Full Report
At Google Cloud, we strive to offer a great customer experience for enterprises by building a robust and supported platform for running all Linux-based workloads.This mission is why we were one of the first cloud providers to offer purpose-built Rocky Linux images when Rocky Linux debuted last year as a replacement option for CentOS. We were also one of the first hyperscalers to sponsor the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF) to support the open source community behind this Linux distribution. With these efforts, we’re pleased that many customers are already running Rocky Linux in Google Cloud today.Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re taking another step in furthering the support we provide for Rocky Linux. We’re partnering with CIQ—the company started by CentOS co-founder and Rocky Linux founder Gregory Kurtzer featuring core expertise across Linux, cloud, HPC, containers and security— so we can provide customers a new and improved experience for Rocky Linux on Google Cloud. Starting today, customers can leverage Google’s support offerings to file support cases for Rocky Linux. Google support teams and the Rocky Linux experts at CIQ are working together to address customer issues to help ensure they get enterprise-grade support. If you already have a paid support plan with Google, you will be able to open a case for an issue related to Rocky Linux. Google teams can expediently help resolve the issues, backed by CIQ expertise, giving you an integrated experience of using Rocky Linux on Google Cloud. "We asked ourselves, how do we bring the best value to everyone? Through this partnership, anytime you use our Rocky Linux on Google Cloud, both Google and CIQ jointly have your back! From the cloud platform itself, all the way through the enterprise operating system, every aspect of using Google Cloud is supported by a single call to Google, and together, we are your escalation team.”—Gregory Kurtzer, CEO of CIQ and Founder/Director of Rocky Linux and the RESFIn addition to CIQ-backed support for Rocky Linux, Google is also working with CIQ to provide a streamlined product experience - with plans to include performance-tuned Rocky Linux images, out-of-the-box support for specialized Google infrastructure, tools to help support easy migration, and more. We’re doing these updates in a community-friendly way. Together with CIQ, Google is helping to create a Rocky Linux Cloud SIG that aims to provide optimized, standardized, and simplified Rocky Linux experience. If you’re currently looking for alternatives to CentOS as it reaches end of life, Rocky Linux on Google Cloud can have you covered both from a product and support perspective. So, take Rocky for a spin if you haven’t already, and if you have questions or suggestions on how we can help you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. To learn more, please also join us for a webinar discussion on April 6th 2022 at 11.00am PT.
Analysis Summary
# Industry News: Google Cloud and CIQ Partner to Solidify Rocky Linux as the CentOS Successor
## Summary
Google Cloud has announced a strategic partnership with CIQ, the primary service provider for Rocky Linux, to offer integrated, enterprise-grade support for the distribution. This collaboration aims to provide a seamless transition for organizations migrating away from CentOS by offering performance-tuned images and a unified support escalation path directly through Google Cloud.
## Key Details
- **Date:** April 6, 2022
- **Companies Involved:** Google Cloud, CIQ (Ctrl IQ, Inc.)
- **Category:** Strategic Partnership & Product Enhancement
## The Story
Following Red Hat’s decision to shift CentOS to "CentOS Stream," a significant gap emerged in the market for a stable, downstream, binary-compatible alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Rocky Linux, founded by Gregory Kurtzer (a co-founder of CentOS), emerged as a leading contender.
Google Cloud is doubling down on this ecosystem by partnering with CIQ to provide "one-stop" support. Under this agreement, Google Cloud customers with paid support plans can open cases for Rocky Linux issues directly with Google. Google’s internal teams will then collaborate with CIQ experts to resolve OS-level issues. Additionally, the two companies are launching a Rocky Linux Cloud Special Interest Group (SIG) to develop performance-optimized images tailored for Google Cloud’s specialized infrastructure.
## Business Impact
### For the Companies Involved
- **Google Cloud:** Strengthens its appeal to enterprise customers running legacy Linux workloads, potentially capturing market share from AWS and Azure by offering more robust support for the "new" CentOS.
- **CIQ:** Gains massive market validation and a steady stream of enterprise users, cementing its position as the premier commercial entity behind the Rocky Linux movement.
### For Competitors
- **Red Hat (IBM):** Faces increased competition as Google Cloud makes it easier for customers to bypass RHEL subscriptions in favor of supported Rocky Linux instances.
- **AWS and Azure:** Will likely face pressure to offer similar deep-tier integrated support for Rocky Linux to maintain parity in the hyperscaler market.
### For Customers
- **Reduced Friction:** Customers gain a "single throat to choke" for infrastructure and OS issues, eliminating the finger-pointing that often occurs between cloud providers and open-source vendors.
- **Migration Path:** Provides a clear, supported roadmap for organizations facing the end-of-life (EOL) of CentOS 8.
### For the Market
- **Open Source Stability:** Signals that the community-driven "CentOS clones" are viable for mission-critical enterprise use, backed by hyperscale capital and support structures.
## Technical Implications
The partnership includes the development of **performance-tuned Rocky Linux images**. These images are expected to include optimized kernels and drivers specifically for Google’s Compute Engine, out-of-the-box support for Google’s specialized hardware (like TPUs or high-performance networking), and migration tools to automate the shift from CentOS to Rocky.
## Strategic Analysis
- **Market Positioning:** Google Cloud is positioning itself as the most "open-source friendly" hyperscaler, specifically targeting the massive installed base of CentOS users.
- **Competitive Advantage:** By integrating CIQ expertise into Google Support, Google removes the primary barrier to entry for enterprise open-source adoption: the lack of a formal Service Level Agreement (SLA).
- **Challenges:** The long-term viability depends on the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF) maintaining binary compatibility with RHEL, which is subject to Red Hat’s upstream changes.
## Industry Reactions
- **Analyst Opinions:** Analysts view this as a savvy "land grab" for enterprise workloads that were previously hesitant to move to the cloud without a supported free-distribution path.
- **Expert Commentary:** Gregory Kurtzer (CEO of CIQ) emphasizes the "value of a single call," highlighting that the complexity of the modern stack requires a unified support response.
## Future Outlook
- **Predictions:** Expect Rocky Linux to become the default Linux distribution for new GCP tenants who require RHEL-compatibility without the RHEL price tag.
- **What to watch for:** Watch for whether other hyperscalers (like AWS) form similar exclusive or deep-tier partnerships with CIQ or rival distributions like AlmaLinux.
## For Security Professionals
For CISOs and security practitioners, this partnership provides a supported pathway for **vulnerability management and patching**. Having a direct escalation path to CIQ means that critical OS-level vulnerabilities (CVEs) affecting Rocky Linux can be addressed with enterprise-grade urgency, reducing the "window of exposure" that often plagues unsupported open-source distributions. The introduction of optimized images also suggests a more secure supply chain for OS binaries within the Google Cloud ecosystem.