Google is known for the scalability, reliability, and efficiency of its various online products, from Google Search to Gmail. And, the results are impressive. Google Search, for example, returns results literally within fractions of second. How is this possible? Google custom-builds both hardware and software, including servers, switches, networks, data centers, the operating system’s stack, application frameworks, applications, and APIs. Have you ever imagined what you could build if you were able to tap the same infrastructure that Google uses to create and manage its products? Now you can! Building Your Next Big Thing with Google Cloud Platform shows you how to take advantage of the Google Cloud Platform technologies to build all kinds of cloud-hosted software and services for both public and private consumption. Whether you need a simple virtual server to run your legacy application or you need to architect a sophisticated high-traffic web application, Cloud Platform provides all the tools and products required to create innovative applications and a robust infrastructure to manage them. Using this book as your compass, you can navigate your way through the Google Cloud Platform and turn your ideas into reality. The authors, both Google Developer Experts in Google Cloud Platform, systematically introduce various Cloud Platform products one at a time and discuss their strengths and scenarios where they are a suitable fit. But rather than a manual-like "tell all" approach, the emphasis is on how to Get Things Done so that you get up to speed with Google Cloud Platform as quickly as possible. You will learn how to use the following technologies, among others: Using real-world examples, the authors first walk you through the basics of cloud computing, cloud terminologies and public cloud services. Then they dive right into Google Cloud Platform and how you can use it to tackle your challenges, build new products, analyze big data, and much more. Whether you’re an independent developer, startup, or Fortune 500 company, you have never had easier to access to world-class production, product development, and infrastructure tools. Google Cloud Platform is your ticket to leveraging your skills and knowledge into making reliable, scalable, and efficient products—just like how Google builds its own products.