they reside on-prem or in the cloud.

The GCP Marketplace even gives organizations access to a variety of enterprise-ready, open-source and commercial Kubernetes applications.

Google Cloud's Vice President Eyal Manor explained how CSP fits into the company's hybrid strategy in a blog post announcing the beta, saying:

“CSP represents a foundational element of our hybrid strategy, which integrates with our build, deployment, and monitoring tools to provide a modern DevOps environment that accelerates development velocity.”

Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.