After outages that brought down half the internet, Google and Amazon join hands: Here’s what it means

In a move signaling a shift toward greater cooperation in the competitive cloud market, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud introduced a jointly developed multicloud networking service on Sunday. The initiative aims to bolster internet reliability and drastically reduce the time required to connect disparate computing platforms. The collaboration comes as the tech industry faces increasing pressure to prevent costly service disruptions. The new offering arrives just over a month after a massive AWS outage on October 20 knocked major applications — including Snapchat and Reddit—offline. That single event is estimated to cost U.S. companies between $500 million and $650 million in losses, according to analytics firm Parametrix.The new service combines AWS’ Interconnect-multicloud with Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect. According to the companies, this integration allows customers to establish private, high-speed links between the two platforms in “minutes instead of weeks.” “This collaboration between AWS and Google Cloud represents a fundamental shift in multicloud connectivity,” said Robert Kennedy, Vice President of Network Services at AWS.Rob Enns, Vice President and General Manager of Cloud Networking at Google Cloud, noted that the joint network is designed to streamline the movement of data and applications between clouds, addressing a longstanding friction point for enterprise clients.Tech giant Salesforce was named as one of the early adopters of this new interoperable approach.The partnership occurs against a backdrop of surging demand for digital infrastructure, driven largely by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. Major players, including Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon, are currently investing billions to expand capacity to handle this increased traffic.While the two companies are collaborating on connectivity, they remain fierce competitors. AWS retains its position as the world’s largest cloud provider, followed by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. In the third quarter, Amazon’s cloud business generated $33 billion in revenue — more than double Google Cloud’s $15.16 billion.However, as internet disruptions become more expensive and disruptive, the new partnership suggests that interoperability is becoming a business necessity even for market leaders.