In an effort to work its way back into the top tier of cloud providers and match Amazon Web Services LLC (AWS) features, Google yesterday rolled out Google Cloud Functions.

The new Google Cloud Platform tool, which is similar to AWS’ Lambda, lets developers set up functions that get triggered in response to certain events.

“Google Cloud Functions is a lightweight, event-based, asynchronous compute solution that allows you to create small, single-purpose functions that respond to cloud events without the need to manage a server or a runtime environment,” according to Google’s documentation for the tool.

Google Cloud Functions run as Node.js modules. Developers write them in JavaScript, and they can be triggered when certain things happen in your cloud environment. The tool helps speed up development, and it allows developers to create workflows that match the flow of the business. Consider, for example, an online ordering system and all of the notifications a business would want to send to customers each step of the way—order confirmation, order fulfillment, shipment, etc. The tool facilitates that, eliminating the need to think about the technical details.

Me, too?

Cloud Functions is sort of a me-too service, said Brian Gracely, lead cloud analyst at Wikibon. Google is trying to match what Amazon is doing in an effort to address perceptions that it’s fallen back into the pack of infrastructure-as-a-service contenders, but it’s also fulfilling the need for real-time interactions and to monitor data to provide constant updates.

The tool is particularly important to companies in the space where there’s lots of real-time activity, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearables.

“It’s critical for Google to have something like this not just to be competitive but because their customers are all data-intensive,” Gracely said. “This lets them constantly look at what’s going on and make granular adjustments as they go along, which for people who do lots of big data stuff is really important.”

Google Cloud Functions is currently in alpha test. People interested in using the service must fill out a form and request access.

Competing In the Cloud

The move is another indication that Google is continuing to match services AWS already provides. Last year, the company introduced a type of content-distribution network (CDN) and a tool for hosting source code repositories, both of which AWS already had.

This me-too approach to features is one of three things Google is doing to catch up to Amazon, Gracely said. It is also competing on performance and price, stating that Google’s cloud pricing is 20 percent to 40 percent lower, Gracely says. “Google is trying to be a fast follower,” he said.

In another indication that Google is upping its game, the company last year acquired Bebop Technologies Inc., in the process hiring Diane Green, co-founder of VMware Inc., to run its cloud business.

“Diane has lots of experience with how to interact with enterprise markets; she’s going to help them turn the corner in terms of how they go to market and market themselves,” Gracely said. “The question is if this new leader can help them reshape Google’s perspective in the marketplace.”

Photo by William Warby via Flickr CC