Google is introducing a custom-built Arm-based server chip in an effort to make cloud computing more affordable. The new processor is set to be available later in 2024. This move by Google comes as the company aims to catch up with competitors like Amazon and Microsoft, who have been utilizing similar strategies for years. The tech giants are fiercely competing in the rapidly growing cloud infrastructure market, where organizations rent out resources in data centers and pay based on usage. While Google still earns the majority of its revenue from advertising, cloud services are growing rapidly and now make up almost 11% of company revenue. Google currently holds 7.5% of the cloud infrastructure market, with Amazon and Microsoft together controlling around 62%.
Amazon Web Services, the market leader in cloud services, introduced its Graviton Arm chip back in 2018, which has gained popularity among companies like Datadog, Elastic, Snowflake, and Sprinklr. Alibaba and Microsoft have also announced their own Arm-based processors, showing a growing interest in this technology among cloud providers. Google has already started selling access to virtual machines that use Arm-based chips created by Oracle-backed startup Ampere, showcasing its early involvement in this technology.To address economic concerns, many organizations are considering porting applications to Arm machines to reduce spending on cloud computing. Amazon has claimed that its Graviton chip can provide up to 40% better price performance than comparable server instances using the x86 model commonly used by AMD and Intel processors. Google has been using Arm-based server computers internally for various purposes, and it plans to transition them to the cloud-based Arm instances, named Axion, when they become available.
Several companies, including Datadog, Elastic, OpenX, and Snap, have expressed plans to adopt Google’s new Axion chip. The use of Arm-based chips may potentially lead to lower carbon emissions for certain workloads due to their increased energy efficiency. Axion chips offer 30% better performance than the fastest general-purpose Arm-based virtual machines in the cloud and 50% better performance than comparable VMs based on x86 architecture. Arm chips, which are commonly found in smartphones, offer a more streamlined set of instructions compared to x86 chips commonly used in PCs, resulting in faster application processing. Google’s cloud chief, Thomas Kurian, highlighted in a blog post that virtual servers containing Axion chips are 60% more energy efficient than comparable VMs using x86 architecture.
Overall, Google’s introduction of the Axion chip expands its cloud services portfolio and positions itself as a competitive player in the cloud infrastructure market. The shift to Arm-based processors is part of a broader industry trend towards more energy-efficient and cost-effective computing solutions. As more companies adopt Arm-based technology, the potential for reduced carbon emissions and increased performance in cloud computing workloads will continue to grow. Google’s innovation in this space reflects its commitment to advancing cloud technology and meeting the evolving needs of organizations seeking efficient and affordable computing solutions.
