Moving to The Clouds: Google Cloud Platform for Beginners

You would be totally wrong to believe that your online business has nothing to do with cloud computing! Currently, your business may only need a WordPress website and a Facebook page.

Yet, it’s the perfect time to learn more about cloud computing to stay ahead of your competitors.

Cloud computing offers you a competitive edge, even in areas where you don’t see any connection. Google claims that, sooner or later, all businesses will turn into data companies.

Cloud computing refers to delivering computing resources from the cloud over the Internet. You’re better off using cloud services instead of keeping servers, databases, and software on your own.

This article introduces you to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) – one of the most used cloud computing solutions. 

Google Cloud Platform for Beginners

You’ve probably heard about the Google Cloud Platform. Maybe some of you have even tried to learn more about it but found it too complicated. In truth, Google Cloud is a behemoth constantly updated by armies of highly-trained developers.

As a result, it’s near-impossible to master all GCP services. The platform has 100+ services, and it takes months of intensive study to barely scratch the surface of GCP.

Check out the developer cheat sheet to see how many services Google Cloud includes. 

It’s a challenging task to publish an article about the Google Cloud Platform for beginners.

This platform requires an extensive array of skills, and only perseverant people manage to learn it. Be prepared for hard work and many sleepless nights.

Bear in mind that the demand for cloud specialists is high, and the wages are quite tempting. Your efforts will pay off in the long term.

Google Cloud Platform – Where to Start

GCP frightens people with its complexity. The positive aspect is that you have plenty of resources to learn how to use this platform.

First, go to the Google Cloud website and create a free account. You get a 90-day trial and $300 free credits to test the services.

Your learning strategy should rely on your needs. Do you just want to test the waters? Do you want to start a career? Do you want to know more about GCP just to compare it against its competitors?

These questions need solid answers. For instance, you may want to get a job as a machine learning expert, and GCP is a must-have requirement in most job descriptions.

In this instance, you should focus on the artificial intelligence/machine learning GCP services like Cloud Vision, AutoML, DeepLearning Containers, or DialogFlow. 

Unsure about your expectations, but do you want to learn about GCP and eventually get a job in this field?

Start a learning path for the proper guidance. Take a look at the learning paths and choose the one suitable for you.

Finally, earn a certificate—it boosts your chances of getting a well-paid job.

Finally, go to Coursera and search for the GCP courses. These are clear, concise, and come with many labs to learn how to practically use GSP services. 

GCP Intro

You have four options to interact with the Google Cloud Platform. You will likely start by using the GCP console directly from your browser. After getting more confident in your skills, the command line interface will become your favorite tool.

REST-based APIs are the third modality of interacting with GCP but require solid skills.

Finally, GCP has a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices.

Are you wondering if it’s a good idea to get your hands dirty with GCP? Well, the answer is a big, fat YES! As long as GCP is a Google product and not a social network (sorry, Google+), the chances are that it’s a solid tool.

In addition, important companies like Nintendo, Spotify, Renault, Toyota, Shopify, and Goldman Sachs use GCP services, so you have another reason to start delving deeper into GCP. 

Finally, its infrastructure is out of this world. It covers 200+ countries and territories and includes 146 edge locations. Considering how fast this infrastructure grows, it’s no wonder that GCP is a top priority for Google.

GSP Features

Google Cloud Platform is an excellent platform for a bunch of industries. Learning how GCP impacts industries is a great motivator to learn more about it. We barely touch on the subject, but it should give you a better sense of the huge potential of GCP.

First of all, GCP is a reliable platform for developing applications and websites. You don’t need to worry about availability, scalability, and security. It includes plenty of options to develop and host your products.

The main benefit is continuous delivery and integrations, similar to other cloud platforms. In other words, it facilitates the periodic updates of the products.

Second, GCP improves the productivity of your team. In a world where remote work has become more and more present, a platform to streamline collaboration is much appreciated.

Try Identity and Access Management—GCP’s approach to assigning roles to your teammates. In this way, everyone has access to the organization’s resources, no matter the location of the members. 

Third, your digital infrastructure must be superior to your competitors to remain competitive. GCP is a top-notch platform that provides you with all the resources needed to thrive in your business.

Computing power, virtual machines, accurate analytics, scaling solutions, data migration, and backups are the “ingredients” of a successful online business. Luckily, GCP has all these services to serve you as well as possible.

GCP Relevant Products

I strongly emphasize that all Google Cloud Platform products deserve your attention and have the potential to considerably impact a wide array of industries.

Yet, I decided to introduce to you only a few of them. Furthermore, I selected only those that are more relevant for web developers and software engineers. 

Compute Engine

Compute Engine is a GCP service that lets you create virtual machines. You have two major options. Either go for predefined machine types that cover all the potential use cases or design a custom machine that is particular for your needs.

Load balancing technology distributes the incoming requests so that you achieve maximum performance at the lowest prices. The prices depend on the type of machine, storage, and computing power used. The pricing calculator gives you a rough estimation of the costs.

App Engine

App Engine should be on your list if you run a SaaS or development agency. This service ensures the perfect ecosystem for building apps. App Engine provides the platform to let you focus on writing code. Use your favorite coding language—App Engine supports Python, Node.js, or PHP, but you can bring your language runtime.

App Engine is similar to Compute Engine, but with fewer customization options. Consider Computer Engine for more options, or go with App Engine if you want a reliable place to write and store your code.

Cloud Storage

You need to store your data, and Cloud Storage is the most convenient way to do it. Evaluate the quantity of data and its usage to choose one of the alternatives provided by Cloud Storage:

• Standard, for frequently accessed data like websites and apps
• Nearline, for data backup
• Coldline, for low prices, usually for data stored for at least 90 days
• Archive, for storing archives at very low prices.

Cloud Bigtable

Cloud Bigtable is a precious service for companies handling large sets of information. In addition to 99.999% availability and very low latency, Cloud Bigtable is a reliable partner for high-tech, fin-tech, or IoT companies.

This product allows users to create tables that may vary from one to billions of entries. However, no matter the number of entries, it manages to process all the operations in a short time, thanks to its high scalability. In addition, you can easily add clusters to handle the workloads better.

Vision AI

Are you wondering which software uses applications that detect faces and objects? Vision AI is one of these tools that will wow you! However, before learning more about Vision AI, I suggest trying the demo. You will remain stunned by its accuracy.

Vision AI uses predefined models and becomes better in time, thanks to the Google labeling service. Currently, it detects faces, objects, printed or handwritten text, popular places and logos, and even celebrities.

Cloud Healthcare API

During the pandemic, we realized the importance of scientific collaboration. Cloud Healthcare API is a great service aimed at making the information exchange in the cloud possible.

For instance, two companies may decide to put together particular sets of data to develop a common treatment. That’s where Cloud Healthcare API enters into the scene and streamlines the collaboration.

Cloud Healthcare API consists of machine learning models, Cloud Bigtables analytics, and adjustable computing power. In this context, scientists have a common platform to develop innovative treatments.

Over to You

This article is only a short introduction to this vast resource. Some terms may be unfamiliar to you, or you may need to reread some paragraphs. Don’t worry; mastering the Google Cloud Platform requires much time and a colossal volume of work. Yet, I hope that GCP piques your interest.

GCP looks to have a bright future, and plenty of companies will be looking for GCP experts. Maybe you will be one of those experts that will implement cloud services for businesses all around the globe.