Google brings Cloud Platform to Sydney

Google will bring its Cloud Platform to Sydney with three new availability zones as part of an expansion of its global cloud footprint.

The move will add a new competitor to the local cloud ranks, pitting Google Cloud Platform against rivals Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, which have had an Australian presence for several years.

The arrival of Google Cloud Platform in Australia is part of a global expansion which will see the platform similarly brought to Mumbai, Singapore, Northern Virginia, São Paulo, London, Finland and Frankfurt. 

Vice president of Google cloud Brian Stevens said the expansion of the service to new regions would offer higher performance for customers located close to the data centres.

He cited a 30 to 80 percent latency improvement for customers on the US West Coast following a recent expansion to Oregon.

The Sydney availability zones are expected to come online next year.

The company did not say whether the Sydney regions will offer the full suite of Google Cloud Platform services. It does not offer all products in all regions.

Its flagship product, Compute Engine, is joined by a variety of storage, database, networking, big data, machine learning, management and developer tools, and identity and security solutions.

The online giant claimed its Cloud Platform now services more than one billion users globally.

The company also today announced a rebrand of its cloud portfolio, bringing Google for Work, its Cloud Platform and other cloud-based services under the "Google Cloud' moniker.

Google Apps for Work will now also be known as the G Suite, the technology giant said.