Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
What Google Cloud Platform Offers
Google Cloud Platform, usually shortened to GCP and now also marketed as Google Cloud, is the public cloud platform from Google. It provides computing, storage, databases, networking, machine learning and analytics services that customers rent over the internet and pay for according to use.
GCP is built on infrastructure that Google also uses for its own products. Customers deploy resources in regions and zones, and the platform can be used through a web console, a command line tool or application programming interfaces. As one of the hyperscalers, Google runs data centers at very large scale.
Areas Where GCP Is Known for Strength
GCP is particularly known for two areas: container orchestration and data analytics. Kubernetes, the widely used open-source system for running containers, was originally designed at Google. GCP offers a managed Kubernetes service called Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), which is discussed in managed Kubernetes.
In data analytics, GCP offers BigQuery, a serverless data warehouse that lets teams run SQL queries across very large datasets without managing servers. Other products cover data pipelines, streaming and machine learning.
Core compute services include Compute Engine for virtual machines, Cloud Storage for object storage and Cloud Run for running containers without managing servers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Google Cloud and Google Workspace?
Google Cloud is a platform for renting infrastructure and for building and running applications. Google Workspace is a suite of productivity software, including Gmail, Docs and Drive, sold as a subscription. The two are separate products, although they can use the same Google account for sign-in.
Is GCP a good fit for data-heavy projects?
It can be, because data and analytics services are among its best-known areas. Teams working with large datasets, streaming events or machine learning often evaluate it for those reasons. As with any platform, the fit depends on existing skills, data location needs and the cost of queries and storage.
Do I need Kubernetes to use Google Cloud?
No. Kubernetes is one option among many. Virtual machines, managed databases, object storage and serverless services can all be used without it. Teams that run many containers may find Kubernetes useful, while small applications often need far less. Comparing the big three providers is covered in AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud.