This chapter begins with a brief introduction to cloud computing. We then introduce the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with an overview of its history and its concepts. We will then look into some of its concepts, tools, and services. We will also map and compare how Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure public clouds match up to GCP products. Lastly, we will set up an account in GCP using the free tier that allows you a 12-month, $300 free trial of all GCP products.

In this chapter, we will cover the following:

• Introduction to cloud computing
• Introduction to GCP
• GCP services
• Data centers and regions
• AWS and Azure in comparison to GCP
• Exploring GCP