The public cloud has become increasingly popular in recent years. More and more companies are using the services of, for example, Google Cloud Platform. What don’t you know about the cloud? Here are five facts about the GCP.
When running a digital business, you must decide where to store your data and applications. You can invest in your databases, hardware, and software or lease IT infrastructure.
What is the cloud? It is a service for storing data on a provider’s infrastructure and being able to access a whole range of computing services. Depending on the provider’s offering, it can include servers (i.e. space for storing files and data), storage, cloud databases, software, or virtual machines.
One of the most popular public clouds is the Google Cloud Platform. Let’s take a look at the five most important things to know about Google Cloud Platform according to FOTC – a certified Google Cloud partner company.
Almost 200 Cloud Services
Google Cloud Platform is a set of cloud computing services. The components can be selected freely to create your own tailored infrastructure for your business. The services include, among others:
- virtual machines and almost unlimited computing power,
- Kubernetes cluster management
- tools for rapid deployment, including containerised applications,
- Google Cloud Platform databases,
- data warehousing and BigData analytics,
- cloud storage,
- off-the-shelf machine learning and artificial intelligence models.
The same services are available to all Google Cloud Platform users – whether global corporations, medium and small companies or startups. The scale of use depends on the needs. New businesses can use the same tools as PayPal, eBay or Twitter but pay proportionally less.
Google Cloud Platform Global Network
Google Cloud is creating its own network of fibre-optic connections between data centres around the world. Among other things, it owns the longest transatlantic fibre-optic cable (9,000 km) between Oregon in the US and Japan. With its own network, Google is able to process and transfer data between locations faster – at speeds of up to 10Tbs.
Suppose one of your company’s main objectives is to reach users in different corners of the world while maintaining high-speed availability. In that case, you should look at the advantages of GCP’s own network.
Scale in Seconds
Cloud services are scalable – consumption levels adapt to load levels. Services can be scaled up (for example, when more users enter the service) and down (when users leave the service).
The public cloud also enables prospective scaling. The more a product grows – the more functionality and users it has – the greater its infrastructure requirements. By using the Google Cloud Platform, you can easily rebuild or expand your infrastructure so that you don’t hold back product development.
Google Cloud Platform Cost Flexibility
With scalability also comes cost flexibility. In the GCP, you pay for actual usage, often on a per-second or per-minute basis. A small amount of traffic means a low bill, and a large amount of traffic means a proportionally larger bill, but also the certainty of handling the entire load.
In terms of cost, it is also worth mentioning the total cost of ownership (TCO), or the total cost of maintaining the infrastructure. By owning your own machines or using dedicated servers, you are dedicating specialist time to maintaining them. In the cloud, the physical infrastructure is the responsibility of the service provider, and you can dedicate the time and energy of your specialists to developing the product and introducing optimisations.
Support From a Local Google Cloud Partner
Google Cloud has a partner programme that supports sales, proper operation and the development of the full potential of the proposed services. Partner companies are often able to offer better benefits than the provider itself. They also support the implementation of Google Cloud Platform or training courses.
