Google Cloud Platform is a subsidiary of Google and a provider of a suite of cloud computing services, including services for computing, data storage, data analytics, and machine learning. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. Since its founding, Google Cloud Platform, which grew around the Google App Engine framework, has grown into one of the three largest cloud computing platforms on the market, along with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure based on market share.
The Google Cloud Platform is primarily a public cloud provider, although it has increased its focus on hybrid and multicloud workloads and allows users to manage workloads on Google Cloud Platform and Google Kubernets Engine. The platform has the same core data storage and virtual machine functionality as its peer providers, with some considering the strength of the platform in big data processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and container support.
The company's customers have included PayPal, The Home Depot, Twitter, P&G, Cardinal Health, Airbus, Blue Apron, Equifax, Tokopedia, Sky, Magalu, UPS, Etsy, Carrefour, Ocado Technology, and Gojek.
The Google Cloud Platform is developed to help digital transformation through data democratization, application and infrastructure modernization, connection between people, and trusted transaction infrastructure. The platform utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning, which helps increase its speed, scale, and security, and offers users analytical data, insights, and decision support. The platform includes tools to help build and run applications and a multicloud strategy to help those applications run in multiple regions.
The platform also offers integrated video calling, email, chat, and document collaboration through Google Workspace, which uses a zero trust approach and enterprise-grade access management, data protection, encryption, and endpoint protections to give users the trust necessary. The security for the platform works to protect users and the applications built on the Google Cloud Platform against threats and fraudulent activity. This includes a zero trust model at the core of the Google Cloud Platform.
Through the platform, Google Cloud offers over 150 products and services, including the main groups of Compute, Storage, Databases, Data Analytics, AI and machine learning, networking, and developer tools. Some of these products include the following:
- Compute Engine—a virtual machine running in Google's data centers
- Cloud Storage—object storage capable of scaling with an enterprise and built to be secure
- Cloud SDK—command-line tools and libraries for building in Google Cloud
- Cloud SQL—relational database services for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server
- Google Kubernetes engine—an environment for running containerized applications
- BigQuery—a data warehouse for businesses and insights
- Cloud CDN—a content delivery network for web and video
- Dataflow—a service for streaming analytics for stream and batch processing
- Operations—a user monitoring, logging, and application performance suite
- Cloud Run—an environment for running containerized apps
- Anthos—a platform for modernizing existing applications or building new applications
- Cloud Functions—an event-driven compute platform for cloud services and applications
Google's Cloud Platform also includes a library of APIs to help users automate workflows and integrate a variety of features and services. The Cloud APIs with REST calls are available in the following popular programming languages:
- Compute APIs
- Storage and database APIs
- Networking APIs
- Data Analytics APIs
- Machine learning APIs
- Management tools APIs
- Operations APIs
- Security and identity APIs
- Managed infrastructure APIs
