Why is Google Cloud a good choice for SMBs?

Posted by: Tamara Dutina May 18, 2021

Category: Topic: Google Cloud

Recently, we‘ve seen a surge in demand for our managed Google Cloud services. The requests mostly came from small (software) businesses, stressing out the importance of cloud optimization and fast development.  

The intention is not to sound surprised; with Google Cloud expertise in our pocket for years, surely, we are aware of why this provider can win the race over the two competitors. It’s really all about the client’s position, possibilities and expectations and if the client is an SMB – they are more and more likely to choose Google cloud.  

So, the intention is to take a closer look at why Google Cloud is a good match for smaller businesses with bigger ambitions. 

What makes SMB cloud requests different? 

Price-sensitive 

Take pricing as the first concern of every small business owner. To be fair, it’s not only smaller companies that mind their expenses; everyone does. But small and mid-market companies are more price-sensitive which makes the transition to the cloud a bigger deal and cost optimization more important. When it comes to pricing comparison, Google Cloud had a reputation of being affordable, but this really depends on instance and billing type you choose.  

Fast pacing and flexible 

Other than pricing, you may say that it’s the flexibility of the cloud platform which sits on the top of a SMB’s list of priorities. Why? Small businesses have very distinguished business DNA and usually make bold moves like migration to the cloud once they see losing money with traditional infrastructure. When something unpredictable happens, say a certain virus pandemic, they need to move and make decisions fast; they usually can, as a smaller system is much lighter to transition to whatever direction needed. Unlike enterprises, SMBs stick to their flexibility as a core business advantage, which they expect to be further extended with the help of a cloud. And rightfully so. 

Locked-in security 

Absolute and end-to-end security that promises compliance, transparency and data privacy is a deal maker or breaker for any company, but especially small businesses. A data security breach put many out of work, making the choice of a cloud partner and provider that much more important. Unlike enterprises, SMBs usually don’t have the luxury of an in-house cloud experts’ team, so they need to be super-comfortable with trusting their most valuable resources to a third party. 

Google Cloud for SMBs: Reducing cost, boosting development 

An IDC research published last year gave several big thumbs up for Google Cloud’s contribution in achieving essential business goals: lowering costs and improving productivity. The study shows the results of nine companies, which reported a 19% increase in their development and a 26% decrease in IT infrastructure costs.  

google cloud for smb

The significant productivity boost (21% faster deployments for new apps, 34% faster for new features) is credited to the flexibility, stability and intuitiveness of the Google infrastructure. Development-oriented features of the platform, such as automatic scaling with Kubernetes Engine, qualify Google Cloud as an optimal environment for faster testing, updating and deployment.  

A-class security 

Google Cloud approaches these SMB-specific challenges by offering multilayered security which promises peace of mind; If we say that the security GC provides is also dubbed as “Google-Grade”, then not much elaboration is needed. The provider is known for boasting a specific secured by design infrastructure, based on more than a decade long experience with Google’s star products such as Gmail. Google’s “Project Zero” team is considered one of the top security research teams and is responsible for discovering many vulnerabilities in popular tools, apps and OSes.  

Usage of Google global infrastructure 

google cloud for smb

As a Google Cloud user, you can count on your business to be in good company; Google Cloud is hosted at the same infrastructure as all their services: Gmail, YouTube, Google Apps, Search… This means leveraging the advantages such as global network, data centres, and so on. 

While this article was in the making, Google Cloud announced a partnership with SpaceX, stating: Under this partnership, SpaceX will begin to locate Starlink ground stations within Google data centre properties, enabling the secure, low-latency, and reliable delivery of data (…) via Google Cloud.  

Surely, this paints a picture of Google Cloud global infrastructure capabilities and potential, thus adding add a big checkmark on your “pro-Google Cloud” list. 

Google Cloud was the perfect choice for our small business client from the gaming world.

Read the case study

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning champion  

Google Cloud is the right address SMBs looking for innovative services which are not always easily accessible due to a higher price tag. If you’re developing AI or ML-based solutions, look no further than Google Cloud, which will offer you access to all kinds of models, for every skill level and simplified. As we emphasized in another blog post, while AI and ML solutions and models are no exclusivity to any cloud provider, Google invented the TensorFlow library on which machine learning implementation lies, and to this date keeps investing heavily in the mentioned technologies. 

So, Google Cloud is great for SMB. Are there any setbacks? 

While all the above-listed benefits are among core expectations a small business should have from their cloud provider, there are some areas in which Google Cloud doesn’t shine as bright. GC is yet to catch up with AWS and Azure with a wider array of cloud services and functionalities. When it comes to support, the best experience is reserved for premium users with expensive packages, which doesn’t always seem like the optimal and cost-effective solution. Instead, consider choosing a partner specialized in cloud for SMBs to make sure your availability is at the promised 99,95%, and your development cycle in top gear.  

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