Google has taken a major step toward providing more platform choices for Java developers with the unveiling of Google App Engine for Business at the Google I/O conference this week.
Built in partnership with VMware, the app engine allows the use of multiple platforms to develop applications.
“Enterprises are looking for an evolutionary road map to the cloud,” Jerry Chen, VMware’s senior director of cloud services, told TechNewsWorld. “They want to use existing tools and technologies like Java but have the flexibility to deploy these apps on-premise in their VMware private cloud, or off-premise on a VMware vCloud, or on Google App Engine.”
Openess was a key component of the announcement.
“VMware and Google came together because we both believe in the same philosophy: openness and choice,” Chen added.”The idea of cloud portability is all about embracing open standards and enabling customers to run their apps wherever they see fit.”
What’s Next?
The VMware announcement is significant for the enterprise, said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president at Nucleus Research, because it lets developers who want to stay with Java and their current development environment run applications in the cloud.
Developer adoption will be critical, but even more important will be “how they set out a road map for what they plan to deliver in the future so enterprises can effectively plan an IT strategy,” Wettemann told TechNewsWorld.
“It’s great to put the tools out there, but enterprises also want to have a vision of what’s coming next and what their expectations can be, so we’ll be looking to see if Google delivers on that as well for the enterprise,” she said.
“Talking about what they’re going to do there is going to be important if they want to gain credibility in the enterprise,” Wettemann added. “They’ve made some some steps in that direction, but there’s some work to be done there.”
The Question of Support
Still, Google may not be ready for the enterprise, according to Ezra Gottheil, senior analyst with Technology Business Research.
“With respect to Google offering stuff to the enterprise, it’s not clear Google is ready to provide enterprise-level support as a company,” he told TechNewsWorld.
Google didn’t respond to TechNewsWorld’s request for comment by press time.
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