Google Cloud NEXT 2022, Day 1 Highlights

SADA Says | Cloud Computing Blog

By SADA Says | Cloud Computing Blog

Imagine preparing a presentation just by describing it, then letting Google Slides take care of suggesting text and selecting the layout and background images. 

That’s just one of many glimpses into the future offered during the first day of Google Cloud NEXT ‘22, the three-day showcase of what’s coming in the cloud. This year, SADA hosted events in New York City and Toronto, with another planned for Thursday in Miami, where attendees have had the chance to connect and watch NEXT sessions in person. This year’s conference started with a series of jaw-dropping, eye-opening announcements that have us at SADA incredibly excited. 

Here are just a few of the highlights of this year’s Day 1.

Quote of the day

“Google Calendar is my girlfriend.” —Shaquille O’Neil

Yes, he actually said that. The NBA legend and entrepreneur made a video appearance at NEXT to extol the virtues of Google Workspace for businesses of all sizes. We couldn’t agree more, Shaq!

Artificial Intelligence meets Google Workspace

During the keynote presentation, Google CEO Sundar Pichai cited a striking statistic—86% of companies consider Artificial Intelligence a mainstream application

As AI has become integrated into more business operations, applications, and user experiences, apprehension about its use have yielded to more imaginative speculation about its potential. In the future, we may point to 2022 as the year the golden age of AI began. 

We were especially thrilled by news of how AI will be further integrated into Google Workspace, the suite of productivity and collaboration tools that millions have come to depend upon in this new era of remote and hybrid work. The tantalizing glimpse offered at NEXT suggested that using tools like Docs, Slides, Meet, and Sheets will take on even more responsibility for suggesting and looking up resources on your behalf. 

We also got a glimpse at Smart Canvas, the next generation of collaboration experiences for Workspace that brings together intelligence with co-creation capabilities, and learned that client-side encryption will now be available in Google Calendar (aka Shaq’s girlfriend) and Gmail

But it’s the idea that we’ll soon be using natural language prompts to ask Workspace to provide drafts of documents and format presentations that set off a flurry of Google Chat messages at SADA. In short, the tools we use every day are about to get a whole lot smarter, and we can’t wait to start exploring this powerful new functionality. 

Welcoming 5 new Google Cloud regions

Austria, Greece, Norway, South Africa, and Sweden were announced as new additions to Google Cloud’s global network! 

Introducing Chronicle Security Operations

Security is more important than ever in a hybrid, remote, multicloud world. Google reinforced their commitment to cloud security, unveiling Chronicle Security Operations, a cloud-native software suite that “better enables cybersecurity teams to detect, investigate, and respond to threats with the speed, scale, and intelligence of Google.” As threat-detection has become more data-intensive, Google has stepped up their game to democratize security operations and provide better security outcomes for organizations of all sizes and levels of expertise.

Project Starline promises eye-to-eye conferencing

As is often the case with Google, some announcements seem like something out of science fiction. Project Starline definitely falls into that category. Set to roll out as a pilot program with select Google Cloud customers, Starline is a conferencing application that allows you to interact with 3D projections of meeting participants. Imagine all the convenience of your current Google Meet experience, but with the ability to look other participants directly in the eye. 

Google Cloud NEXT 2022, Day 1 Highlights
Project Starline in action

Big enhancements to Google Translate

One of the most beloved Google products the world over has to be Google Translate. This go-to translation solution has definitely gotten better over time, and at Google Cloud NEXT we got a glimpse into how it’s about to leap into the future.

For starters, Google Translate is set to incorporate even more Machine Learning capabilities, with the launch of Google Translate Hub. This means the tool will be even more sensitive to translating documents that include images and unique formatting. And with the addition of new languages, more people around the globe will be able to effectively communicate with one another than ever before. 

Google’s new partnership with Coinbase

Web3 applications built on blockchain technology are empowering an entirely new wave of innovation across multiple industries. SADA has been a strong, early proponent of blockchain and Web3 and recently announced the acceptance of cryptocurrency for payment for SADA services. 

The Day 1 keynote presentation at Google Cloud NEXT included an announcement of a new partnership between Google and cryptocurrency payment company Coinbase. This partnership will allow customers to apply the power of Google BigQuery to blockchain, giving developers access to Google blockchain data, and serving as a secure, trustworthy driver of the global Web3 economy. 

Eco-friendly routing in Google Maps

Getting from point A to point B is more complicated than drawing a line. As part of its mission to support the world’s greenest cloud, Google Maps will now offer options for users to chart the route to their destination that makes the least impact on the planet. With eco-friendly routing and other sustainability initiatives, we’re looking forward to how Google Cloud will supercharge the green energy revolution. The time is now, and the tools to make it happen are smarter, easier, and more powerful than ever.

Missed Day 1 of Google Cloud NEXT? Register now to check out the next two days of sessions and access recorded content.

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