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Google, Microsoft said to be creating new cloud services

The two rivaling software giants are rumored to be in a run-off to introduce new Infrastructure as a Service platforms for the cloud, which could mean trouble for Amazon.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Dara Kerr
James Martin/CNET

Google and Microsoft are reportedly neck and neck to get an Infrastructure as a Service cloud computing offering off the ground in the near future.

According to tech news site GigaOM, sources say that while Google has been busy building a cloud service that will compete with Amazon's EC2 cloud, Microsoft has also been racing to get its own Infrastructure as a Service platform out. For now, it's looking like Microsoft may cross the finish line first.

GigaOM reports that Google's plan is set to debut a virtual renting service by the end of the year and Microsoft is said to be gearing up to announce its cloud service during a June 7 event in San Francisco.

When contacted by CNET, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "Microsoft is hosting Meet Windows Azure, a San Francisco based developer event on June 7," and that, "We have nothing else to share at this time."

Google declined to comment.

This isn't the first time Google and Microsoft have competed in the cloud realm. Both have business software suites in the cloud, Microsoft with its Office 365 and Google with its Apps for Business.

Taking their cloud software to the next level with Infrastructure as a Service makes a lot of sense for both companies, especially if they can edge into Amazon's market. According to GigaOM, "renting virtual servers in an IaaS model is still where the money is in cloud-based computing."