Cloud computing origin can be traced back to the 1990s when telecommunication companies first included virtual private networks in their offerings.

Back then, the term “cloud” referred to computing space between a provider and an end-user.

The real revolution in the cloud computing field came in 1999 when Salesforce.com entered the picture. Salesforce.com is considered the pioneer of cloud computing, as we know today.

Google jumped on the cloud bandwagon in 2008, when it introduced Google App Engine. It was in 2010 that the company introduced Google Storage.

Today, cloud computing is the buzzword. The public cloud services market stood at $227.8 billion in 2018-19 and is expected to grow by 50% in 2022.

The major players in the market are:

• Microsoft Azure
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• IBM Cloud

Although, GCP lags behind AWS regarding market share, it is building its muscle and trying to catch up fast. This can be seen from the fact that Google was able to score Spotify and Apple from Amazon.

Recently, Planet Labs, Lush Cosmetics, and Evernote also opted for Google cloud because it helped them meet their specific needs.

Google has advanced and put forward a strong value proposition that has momentum in its favour. Whether you’re planning to begin your business on the cloud or assessing to migrate from your current cloud deployment strategy, here are the benefits that help to consider Google Cloud Platform for your business.

Google’s cloud platform provides a reliable and highly scalable cloud computing services to its users. These services help clients compute and store data, and help developers build, test, and deploy apps. Google cloud covers application, storage, and cloud computing services for backend, mobile, and web solutions using the internet. More than four million apps trust and use the platform.

Google tries to keep the backend as simple as possible and uses a simple file system. This system is the foundation of the Google cloud platform. It handles requests for information via basic commands like write, read, and open. It is a distributed system of computing.

Google cloud application programming interface (API) can be leveraged for MS Office to allow several people to edit a document at the same time. You can start saving files to the cloud after you install a plugin for the MS Office program suite. Everyone can then use and edit the cloud copy of the data, which becomes the master document. Google cloud assigns a unique URL to each file. However, the owner or creator of the document must designate someone as an editor before they can download and start editing the file in MS Office.

If anyone makes changes to the document, the changes will be visible on all the documents shared. When many people make changes to the same content, Google cloud allows the document owner or creator to select the changes to keep.

Google cloud inserts metadata into a file when uploaded to the service. It helps identify the file and track changes across all copies. As the documents get synchronized to the master file, Google cloud updates all downloaded documents using metadata to maintain the right records.

Products offered by Google Cloud are categorized into four categories: Compute, Storage, Big Data, and Services.

COMPUTE

It further consists of two sub-categories:

Compute Engine

It is Google’s infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Through this, Google’s infrastructure can be used to run workloads on a large scale on virtual machines. You can select a virtual computer to fit your needs and enjoy the consistency and performance of Google’s network worldwide. You have to pay only for what you use since the billing is per minute.

Features

• Security and Compliance
• Easy and Fast Provisioning
• Balancing of Loads
• High-Performance Virtual Computers

App Engine

It is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS). You can ensure productivity by using in-built services to develop your apps. You must download the software development kit (SDK) and can start development work immediately and for free.

Features

• Google Scale Deployment
• Known Development Tools
• Strong In-Built Services
• Many Options for Storage
• Code Focus
• Popular Frameworks and Languages

STORAGE

It further consists of three sub-categories:

Cloud SQL

Cloud SQL is a relational MySQL database that helps manage and store data. To ensure performance and availability, Google takes care of database management, patch management, and replication.

Features

• Completely Managed
• Easy to Control
• Simpler Migration Without Lock-In
• Robustness, Accessibility, Security
• Pay Per Use and Package Charging
• Standard Infrastructure

Cloud Storage

It is an object storage service that is highly available and durable. Users can quickly access data from their app from anywhere, on account of edge-caching on a global scale. Google presents a simple application programming interface (API), provides a robust service-level agreement, and runs versioning to let you handle data programmatically.

Features

• Variable Access
• Storage of Objects with Feature-Rich API
• Adjustable and Viable Pricing
• Safe and Secure

Cloud Datastore

It provides a database, which is schemaless, NoSQL, and managed, for storage of non-relational data. SQL-like queries are supported well, in addition to transactions, and the data store also scales as required.

Features

• Access to Data Anywhere
• Local Tools for Development
• In-built Redundancy
• ACID Transactions
• Scaling Automatically with Users
• Database Management
• SQL-Like Querying and Schemaless Access

BIG DATA

It consists of a sub-category:

BigQuery

BigQuery analyzes big data in the cloud. It can process datasets containing several terabytes in a few seconds and run quick SQL-like queries. It even provides insights in real-time and is scalable and straightforward to use.

Features

• Suitable Interface
• Economical Big Data
• Easy Import of Data
• Queries Executed in Background

Google also provides developer tools such as Google Plugin for Eclipse, Google Cloud SDK, Android Studio, Cloud Playground, and Push-to-Deploy, along with the cloud platform.

