Google Cloud is strengthening security, among other new features, to help its largest customers protect sensitive data during the coronavirus pandemic.
The cloud computing unit of Google’s parent, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL,
GOOG,
announced the beta release of Confidential Virtual Machines at its Cloud Next ’20 virtual event on Tuesday. The security layer is the result of a partnership with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD,
.
Initially available in parts of the US, Europe, and Asia, the new security product aims to entice businesses, especially those in highly regulated industries, to adopt cloud services. Confidential technology encrypts data as it is processed. Previously, data was encrypted in storage and in transit.
Google’s move, following that of its rivals Amazon.com Inc. AMZN,
and Microsoft Corp. MSFT,
, sent Google shares 0.6% on Tuesday. Alphabet’s shares rose 13.5% in 2020, while the broader S&P 500 index SPX,
it is down 1%.
Alphabet’s shares have benefited from the early days of the pandemic, in part due to sales of cloud-related services. Google Cloud sales grew 52%, to $ 2.78 billion from $ 1.83 billion, in the first fiscal quarter.
See also: Alphabet earnings affected by ‘significant slowdown’ in ad sales, but revenue increases stocks
Overall, stocks of cloud providers, which sell computing capacity as needed, have increased due to their ability to support remote work, among other capabilities. The past week, however, has been a difficult week for cloud-related actions, including major declines for Cloudflare Inc.NET,
, DocuSign Inc. DOCU,
, Eventbridge Inc. EB,
, Datadog Inc. DDOG,
, and others.
The security upgrade for Google Cloud comes a day after Google promised to invest $ 10 billion in India as part of plans to make the Internet “affordable and useful” for a billion people.
“This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy,” Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said Monday live at the Google for India event. “This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy,” he said.
India’s own digital journey is far from complete. There is still more work to be done to make the Internet affordable and useful to a billion Indians … from improving voice input and computing for all languages in India, to inspiring and supporting a whole new generation of entrepreneurs. ” Pichai added.
.
