Google Cloud has introduced a new pricing scheme for its cloud storage service that it says aims to protect customers from over-spend, but actually contains a barb that could hook them on the company's cloud.
The online advertising giant vendor calls the new offer its “Storage Growth Plan”, and applies to any storage class.
It starts out with a 12-month commitment to at least US$10,000 monthly spend for an agreed level of storage.
The nice part is that Google won't charge if you exceed the agreed-upon storage.
However things get interesting after that initial 12-month period, when customers get two choices:
First is to commit to another 12-month period and pay at levels commensurate with the customer’s peak usage in the last year. If peak usage was within 30 percent of the original commitment, all the previous year’s overage is free. If it is more than 30 percent, however, the remainder will be paid over the next year.
The second option meanwhile is to leave the plan entirely and pay for the past year’s overage.
"We’ve developed the Storage Growth Plan to help enterprise customers manage storage costs and meet the forecasting and predictability that is often asked of IT organisations,” Google said in a blog post.
“It’s a new way to commit to Cloud Storage that protects you from the cost volatility associated with your data storage behaviour.”
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