Google Cloud Platform: What it is, how to use it, and ... - Acronis

The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a platform that delivers over 90 information technology services (aka products), which businesses, IT professionals, ... HowtoGoogleCloudPlatform:Whatitis,howtouseit,andhowitcomparesTheGoogleCloudPlatform(GCP)isaplatformthatdeliversover90informationtechnologyservices(akaproducts),whichbusinesses,ITprofessionals,anddeveloperscanleveragetoworkmoreefficiently,gainmoreflexibility,and/orenableastrategicadvantage.AcronisCyberProtectCloudViewLiveDemoHowdoestheGoogleCloudPlatformwork?Cloudcomputingtodayallowshardwareandsoftwareproductstoco-existremotely(indatacenters)andat-scale.Togethertheseproductsworktodeliverspecificservices.Userstypicallycanaccess,manage,andusethetoolstheyrequireviaaweb-interface–andthat’strueforGoogleCloudPlatformservicesaswell.Inadditiontoserviceaccessibility,usersalsogainflexibilityandchoicewhenworkingwithGoogleCloudPlatform:Eachserviceisavailable‘alacarte’sothatuserscanleveragedifferentresourcestodeveloptheinfrastructuretheyneed.OncetheyhaveidentifiedtheGoogleCloudPlatformservicesthatwouldbenefitthem,userssimplycreatea“project”viatheintuitive,web-basedGCPConsole.Betterstill,projectownerscanmanagewhichteammembersoradminshaveaccesstowhichservices.WhattypesoftoolsareavailableviatheGoogleCloudPlatform?GoogleCloudPlatformservicesarerobust.Onewaytonavigatethemistoconsiderwhichsolutionsareavailablebasedonyourprimarycomputingneeds:infrastructureasaservice(IaaS),platformasaservice(PaaS),andsoftware-as-a-service(SaaS).• IaaSenablesITtorunvirtualmachineswithouthavingtoinvestinormanagethiscomputinginfrastructurethemselves.OftenITwilloptforanIaaSsolutionwhentheworkloadistemporary,experimental,orsubjecttounexpectedchanges(e.g.sandboxprojects).• PaaSisthenextstep,buildingontheIaaSmodel.CustomersoptforallofthebenefitsofIaaS,plustheygetunderlyinginfrastructure–likeoperatingsystemsandmiddleware.Theirvendorhostsandmanagesalloftheseelements.• SaaSgoesonemorestep–everythingisavailableviatheweb:theproviderhosts,manages,anddeliverstheentireinfrastructureincludingapplications.Userssimplylogintoaccesstheresourcesthespecificsolutiondelivers,e.g.backupandrecoverytools.AnotherwaytonavigateGoogleCloudPlatformisbyservice-offeringtype.Coreservicecategoriesinclude:ComputeNetworkingStorageandDatabasesArtificialIntelligence(AI)/MachineLearning(ML)BigDataIdentityandSecurityManagementToolsWithinthesecategories,topservicesinclude:ComputeNetworkingStorageandDatabasesAIandMLBigDataIdentityandSecurityManagementToolsComputeengineGoogleCloudVirtualNetworkCloudStorageCloudMachineLearningBigQueryGoogleCloudIAMStackdriverAppEngineCloudLoadBalancingCloudSQLCloudVisionAPICloudDataflowCloudResourceManagerDeploymentManagerContainerEngineCloudCDNBigtableCloudSpeechAPIDataprocCloudSecurityScannerCloudShellContainerRegistryGoogleCloudInterconnectCloudDatastoreNaturalLanguageAPICloudDatalab GoogleCloudBillingAPICloudFunctionsCloudDNSCloudSpannerTranslateAPIGoogleGenomics  CloudPub/Sub PersistentDisk      CloudSourceRepositories    CanyouuseaGoogleCloudPlatformservice,likeGoogleCloudStorage,whileleveraginganothersolution?Serviceintegrationscanmakepowerfultoolsevenmorerobust.That’swhynichevendorsandhyperscalerslikeGooglelooktopartnerwitheachother–toexpandtheirreachanddelivermorevaluetotheircustomers.ConsiderthisGoogleCloudPlatformintegration:Leadingcyberprotectionandhybridcloudstoragevendor,Acronis,deliverseasy,reliable,efficient,secure,andprivatesolutionstomorethan5millionconsumersand500,000businessesworldwide.Acronis’backupasaservicesolution–AcronisCyberBackupCloud–isintegratedwithGoogleCloudStorageinordertodeliveratrulyflexiblecloudinfrastructure,whichITserviceprovidersrequire.ByleveragingnativeGoogleCloudStorageintegrationswithAcronis,customerscan:Complywithbusinessrequirementsviaimprovedoffice-to-cloudinternetconnectivityPredictstoragecosts,withoneper-GBfeethatincludesstorage,solutionmanagement,egress,andbackupandsoftwarelicensingMeetindustrystandards,liketheEU’sGeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR)andvertical-specificrequirementsFollowthe3-2-1ruleofbackup,sodatacanalwaysberecoveredGetlightning-fastrecovery,byleveragingGoogleCloudPlatform’srobustandextensiveglobalnetworkInthisway,GoogleCloudPlatformservicescanextenditsimpactandenrichothernichesolutionsthatbenefitcustomers.DoesGoogleCloudPlatformoffercertifications?WhileGCPisdesignedtobeuser-friendly,certainGoogleCloudPlatformcertificationscanhelpyouworkmoreefficiently,demonstratetechnicalexpertise,andboostyourcareer.Therearethreeprimarytracks:AssociateCertifications–Thistrackistask-orientedandintendedforcloudnovicestogettheirfeetwetwithcoreGoogleCloudPlatformtechnology.Thiscertificationcanopendoorstonewprofessional-levelcertificationsandopportunities.ProfessionalCertifications–Ifyou’vebeenintheindustryforafewyears,youmaywanttoconsiderhands-onGoogleCloudPlatformcourses.You’llgainadvanceddesignandimplementationskillsbasedonthejob/roleyouhave(orwishtohave).Tracksinclude:cloudarchitecture,dataengineering,clouddeveloper,cloudnetworkengineering–andbeyond.GoogleWorkspaceCertification–Withthistrack,GoogleCloudPlatformexpandsitsreachtoanyoneusingGoogleWorkspace.Forexample,projectmanagersandexecutiveassistantswhoneedtousethecoreGoogleWorkspacetoolsandservicesregularlywouldbenefitfromthisGoogleCloudPlatformcertification.GoogleCloudPlatformPricingGoogleboastsnoup-frontcosts,pay-as-you-goservices,andnofeesfortermination.Inaddition,Googleofferspricingdiscountsanddeliversinnovationslikerightsizing.Customerscanalsoleverageapricingcalculatorviatheirwebsite.Thistoolhelpscustomersanticipatecosts.Meanwhileatotalcostofownership(TCO)toolisavailabletohelpestimatecostsbetweenGoogleCloudPlatformvs.AWS.Pricingvariesbyindividualservice,soyou’llalsowanttolookacrosstheplatformateachrespectiveofferingandevaluatepricesaccordingly.Comparingthebigthree:GoogleCloudPlatformvs.MicrosoftAzurevs.AWSSinceGoogleCloudPlatformdeliverssomanydifferentservices,youwanttobesurethatwhenyou’recomparingpopularserviceslikeGoogleCloudPlatformvs.MicrosoftAzure,orGoogleCloudPlatformvs.AWSthatyouaren’tcomparingapplestooranges.Eachorganizationhasdifferentpriorities,andhowbigyouareandhowfastyouaregrowingwillhaveatremendousimpactonyourITneedsandbudget.Here’saquickoverviewofsomekeydifferentiatorsbetweentheleadingcloudplatformproviders:GoogleCloudPlatformvs.MicrosoftAzurevs.AmazonWebServices. CustomerFocusCostServicesGoogleCloudPlatformSmall-mediumbusinesses.PartnerswithCiscotoreachenterprisesGartnerrecognizesGCPforitscustomer-centricpricing,includingdeepdiscountsandflexiblecontracts.Fewerservicesbutadvancedtechnicalcapabilities,withAI/MLanddataanalyticstoolsaheadofthecompetition.MicrosoftAzureEnterprisesSituation-baseddiscountsrequirehelptoevaluate.Robustinfrastructurewithprovenhybrid-cloudcapabilities.AmazonWebServicesAny,butwithahands-offapproachduetoitsenormoussizeGartnerrecommendsusingathird-partytooltoestimatepricingeffectively.Vastoptions,butfocusedonpubliccloudsolutionssohybriddeploymentwithlocaldatacentersmaybeachallenge).WhataboutGoogleCloudPlatformuptime?ReliabilityisabigfactorinchoosinganyITprovider–businessescan’tafforddowntime,whichmakesbusinesscontinuityapriorityandakeyfactorwhenassessingcloudproviders.Meanwhile,customersarerightfullyconcernedabouthowcapableindustryleaderslikeGooglearewhenitcomestodeliveringreliablecloudinfrastructureandservices–Microsoft’sownchallengetoensureuptimeofitsMicrosoft365solutionhasbroughtthischallengetotheforefront.AccordingtoGoogle,GoogleCloudPlatformuserscanexpect99.95%reliability.Theyachievethislevelofperformancebybuildinginsafetynetstotheirapplicationandnetworkarchitecture,assumingthatanyoneelementisfallible.Withintegratedredundancyandrobustfailovercapabilities,dataisalwaysaccessiblethroughanothersystem.Lastbutnotleast,Googleisconstantlyrunningperformancetests–pressure-testingsystemsinordertoproactivelypreventproblemsandtroubleshootquickremedies.FinalThoughtGoogleCloudPlatformmaybethe‘newkidontheblock’comparedwithAmazonWebServicesandMicrosoft,buttheirofferingsareworthseriousconsideration.Thecompanyisconstantlyevolvingitsservicesandimprovingsoevenifyouconductedresearchsomewhatrecently,you’llwanttokeepevaluatingtheircapabilitiesforyourneeds.