Twitter has apparently started paying for Google Cloud again
Musk-led Twitter realizes that maybe paying for proper hosting is a good idea after all
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Twitter has reportedly resumed paying its contract withGoogleCloud, several weeks after seemingly ditching thecloud hostinggiant to go its own way.
A report fromBloombergclaims the Elon Musk-backed social media firm has restarted payments ahead of a June 30 cut-off deadline that could have left Twitter in serious technical difficulties.
Twitter had apparently been looking at going its own way on hosting, potentially even creating its own in-house system, but the company now appears to have seen sense and patched things up with Google Cloud.
Twitter and Google Cloud make up
Bloomberg reports that the change comes from new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino, who apparently, “helped get the relationship back on track.”
Yaccarino’s involvement may even lead to a wider partnership between the two companies, with the report claiming Twitter is now negotiating a broader partnership that could include advertising and Google’s use of Twitter’s paid API.
Bloomberg claims that Twitter’s contract with Google Cloud started in 2018, and costs between $200 million and $300 million each year - making it a key target for Elon Musk’s wide-ranging cost-cutting that signaled the start of his ownership.
Aswe initially reported, while some of its hosting is managed in-house, Twitter also uses Google Cloud for tasks such as fighting spam and child sexual abuse material, meaning that any failure to pay its bills could result in catastrophically harmful events on the platform.
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Twitter had also reportedly previously withheld payment from Google Cloud’s competitor,AmazonWeb Services (AWS), with whom the company also shares hosting responsibilities, this time relating to advertising.
The company has faced a number of issues regarding bills in recent months as Musk’s tumultuous period as CEO came to an end.
Late last year, Twitter was sued by the California Property Trust for failing to pay rent on the building it leases for its headquarters.
More recently, the company was also toldit would be evicted from its officein Boulder, Colorado for failing to pay its rent.
Having provided a letter of credit worth $968,000 in February 2020 under its pre-Musk regime, the company’s rent payments remained covered until March 2023, however payments since then have been non-existent.
The firm’s Boulder headquarters, at 3401 Bluff St, was home to around 300 employees at its height, but its landlord, Lot 2 SBO LLC, took the matter to court in May 2023, at which point it was ruled by the judge that the Sheriff would assist in the eviction by the end of July.
Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK’s leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he’s not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.
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