Cloud roundup: Google grants enterprise access to AI tools

In this cloud roundup: Enterprises gain access to Google's Duet AI tools in Google Workspace; public cloud service spending is projected to reach $1.35 trillion in 2027; and the government of El Salvador teams up with Google Cloud to digitally transform its government, healthcare and education sectors.

Google Cloud brings Duet AI to enterprises

Corporate Gmail customers now have access to Google's Duet AI tools for $30 a month, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

"Google's launch on Tuesday puts it ahead of Microsoft in making AI-powered office software easily available for all customers," wrote WSJ's Miles Kruppa. Google will also open up availability to its large PaLM 2 model, which supports generative AI features, plus AI technology by Meta Platforms and startup Anthropic, reported Kruppa.

In a blog post, Aparna Pappu, GM and VP for Google Workspace, said the tech giant has made Duet AI for Google Workspace generally available to customers by offering a free trial. Google Workspace has more than 3 billion users and 10 million paid customers.

Aparna Pappu, GM and VP for Google Workspace.
(Source: Google)

Duet AI can assist customers in tasks such as creating presentations, taking notes and creating action items in meetings, explained Pappu.

However, the accuracy of AI models is still up for debate.

"The challenge for all of these tools is that the underlying AI models aren't perfect, or even close, and the stakes are high when you're working with business-critical data," wrote The Verge's David Pierce. "…if Duet misinterprets or invents your company's sales numbers, you're in big trouble. Duet does try to stay grounded in your data and files, but anyone relying on Google's AI would be wise to always double-check it."

Customer privacy and security has been taken into account, Pappu wrote, "and you can rest assured that your interactions with Duet AI are private to you. No other user will see your data and Google does not use your data to train our models without your permission."

Public cloud services spending to reach $1.35 trillion

Global spending on public cloud services is projected to hit $1.35 trillion in 2027, according to IDC.

The research group forecasts that the US will be the largest geographic public cloud market and will hit $697 billion in 2027. Western Europe is predicted to be in second place with $273 billion, followed by China at $117 billion in 2027.

IDC expects annual spending growth to slow a bit over the five-year period, but the market is expected to reach a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9%.

Eileen Smith, program VP for data & analytics at IDC, said cloud is dominating spending in the tech sector across infrastructure, platforms and applications.

"Most organizations have adopted the public cloud as a cost-effective platform for hosting enterprise applications and for developing and deploying customer-facing solutions," Smith said in a statement. The cloud model should serve customers' needs well in developing and deploying applications, AI and machine learning, and edge computing, she added.

IDC predicts software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications to be the largest cloud computing category, garnering about 40% of all public cloud spending. Next largest is infrastructure as a service (IaaS) with a CAGR of 23.5%, followed by platform as a service (PaaS) with a five-year CAGR of 27.2%. SaaS – system infrastructure software (SIS) is forecast to be the smallest category of cloud spending, cornering about 15% of the market.

Google Cloud teams up with El Salvador's government

Google Cloud announced a seven-year agreement with the government of El Salvador to support the country in becoming a technological hub in Central America.

As part of the agreement, Google Cloud will establish a legal entity and a Google Cloud office in the country, plus launch a Cloud Center of Excellence and initiate a Google Distributed Cloud Instance (GDC) for El Salvador.

"This groundbreaking alliance with Google Cloud opens unprecedented avenues for innovation, economic growth, and enhanced public services," said Nayib Bukele, President of the Republic of El Salvador, in a statement. "Google's global expertise combined with El Salvador's audacity is set to redefine the technological landscape."

Google Cloud will also support the government in digitizing its processes and projects on GDC, incorporate Google Cloud's AI technologies to assist doctors, and implement a unified Education Data Platform to distribute information to parents and educators.

In 2022, Google initiated plans to invest $1.2 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next five years, including a grant to support Indigenous women-led businesses in Central America access microloans and digital skills training.

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