Having Red Hat's OpenShift Dedicated on Google Cloud Platform is another step toward Google building an open source hybrid cloud A new incarnation of Red Hat’s OpenShift Dedicated service for running containers will be available on Google Cloud Platform and could further Google’s plans to create a genuine open source hybrid cloud. OpenShift Dedicated was originally hosted on Amazon EC2, but it’s based on technology that theoretically allows it to run anywhere. Now that Google and Red Hat are teaming up, instances of OpenShift Dedicated will be available on Google Cloud Platform. There are no details about pricing or availability as yet. Google and Red Hat are touting several advantages of their collaboration, including the fact that OpenShift could complement and expand the use of Kubernetes, Google’s container management and orchestration system. Kubernetes has fast become a standard-issue item on most cloud platforms with containers, and Red Hat is the No. 2 contributor to that project, behind Google. Another advantage is described in the joint press release as “access to powerful GCP services designed to help you make better use of data,” and most likely refers to hosted NoSQL and MySQL services like Google Cloud Bigtable and Google Cloud SQL. Another aspect of their collaboration: It supports Google’s ongoing work on what amounts to an open source hybrid cloud environment built on container technology. The one piece missing from its stack has been a private cloud component — open source or not. It seemed unlikely Google would ever build the item itself, so it makes sense for the company to turn to a third party with experience on that front. (It also helps that Red Hat’s former CTO, Brian Stevens, is now VP of cloud platforms at Google.) OpenShift Dedicated on Google Cloud Platform will be offered first to an early-access audience, but Google and Red Hat are accepting beta-test applications from the general public. Cloud ComputingSoftware DevelopmentOpen SourceTechnology Industry