What is the Google Cloud Platform and how does it support business?

Business is going through a digital transformation. Companies go online or focus on greater technology adoption. The internet has become a meeting spot for e-commerce and services associated with entertainment, finance, construction, or medicine. There is a growing number of advanced solutions – internet platforms, mobile applications and internal company systems. Each of them should have strong foundations – depending on the business requirements and at the same time not consuming most of the budget. 

One of the most significant technological decisions to make is choosing an infrastructure solution. Many companies have decided to use the cloud, mostly due to the efficiency, availability and security of the solution. The proper structure and configuration of the cloud infrastructure are associated with a relatively low TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), with simultaneous maintenance of scalability and development possibilities.  

One of the most popular cloud technologies (apart from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure) is Google Cloud Platform.

What is GCP?

Google Cloud Platform (abbrev. GCP) is a set of cloud computing services and tools. Google shares the server space and gives the possibility to create your own infrastructure, adjusted to your needs. Currently, GCP shares over 200 cloud services, tools and components that can be added to infrastructure – depending on the current and future needs.  

The services available on the Google Cloud Platform support:

• Easy launch of applications, irrespective of the technologies of its creation, 
• Implementation of new functionalities and the modification of the existing ones without the need to introduce significant server changes, 
• Security – protection against attacks from outside and identifying the dangers within the organization, 
• Secure and scalable storage of files, objects and contents,
• Creating and using various types of databases,
• Instant data processing and real-time synchronization,
• Creating and managing networks with a particular focus on security, availability and efficiency,  
• Process monitoring, error tracking and bottleneck identification,
• Easy handling of solutions by developers thanks to providing libraries, tools and private repositories,
• Analysis and managing large data quantity (BigData),
• Development of artificial intelligence (AI),
• Machine learning models (ML),
• Internet of Things projects (IoT),
• Creating and managing APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and monitoring its usage,
• Management of infrastructure in hybrid or multi-cloud model.

Google Cloud Platform allows you to install and develop any product – blogs, mobile applications, platforms for BigData analysis, ERP systems for corporations, or software based on machine learning. Conscious selection of the cloud component will translate into development possibilities and relatively low maintenance costs.

Companies that use Google Cloud Platform

GCP is a very flexible solution. It can be used by website or application owners, startups, companies, or corporations. Google allows the creation of infrastructure based on real business needs, leaving the technological requirements less significant.

Here are some examples of popular companies using the possibilities of the Google Cloud Platform:

• PayPal with 300 million clients, active on 200 markets with transactions made in 100 different currencies. The company has created its own infrastructure based on GCP – secure, stable, highly available, that enables data storage and processing, with architecture that increases the productivity of IT teams and accelerates system development;
• Spotify uses the GCP computing output to manage the data bulks and handle in real-time the large numbers of queries – the platform is used by over 200 million users, and there are (on average) 40.000 new songs and recordings added daily; 
• Revolut, with a GCP-based infrastructure, has created a scalable and secure environment that helps to automate implementations and allows the system to perform transactions in the blink of an eye;  
• GitLab uses GCP to benefit from CI/CD pipeline built in the cloud;
• Twitter uses GCP computing power and the possibility of storing and processing large bulks of data;  
• The New York Times, using Google Cloud Platform, has created a web-based archive with any pictures, videos, articles and information that have ever been published under its title;
• 20th Century Fox uses AI capabilities to create and run scripts predicting financial liquidity and long-term income increase.

Advantages of choosing Google Cloud Platform

Costs

Unlike other infrastructure solutions, with GCP you only pay for the real-time usage – in most cases on a minute-basis, sometimes on a second-basis. If there’s a little demand, you consume less computing power and pay less as well. During traffic spikes, you have enough cloud resources to maintain high availability. If you’re a cloud heavy-user, you can turn to Google Cloud partner to lower the costs.

High availability

Among the most popular cloud providers, Google Cloud Platform ensures the highest SLA – 99,95%. This means that your website, application or system will be available 24/7, irrespective of the number of users or processed data.

Security

Security is a crucial business value offered by Google. Google has been developing its digital security model for over 20 years. The current solutions have many control procedures (i.a., advanced authorization, control management, access logs, etc). The cloud solution undergoes regular safety audits that monitor its compliance with SSAE 16 and ISAE 3402 type II standards. 

Flexibility

Google offers a selection of tools and services easy to compone and payable on a minute or second basis. This allows to focus on the business development and forget about issues connected with the maintenance of physical servers, limited disk space, lack of scalability, overload or inadequately high costs.  

GCP supports organizations by offering a fluent adjustment of solutions to the changing needs.

Try Google Cloud Platform

It’s best to find out how Google Cloud Platform can support your company in practice. 

We support companies and startups in financing the first steps in the cloud, in the proper selection and configuration of services, and in developing their infrastructure.  

See the Google Cloud Platform offer and contact our experts.