SERVICES

It consists of a sub-category:

Cloud Endpoints

Javascript, Android, and iOS clients can access your code through RESTful services from your system with Cloud Endpoints. The front-end wiring can become smooth, and the generation of client libraries can generate automatically. Client key management, OAuth 2.0 support, and protection against denial of service are part of the significant in-built infrastructure.

Features

• Integration of client-side becomes flexible
• Client-server maintenance is low
• App engine infrastructure can be extended
• Multiple clients handling with a single tool

• Speed: Last year, Google announced that it is investing in the Faster Cable system through which it will be able to provide its Google Cloud and Google App customers speed up to 10Tbs (Terabits per second).

The cable lies under the Pacific Ocean, and Google is one of the six members that have access to it.  The cable has connections to cover the entire US west coast and all the main cities in Japan. Also, it can connect with major hubs in Asia.

The speed considerably improves performance. Higher speeds also affect costs and allow more data processing in less time. Networking costs have not gone down as much as storage and computing costs have. Hence, Google’s massive physical network is what gives it an advantage over other services.

Google is also known for providing low-latency network infrastructure.

• Higher Productivity owing to Quick Access to Innovation: Google’s systems can deliver updates efficiently and on a weekly basis.
• Live Migration: Compared to other services, Google offers live migration of virtual machines between host machines, which allows businesses to be up and running 24*7 without any hindrance in performance. Google introduced this service back in 2014. “We’re introducing transparent maintenance that combines software and data.

Google launched this service back in 2014. “We’re introducing transparent maintenance that combines software and data centre innovations with live migration technology to perform proactive maintenance while your virtual machines keep running.”

Live maintenance allows the company to repair and update software, including security-related programs, without rebooting the machines.

Other services, on the other hand, send you an email beforehand that your machines will be shut down and reassigned to another host.

• Less Disruption When Users Adopt New Functionality:Rather than large disruptive batches of change, Google delivers manageable improvements in a continuous stream.
• Employees Can Work from Anywhere:They can gain full access to information across devices from anywhere in the world through web-based apps powered by Google cloud.
• Google Cloud Allows Quick Collaboration:Many users can contribute to and access projects at the same time as data is stored in the cloud instead of their computers.
• Google’s Investments in Security Protect Customers:Customers benefit from process-based and physical security investments made by Google. Google hires leading security experts.
• Pricing: One of the reasons why Planet Labs shifted to Google was due to favourable pricing. What sets Google apart from Amazon Web Services is that it offers only one type of pricing plan, in which you pay monthly as per your usage.

The minimum usage is ten minutes, and it is rounded off to the nearest minute.

One attractive pricing feature that Google offers is Committed Use Discounts. Under this scheme, you can purchase “a specific amount of vCPUs and memory for up to a 57% discount off of regular prices” if you commit usage for either 1 or 3 years. An added advantage is that all virtual machines are included under usage.

• Fewer Data stored on Vulnerable Devices:Minimal data is stored on computers that may get compromised after a user stops using web-based apps on the cloud.
• Customers get Higher Uptime and Reliability:If a data centre is not available for some reason, the system immediately falls back on the secondary centre without any service interruption being visible to users.
• Control and Flexibility Available to Users:They have control over technology and have ownership over their data in Google apps. If they decide to not use the service anymore, they can get their data out of Google cloud.
• Google’s Economies of Scale Let Customers Spend Less: Google minimizes overheads and consolidates a small number of server configurations. It manages these through an efficient ratio of people to computers.

Google’s approach and its entire strategy appears focused on the future and not the internet as it exists at present. Google seems to have placed its bet on the world having ubiquitous and low-cost internet access soon. It could include fast mobile broadband available globally and fiber connections in homes and offices.

Google seems to be building a cloud for that kind of a world. It expects that by the time it refines its stack of apps, broadband will be available worldwide. It is required since Google’s apps depend on the internet connection and most of the data is stored on Google’s cloud servers.

However, the future of broadband may not go by Google’s expectations. At many places, it is not financially viable to introduce high-speed internet access, solely based on free-market forces. This could remain valid for a long time to come.

For Google’s vision to be realized, there will have to be greater competition in the more significant markets and more strong private-public partnerships in smaller ones.

Google cloud has had a tremendous impact, especially in the world of web and mobile app development, where small or large enterprises can get access to Google technology. It has made things easy and more accessible to app developers. However, its dependence on connectivity with the internet may hinder its progress in the future.

Adopting the Google cloud platform can help your business use some exclusive services such as Live migration in the Google cloud, which are not available in Azure or AWS. It even gives you access to a large team of security experts protecting your data. Small and medium businesses (SMBs) have a lot to gain from migration including improved flexibility and scalability to match IT resources to demand.

This can be seen from the fact that Google was able to score Spotify and Apple from Amazon. Recently, Planet Labs, Lush Cosmetics, and Evernote also opted for Google cloud because it helped them meet their specific needs.