Google, second fiddle in cloud computing, needs a new tune

A man guards the entrance of the Google Cloud booth of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2018 annual meeting on January 21, 2018 in Davos, eastern Switzerland. US President Donald Trump's participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next week could be thrown into question now that the federal government has partially shut down over budget wrangling, the White House said December 20. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI

Google’s new cloud boss is used to being the underdog, and that’s fitting for the role he’s stepping into at one of the world’s most powerful corporations. 

The Alphabet Inc unit has been trying for years – half-heartedly, at least until recently – to leverage its technical expertise in web search into areas such as renting computer power and data-crunching processing to businesses large and small. Amazon pioneered that area with its Amazon Web Services operation, which (no exaggeration) has upended the trajectory of technology and business. Google also sells a version of its email, spreadsheet and document software to companies – an area in which it plays second fiddle to Microsoft and its collection of Office software.