Google's Cloud Platform for Startups Offers Free Tools and Funds

When the OpenStack Foundation released the results of a broad user survey it did late last year, one of the trends that emerged was that businesses could leverage the open source cloud platform on top of operating systems like Ubuntu and incur nearly no costs for the actual software infrastructure that runs applications. Cloud computing is reducing the cost of doing business for many organizations, especially many startups.

With that last thought in mind, Google is delivering a package to help startup businesses launch their business with free Google Cloud Platform services. Qualifying startups are to get a $100,000 credit for Google Cloud Platform services, in addition to 24/7 support from the company's technical solutions team.

Businesses that apply for the services and funding have to produce under $500,000 in annual revenue, can't have been running for more than five years, and are required to have taken less than $5 million in investments. Google Cloud Platform for Startups is targeted at early-stage startups that are already in a technology incubator or accelerator. Startups that have funding from VCs can also qualify.

To apply, startups can contact their incubators or VCs and ask about participation, or email CloudPlatformStartups@google.com to get them added.

 Google's announcement notes:

"Focus on building your product and don't worry about complex infrastructure. Google manages your application, database, and storage servers so you don't have to."

This sounds like a good deal for some cloud-focused businesses that are just starting out, and along with free and open source cloud platform tools, could lay the groundwork for promising businesses that don't have a lot of capital.