Google Cloud Spanner adds graph processing, graph RAG

Google has unveiled Spanner Graph, an addition to Google Cloud Spanner that expands the capabilities of the globally distributed SQL database to include graph processing. The company also announced the addition of SQL support to Bigtable and an Enterprise Plus edition of Cloud SQL for SQL Server.

Spanner Graph supports the industry-standard Graph Query Language (GQL) and interoperates with SQL for querying of both tabular and graph data in a single operation, according to Google. The company said the new capability allows developers to “supercharge” AI applications with knowledge graphs and graph-based retrieval-augmented generation (GraphRAG). Also unveiled for Google Cloud Spanner are full-text search, vector search, and new product editions, with packaging and pricing that deliver more flexibility and cost transparency for organizational needs and budget, Google said.

Google also is announcing SQL support for the Bigtable NoSQL database service. With the announcement, more than 100 SQL functions become directly available in Bigtable. Distributed counters also now are generally available in Bigtable. These are optimized for high throughput, write-time aggregations such as processing event streams to support AI, fraud detection, and data mesh, Google said.

Google also announced an Enterprise Plus Edition of Cloud SQL for SQL Server. The company said that Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus delivers 4x improved read performance compared to Cloud SQL Enterprise Edition. It also offers higher availability, with a 99.99% SLA and advanced disaster recovery.