From Wall Street Journal
Google Cloud Eliminates a Switching Cost as Regulators Step Up Industry Oversight
By Belle Lin
A decision by Google’s cloud-computing unit to eliminate certain data fees highlights ongoing complexities of cloud pricing as businesses seek to cut tech costs. The move coincides with greater regulatory oversight of cloud competition, but may not go far enough to satisfy some critics.
Google Cloud this month removed fees customers pay to move their data out of its cloud platform and into another provider or a data center—becoming the first among major cloud providers to do so. Such fees fall under the category of “data egress” costs, which include moving data across regions, cloud services and other providers, and are common practice among major cloud providers...
Google’s change is a “pro-competitive move,” said Steven Weber, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley who has worked with the FTC on cloud competition. “I think folks at the FTC are going to look at that and say, ‘How do we encourage this?’”
Steven Weber is a professor emeritus of the I School, retiring in 2021. He previously served as the faculty director at the Center for Long Term Cybersecurity (CLTC).
