Google App Engine takes off

Google App EngineGoogle just issued a preview release of Google App Engine. Limited to the first 10,000 developers (sorry, waiting list), Google App Engine radically shortens the time from coding your web application to deployment.

Google App Engine was designed to be easy to use, easy to scale, and free to get started. It addresses some of the daunting issues web startups face, particularly hosting/storage, scalability, and maintenance. Currently available for Python only, the SDK seems to be comprehensible to “outsiders” as well.

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Google’s vision for App Engine sounds like a dream come true for web startups. Then again, Amazon AWS has been pretty popular along with other grid services for web apps on the rise too. Implications?

Posted on April 9, 2008 by Marie Casas

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  • Mark J

    April 9, 2008 8:34 pm

    I think this a big change in how web applications are deployed and hosted.

    App Engine offers a lot more than just a space to run web applications, it offers an entire framework (basic so far) that you can use to build web applications.

    Unlike AWS, where it’s not trying to change the nature of web infrastructures, App Engine is a very different approach. You can build web application in a single file (though you can do this with Camping in Ruby or with other frameworks out there) and instantly deploy to a live platform — all fully integrated from dev to deployment. It’s like directly developing on a live distributed platform. No more worry about optimizing mySQL, or using S3/mogileFS — just code right away and use what AE is offering.

    It’s not hard to imagine having something like this, but having the guts to offer something like this and having the guts to challenge all the other established frameworks — is a big plus for Google.

    However, as with all new stuffs, we’re all in a wait and see moment. There’s a lot of discussion about App Engine now, including neutrality (self-interest in investing successful apps hosted in AE). Also, although Google is known to be successful in both search and online advertising, it has yet to make it’s mark in other areas.

    But i can say, we’re in a strange new world — very different indeed. It’s a game changing move.

    I once read that one of Google’s advantage is it’s infrastructure, and i also believe it can be for any startup, if it can master an efficient strategy — but with something like this — it’s going to be just your app and probably luck to stay ahead.



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