Google is putting together a digital assets team to help its cloud customers build blockchain-based apps, according to a Thursday report. Richard Widmann, the head of strategy for digital assets at Google Cloud, spoke to CNBC and said the company plans to hire several people with blockchain expertise to meet the objective.
The executive also said that the Alphabet-owned unit is looking at the possibility of allowing customers to buy cloud services with cryptocurrency. One focus of the digital assets team will be to help customers host blockchain nodes on Google Cloud.
One-click deployment
Nodes are servers that are essential in processing blockchain transactions. Google will enable its users to host validators (components that ensure blockchain transactions are accurate).
Other goals by the initiative include providing dedicated node hosting/remote procedure call nodes for developers so users can deploy blockchain validators on Google Cloud with one click to deploy, according to Yolande Piazza, the Veep of financial services at the company.
To actualize the plan of enabling developers to deploy the validators on its platform with one click, the search giant will launch new services and features.
Positioning for the future
The current provisions for deploying blockchain on Google Cloud still have some way to go but the company envisions using the team to help customers with tasks/objectives like implementing upgrades to a blockchain network or on-chain governance.
The company has a business angle too as it plans to collaborate with ecosystem partners to help enterprises adopt the technology. Some of the plans include product co-development, integration initiatives, and go-to-market initiatives.
As an infrastructure provider, Google sees blockchain technology’s rise today as akin to the rise of the internet and open-source 10-15 years ago. As the technology goes mainstream, companies will require scalable and secure infrastructure, which Google can provide.
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