Google Cloud Platform is a set of Computing, Networking, Storage, Big Data, Machine Learning and Management [1] services provided by Google that runs on the same Cloud infrastructure that Google uses figure1 shown below internally for its end-user products, such as Google Search, Gmail, Google Photos and YouTube.

Figure 1: Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of cloud computing services provided by Google. It is a public cloud computing platform consisting of a variety of services like compute, storage, networking, application development, Big Data, and more, which run on the same cloud infrastructure that Google uses internally for its end-user products, such as Google Search, Photos, Gmail and YouTube, etc.

The services of GCP can be accessed by software developers, cloud administrators and IT professionals over the Internet or through a dedicated network connection.

Google Cloud Platform is known as one of the leading cloud providers in the IT field. The services and features can be easily accessed and used by the software developers and users with little technical [2] knowledge. Google has been on top amongst its competitors, offering the highly scalable and most reliable platform for building, testing and deploying the applications in the real-time environment.

Apart from this, GCP was announced as the leading cloud platform in the Gartner's IaaS Magic Quadrant in 2018. Gartner is one of the leading research and advisory company. Gartner organized a campaign where Google Cloud Platform was compared with other cloud providers, and GCP was selected as one of the top three providers in the market.

Most companies use data centers because of the availability of cost forecasting, hardware certainty, and advanced control. However, they lack the necessary features to run and maintain resources in the data center. GCP, on the other side, is a fully-featured cloud platform that includes.

Capacity: : Sufficient resources for easy scaling whenever required. Also, effective management of those resources for optimum performance.

Security: Multi-level security options to protect resources, such as assets, network and OS -components.

Network Infrastructure: Number of physical, logistical, and human-resource-related components, such as wiring, routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, etc.

Support: Skilled professionals for installation, maintenance, and support.

Bandwidth: Suitable amount of bandwidth for peak load.

Facilities: Other infrastructure components, including physical equipment and power resources.

Benefits Of Google Cloud Platform

1. Scalability: One of the major drawbacks of cloud computing is downscaling. But GCP provides [3] extreme ease in up and downscaling.
2. Pricing: Google offers GCP services at the very best price in the cloud market, compared to its competitors. Google offers 4 major key factors in its pricing philosophy
3. Sub-hour Billing: Billing is made only for a particular requested time. For example, GCP doesn’t round it to the next hour if service is requested for half an hour, unlike other CSPs. Instead, billing is made only for half an hour.
4. Sustained use Discount: Google gives an increasing discount of 25% if we use it in sustained use of computing resources, rather than using it for a temporary purpose.
5. Custom Machine Type: GCP lets you dial in the exact amount of CPU power and memory needed for your application and get billed accordingly. Up to 15% of the cost can be saved by this method.
6. Preemptible Instances: If the system is built with fault tolerance, it can literally enable other systems, reducing the cost.
7. Integrated Services: You can use various APIs, AI and ML, IoT, Compute engine, Databases, Big Data analytics, Developer tools, Security, Storage simultaneously.
8. Quick Collaboration: GCP allows quick collaboration for all users. Multiple users can access and edit the projects at the same time.

References:

1. https://www.edureka.co/blog/what-is-google-cloud-platform/
2. https://www.javatpoint.com/google-cloud-platform
3. https://www.educba.com/what-is-google-cloud-platform/

Cite this article:

Nandhinidwaraka. S (2021), Development of Google Cloud Platform, AnaTechmaz, pp. 40