L2. Cloud Computing Concepts and the Google Cloud Value Proposition

Why Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing delivers IT resources over the internet on a pay-as-you-go basis. Organizations adopt cloud to:

• Reduce CapEx: replace hardware investment with operational spending
• Increase agility: provision resources in minutes instead of months
• Scale elastically: match resources to demand automatically
• Access advanced technology: use AI, ML, and global infrastructure that would be impractical to build in-house
• Focus on innovation: spend less time managing infrastructure, more time building products

Cloud Service Models

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): You control the OS and above; Google manages physical infrastructure and virtualization.

• Google Cloud example: Compute Engine

PaaS (Platform as a Service): You deploy applications and data; Google manages everything else including the runtime and OS.

• Google Cloud examples: App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud SQL

SaaS (Software as a Service): Google manages everything; you consume the application.

• Google Cloud examples: Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Docs)

Cloud Deployment Models

Public cloud: Resources run on Google's shared infrastructure (multi-tenant with logical isolation). No hardware to own or manage. Private cloud: Resources run on dedicated infrastructure, either on-premises or in a dedicated Google Cloud environment. Google Distributed Cloud lets you run Google Cloud in your own datacenter. Hybrid cloud: Combines on-premises or other cloud resources with Google Cloud. Tools: Cloud Interconnect, Anthos (now GKE Enterprise), VPN. Multi-cloud: Using services from multiple cloud providers simultaneously.

Google's Digital Transformation Vision

Google Cloud positions digital transformation across four key themes:

1. Infrastructure modernization: move from on-premises to cloud-native infrastructure
2. Business application portfolio innovation: modernize legacy applications
3. Application innovation and platform capabilities: build new cloud-native apps
4. Data democratization and business insights: make data accessible and actionable

Open Source and Open Standards

Google Cloud is built on and contributes to open source (Kubernetes, TensorFlow, Apache Beam). This reduces vendor lock-in and enables portability. Exam tip: Digital transformation is about more than just moving to the cloud; it involves using cloud capabilities to innovate business processes. Google distinguishes itself with data analytics, AI/ML, and open source leadership.