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Could video streamer Netflix ( NFLX ) give Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google a boost in its cloud computing war vs. Amazon Web Services? Morgan Stanley speculates that may the case when Netflix pops up at Google’s cloud computing user conference slated for March 23-24. While Netflix is a customer of AWS, part of e-commerce giant Amazon.com ( AMZN ), it also uses Google’s IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) platform. “Non-Google guest speakers at the conference include Snapchat, Spotify . . . and Netflix,” Brian Nowak, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a research report. “ Snapchat and Spotify are current Google Cloud users. While Netflix is a large AWS client, we believe Netflix uses Google Cloud for back-up storage. “Any endorsement and/or further Google Cloud adoption from Netflix would (help) Google Cloud establish its credibility as a competitor to AWS.” AWS is the biggest cloud services provider — where customers rent computer servers and data storage systems via the Internet — followed by Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Google. Goldman Sachs recently speculated that Google could announce price cuts at the user conference, where the new boss of Google’s cloud business, Diane Greene, will make her debut. Greene is the founder and former CEO of VMware ( VMW ), whose virtualization software is a staple in cloud data centers. One question for Alphabet shareholders, says Nowak, is whether Google’s capital spending on cloud infrastructure — data centers packed with servers and communications gear — will increase. “We expect (industry) cloud-related data center spending to grow 18% in 2016, up from 15% in 2015, and Google is a key driver, contributing one-fifth of the acceleration,” Nowak wrote. Image provided by Shutterstock . Scalper1 News
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