By Glend MaatitaUpdated
Why choose Google Cloud?
AWS is the market leader and Azure has momentum, so why should a business or engineer focus on Google Cloud Platform? This guide looks at how the cloud market formed and the compelling reasons to consider GCP, from its data and machine learning expertise to its global infrastructure.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is one of the big three public clouds, alongside Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. AWS leads the market and Azure has strong momentum, which raises a fair question: why choose GCP at all?
The answer becomes clearer when you look at how the cloud market formed and where Google's particular strengths lie. Below, we cover both.
What is Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?
Google Cloud Platform is Google's suite of public cloud services, offering compute, storage, databases, networking, data analytics, and machine learning that run on the same global infrastructure Google uses for products like Search and YouTube. Like other clouds, it lets businesses rent these resources on demand instead of buying and running their own hardware.
How the cloud market formed
The modern cloud grew out of the scalable internal systems that Amazon and Google built to handle huge numbers of users. The two faced different problems: Google's main challenge was processing vast amounts of data, such as indexing the entire internet for Search, while Amazon's was managing the fluctuating traffic of hundreds of millions of shoppers.
Amazon realized it had built a platform of APIs and services that others would pay for, and in 2006 it launched Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3), which remain the foundation of AWS. Google launched App Engine in 2008 and Microsoft launched Azure in 2010. Crucially, Amazon led with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), while Google's first offering was Platform as a Service (PaaS). In 2010, large organizations were less ready to adopt an untested cloud-specific platform like App Engine, so Amazon's first-mover advantage and IaaS focus gave it a lasting lead.
Why choose GCP over AWS or Azure?
AWS and Azure are more established, but there are several compelling reasons to consider Google Cloud.
Demand and supply of skills
There is high demand for AWS and Azure professionals, but also an abundant supply. Demand for GCP skills is growing faster than the supply of people who have them, so betting on GCP can be a smart career move and can make GCP talent easier to differentiate on.
The rise of PaaS
Leading with PaaS was mistimed for Google in 2010, but now that the cloud is a trusted and proven model, teams are far more willing to adopt platform services. GCP's PaaS offerings are highly competitive with its rivals.
Data processing and machine learning
Google has long led in processing and analyzing massive amounts of data, as Search demonstrates, and it has made major advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence. GCP puts these cutting-edge capabilities within reach, which is a real advantage for data-driven and AI-powered products.
Strong global infrastructure
Google's extensive network of data centers across many regions and zones lets GCP users deliver services with low latency and high availability. That global footprint makes it straightforward to scale worldwide without sacrificing performance.
How 8grams works with Google Cloud
At 8grams, our cloud consultants and DevOps engineers are certified on Google Cloud and AWS, and we help businesses design, migrate to, and run production workloads on GCP. Whether you are drawn to its data and machine learning strengths or its global network, we build environments that are reliable, cost-efficient, and free of lock-in.
Key takeaways
- GCP is one of the big three public clouds, alongside AWS and Azure, running on Google's global infrastructure.
- The cloud market was shaped by Amazon's 2006 launch of EC2 and S3 and its early focus on IaaS, which gave AWS a lasting lead.
- GCP stands out for data processing and machine learning, competitive PaaS, and a strong global network of regions and zones.
- Growing demand for GCP skills that outpaces supply makes it a smart bet for businesses and engineers alike.
Common questions.
What is Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?
Google Cloud Platform is Google's suite of public cloud services, covering compute, storage, databases, networking, data analytics, and machine learning. It runs on the same global infrastructure behind Google products like Search and YouTube.
Why choose GCP over AWS or Azure?
GCP is especially strong in data processing and machine learning, offers competitive Platform-as-a-Service options, and runs on a global network built for low latency and high availability. Demand for GCP skills is also growing faster than supply.
Is GCP good for machine learning?
Yes. Machine learning and data analytics are among GCP's biggest strengths, built on Google's long history of processing data at scale for products like Search, which makes it a strong choice for data-driven and AI-powered applications.
When did Google Cloud launch?
Google entered the cloud market with App Engine in 2008, a Platform-as-a-Service offering, two years after Amazon launched EC2 and S3 in 2006 and two years before Microsoft launched Azure in 2010.
What are GCP's main strengths?
GCP's main strengths are its data and machine learning capabilities, competitive PaaS offerings, and a strong global infrastructure of regions and zones that delivers low latency and high availability worldwide.
Is it worth learning GCP?
For many engineers, yes. Demand for GCP skills is growing faster than the supply of qualified people, so investing in GCP can differentiate you in the job market compared with the more crowded AWS and Azure talent pools.
What is the difference between AWS, Azure, and GCP?
All three are major public clouds with overlapping services. AWS is the market leader with the broadest catalog, Azure has strong enterprise momentum, and GCP differentiates on data, machine learning, and its global network. Many workloads run well on any of them.
Why did AWS become the cloud market leader?
Amazon launched EC2 and S3 in 2006 and led with Infrastructure as a Service, which enterprises adopted readily. That first-mover advantage and IaaS focus, at a time when platform-specific services felt untested, gave AWS a lasting lead.
Does GCP have good global coverage?
Yes. Google operates an extensive network of data centers across many regions and zones, which lets GCP users serve applications with low latency and high availability and scale worldwide without sacrificing performance.
Is GCP suitable for startups and growing businesses?
Yes. GCP offers competitive PaaS, strong data and machine learning tooling, and pay-as-you-go pricing on a global network, which suits startups that want to move fast and scale, especially for data-driven or AI-powered products.
Related concepts.
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