Take the blockchain for instance. The distributed ledger technology, which underpins the cryptocurrency bitcoin, has been causing heads to turn in the tech industry for the past few years.
Start-ups are utilising the technology for different initiatives, whether that’s to verify diamonds or to create new digital currencies. And investors are increasingly interested as well.
As a result, Google is reportedly working on its own “blockchain-related” technology to support its cloud business.
According to Bloomberg, the tech giant specifically wants to head off competition from emerging blockchain start-ups.
Google and blockchain: how would it work?
Sources told Bloomberg that the company is developing its own distributed digital ledger. This will be used by third parties to post and verify transactions, much the way the bitcoin blockchain works.Google reportedly wants to use this for its cloud technology. For instance, it could be used to reassure customers that their information is protected when stored in the Google Cloud.
The company has been testing blockchain services on its cloud since 2016, but is getting to the point where it is exploring more expansive ways to explore the technology.
Cloud services, when companies use the computing services of bigger companies over the internet (known as the cloud), are a big money maker for tech firms now.
Google, as well as Amazon with its Amazon Web Services offering, have huge computing power so it makes sense for them to rent it out for smaller firms to use.
With the competition growing in cloud services, whether that’s from Amazon or Microsoft with its Azure service, Google needs to differentiate itself.
By offering a decentralised approach to its cloud technology through the blockchain, it will allow Google to shore up its defences as well as start to offer new online services.
Google is being coy about its work in the area. “Like many new technologies, we have individuals in various teams exploring potential uses of blockchain but it’s way too early for us to speculate about any possible uses or plans,” said a company spokesperson.
GV, the venture capital arm of Google’s parent company Alphabet has been investing in blockchain start-ups for the past few years and is considered one of the leading investors in the space.
It’s only a matter of time before we see more blockchain activity from Google
