Google Cloud's 4 pillars for the transformation era: data, flexibility, people and security

There are times in our history when everything changes. How we live, how we work, how we communicate, how we learn. The pandemic was the catalyst that drove rapid change in many organizations, accelerating transformations in an almost dizzying way. This has led to the next era of cloud computing, that Google describes as The Transformation Era. In this article we look at the four pillars as defined by Google Cloud Platform, that will underpin this phase of transformative cloud computing.

Since the emergence of cloud technologies, we can identify three clearly defined stages:

1. Initially, the transformation began with the virtualization of machines and servers.
2. The second stage saw the adoption of powerful, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructures.
3. The third phase is that of transformation, in which the digitization of processes, data analytics, automation and new technologies based on Artificial Intelligence are changing the way people and organizations work.

And that is where we are today, in the Transformation Era, but for those who have yet to embrace it, there are four pillars that underpin the ability to transform business through the cloud. These pillars are data, flexibility, people, and security, and Google Cloud is a safe bet to get the most out of them.

Data: an asset to be monetized

Data has become the main asset of any company. It drives deeper business insights that help companies make better decisions in real-time. Used in the right way, it is the fuel for transformation. This is the leitmotif of the Data Cloud, which is emerging to unify data across the organization.

Google's DNA is based on data, and in this sense, it offers unrivalled solutions. It enables all inputs from different internal and external data sources, both structured and unstructured, to be cross-referenced for decision making. Google Cloud's AI, ML and advanced analytics enable you to get the most value from your data, turning it into actionable insights.

From the moment data is generated, Google Cloud database solutions offer built-in automated intelligence and resiliency, along with serverless capabilities that provide control and optimization capabilities for your Cloud SQL, Bigtable, and Spanner databases. Industry-leading reliability through Spanner‘s 99.99% and BigQuery‘s 99.99% SLAs means they’ll always be up and running – delivering the most transformative applications to customers while maintaining constant control over data.

Flexibility: the basis for a hybrid and multi-cloud architecture

How do we transform ourselves while maintaining our freedom to adapt to the changing needs of the market? Today’s environments are complex, and present rapidly evolving requirements: legacy applications that need to be modernized, a mix of proprietary technologies and third-party solutions, and on-premises resources, not to mention those in public clouds.

For anybody who is striving to standardize their environments, supporting multiple clouds and embracing open source as their organizations evolve is inevitable. And when it comes to Google Cloud, there is no stronger commitment to open source. Its modern cloud infrastructure is based on Kubernetes, and its strong support for Istio and KNative has formed the cornerstone of its leading business services such as the Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), or its platform of applications managed with Anthos and Cloud Run.

Google also contributes more to the open source community than any other cloud provider, more than doubling its efforts in the last 5 years and representing over 50% of contributions to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

At SoftwareOne, our strong commitment to an open cloud – and relationships with all the major hyperscalers - is what enables us to transform the way our clients’ businesses operate, promoting differentiated experiences and maximizing their freedom and capacity to innovate.

People: reimagining workspaces

Cloud-based transformation is not just a matter of technology. Equally as important are people and the corporate culture. Organizations understand that a successful transition to this new work era depends on the ability to keep people engaged, productive, and connected, thereby creating new ways of satisfying customer requirements.

This is precisely what Google Cloud technologies do so well, headed up specifically in this instance by Google Workspace. People who use Google Workspace are very satisfied with their work – it enables their teams to be more innovative, more productive, and able to make decisions faster. It helps teams collaborate effectively and stay connected regardless of if they are office or frontline workers. At SoftwareOne, we bring you new tools to strengthen human connections across and beyond the limits of the organization, facilitating participation, collaboration and ideas sharing for all.

Security: a cloud you can trust

Last but by no means least, our fourth pillar. Today more than ever we must defend our data against threats and fraudulent activity, ensuring we have advanced capabilities that enable us to control whatever is happening.

It’s about simplifying secure access to services for employees, partners, and customers. It is also fundamental to create the necessary visibility in order to find, analyze and resist threats, whilst taking advantage of cloud innovations, maintaining control of digital assets, and complying with all requirements in terms of sovereignty and governance.

Regarding all these aspects, Google Cloud provides a secure platform, which offers transparency and justifies such sovereignty. Moreover, it has a proven zero-trust architecture and operates according to a “shared destination” philosophy that SoftwareOne also adheres to.