On January 12, Google announced that it would waive fees for transferring data to other cloud providers or on-premises if customers stopped using its cloud. This measure applies to customers worldwide from the same date.
This measure will make it easier to change cloud computing providers by offering free data transfer fees. The company offers a free data transfer request form and FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on the website.
On the other hand, GCP indicated that restrictive and unfair licensing practices were an underlying problem that prevented customers from using the providers they wanted. Without naming names, he criticized “certain incumbent vendors” for using their dominant position in on-premises software to lock out customers with restrictive licenses and dominate the cloud computing market.
Fighting against obstacles to interoperability
Transfer fees are one of cloud providers’ best-kept little secrets. The company gave examples of restrictive licensing, including limiting which cloud computing service providers it can collaborate with, charging about five times more to use some competing providers, and limiting interoperability with software other businesses that are essential for using cloud services.
“The company will continue its efforts to end restrictive licensing practices that prevent customers from choosing freely and being competitive in the cloud computing market,” assures Google.
Source: “ZDNet Japan”