‘What is Google Cloud Platform’ is a common search term as more and more businesses are shifting to cloud computing platforms. Small and large enterprises choose the cloud to lower operating costs and make their business infrastructure more efficient.
However, it’s not like Google Cloud Platform is the only cloud vendor. Some other cloud providers include AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM, etc. Among all the platforms, GCP is known for its cost-effective nature, hence preferred.
In this ‘what is Google Cloud Platform’ tutorial, we will uncover all the essential aspects of GCP and how it is different from other cloud vendors.
What Is Google Cloud Platform?
Google Cloud Platform is one of the best cloud providers in the IT industry. It ranks third among the top cloud platforms in the market, where AWS and Microsoft Azure reserve the first and second positions.
SnapLogic, an enterprise automation and intelligent integration provider, announced its availability on Google Cloud Marketplace. This feature will help IT teams and line-of-business automate and accelerate moving data into and out of the cloud.
SnapLogic delivers automated data-driven insights through @googlecloud Marketplace. https://t.co/XyxIlXDaYs
— SnapLogic (@SnapLogic) March 29, 2023
With Google Cloud and SnapLogic, companies can empower their customers with real-time data to make specific business decisions. In addition, it lets brands quickly and easily move data from disparate sources into databases for accelerated analysis.
Features Of Google Cloud Platform
Here is what you can expect from the cloud provider.
Work from Anywhere: The web-based applications powered by Google ensure that employees gain access to information across devices from anywhere around the world.
Private Network: The private network of GCP consists of fiber-optic cables that can bear any amount of data. Users get complete control and scalability over the network.
High Security: All the data on GCP is encrypted, indicating that all the business information remains safe and secure.
Redundant Backup: The built-in redundant backups of Google ensure data integrity, durability, and reliability.
Best Pricing: GCP’s hosting plans are relatively cheaper than other competing platforms, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. The pay-as-you-go feature ensures users have to pay only for the resources they are using.
GCP New Pricing Option
Most cloud providers charge high costs to customers when switching from traditional to cloud platforms. To eliminate the entry barrier, Google Cloud Platform announced Cloud Flex Agreements.
The new licensing option allows users to switch to the cloud without commitments. In her LinkedIn post, Kelly Ducourty, the Vice President of Google’s Cloud GTM Strategy & Operations and SMB Sales, said Flex Agreements are a new type of agreement.
She added, “The new pricing option offers targeting incentives for customers to migrate workload and grow on Google Cloud without any commitment. This is an alternative for companies that are not ready to make a multi-year commitment.”
Google Cloud Services
As the popularity of Google Cloud is increasing, the platform is expanding its services across the globe. Some of the primary services provided by the platform include:
Google Cloud Compute Services
- Google App Engine: The feature allows you to develop and host web applications in Google-managed data centers. The auto-scaling feature will enable you to automatically allocate more resources according to demand.
- Kubernetes Engine: The platform automates deployment, operations, and scaling of applications across clusters of hosts.
- Compute Engine: The component is built on the same infrastructure that runs YouTube, Google search engine, and other services. The IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) helps to run the Linux Cloud Platform and Microsoft Windows.
Google Cloud Storage Services
- Google Cloud Storage: The online file storage web services help store and access data on a Google Cloud Platform infrastructure.
- Cloud Bigtable: It is a fast, highly scalable, and fully managed NoSQL database service. It is designed for data collection and retention from 1 TB to hundreds of PB.
- Cloud SQL: The cloud service allows you to create, configure, and use the relational databases of Google Cloud.
Networking
- VPC: The Google Cloud Platform is a private network with firewall policies, routing, and IP allocation to create a secure environment. As it is one of the secure platforms, many people prefer to learn GCP.
- Content Delivery Network: It is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and data centers. It spatially distributes the services related to end users to provide high performance and availability.
- Cloud Load Balancing: It is the process of distributing workloads across multiple computing resources. As a result, it can help you minimize costs and maximize resource availability.
Big Data Services
- BigQuery: Google BigQuery Service is a reliable, fully managed data analysis service that enables companies to analyze massive data sets.
- Google Cloud Database: The schema-less, fully managed, and non-relational datastore supports atomic transactions. The rich set of query capabilities allows you to quickly scale up and down depending on the load.
- Google Cloud Dataproc: The GCP service creates Spark or Hadoop clusters with sizes that match your workloads.
Management Tools
- Google Stackdriver: It provides performance and diagnostic data acquired via monitoring, error reporting, tracing, logging, etc.
- Google Cloud Console App: The native mobile application enables users to manage key Google Cloud services. It offers altering, monitoring, and the ability to take responsible actions.
Cloud AI
- Cloud AutoML: This Machine Learning product enables developers to provide datasets and obtain easy access to quality trained models.
- Cloud Machine Learning Engine: The managed service will enable you to develop ML models based on mainstream frameworks.
Even though the Google Cloud Platform offers a wide range of services, it is less suitable for large enterprises. If you want to choose a cloud service provider that provides more services than GCP, you can select between AWS or Azure. If you are confused between AWS vs. Azure vs. GCP, feel free to contact Inferenz cloud data experts.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Pros and Cons
Now that you know ‘what is a Google Cloud Platform’ and its services, let us learn GCP’s pros and cons.
GCP Pros
- High Productivity: The GCP applications can handle tens of thousands of users simultaneously, increasing productivity.
- Quick Collaboration: Regardless of the user location, they can collaborate seamlessly on any project.
- Pricing: GCP has lower pricing as compared to AWS and Azure pricing models. Users can even leverage committed use discounts to further lower the overall Google Cloud pricing.
- Big Data: Innovative tools like real-time data processing tools like Google Cloud Dataflow and BigQuery can improve big data management.
GCP Cons
- Fewer Data Centres: GCP has relatively few global data centers in Asia, Europe, and Asia, compared to AWS and Azure.
- Few Customization Options: Unlike other top cloud providers, GCP offers a few customization options for BigQuery, Spanner, and Datastore.
- Application Engine: GCP application engine is limited to PHP, Python, Google, Java, etc.
- Expensive Customer Support: When we compare Azure vs. Google Cloud Platform customer support, GCP does not have robust assistance. In addition, it is quite costly, especially for small businesses.
Choose The Best Cloud Computing Platform For Your Business
Now that you are well aware of ‘what is Google Cloud Platform,’ you must also be familiar with why it stands among the top three contenders. It comes as no surprise that cloud providers like Google Cloud create excellent products and services for cloud users.
Regardless of which platform you are using, it is crucial to follow the right migration strategy. Understanding how to migrate from on-premise to the cloud will ensure the company’s data remains accurate, integrated, and secure.
If you want to dive deep into ‘what is Google Cloud Platform’ or wish you understand the migration process, contact Inferenz experts today!
