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I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

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Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#41

I find the GCP documentation to be lacking compared to AWS. Specifically while using GCP with Terraform I hit more frustrating nonsense error messages with little to no google hits or undocumented behavior around IAM config compared to my experience doing similar things on AWS.

I've not used AWS but have been continuously curious if their docs are as scattered as GCP's, this is good to finally know.

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering their earnings today being down in cloud I think I would rightfully worry about their long term commitment.

GCP revenue is up 28% YoY, and it went from a $440M quarterly loss in 2022 Q3 to a $266M profit 2023 Q3. Who'd shut down a business like that?

Lol. You're new around here?

Google has closed time after time things that were profitable and/or loved by their customer. At this point I don't see how anyone would be willing to bet the farm on anything Google

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#43

I find the GCP documentation to be lacking compared to AWS. Specifically while using GCP with Terraform I hit more frustrating nonsense error messages with little to no google hits or undocumented behavior around IAM config compared to my experience doing similar things on AWS.

Google's support is the worst. Have an issue like those random nonsense error messages, good luck getting it resolved. AWS is complete the opposite. I had an issue Aurora Postgres and got to chat with the product manager of the product.

Google could have the best products on the market but no one is going to use them if the support isn't there.

I was sad when Looker got bought by google. I remember having issues with setting up looker and using their chat functionality and having the CEO of Looker answer my question.

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#45
post #37
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What odds would you like to bet that GCP is going to be gone in 10 years?

The sentiment is probably not abou GCP as a whole, but about its trigger happiness when it comes to deprecating services. Fun read: https://steve-yegge.medium.com/dear-google-cloud-your-deprec...

I'm not going to read yegge's rants.

Name the odds and condition you think gcp will violate.

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#46

My biggest challenge with GCP is that I'm still not convinced Google cares that much about this division. They acquired Looker, fired the customer service staff, and then set it out to crumble. Looker used to be LOVED by its customers but now they were forced to make their semantic layer work with Tableau. Also, I'm still not convinced Google cares about divisions that aren't linked to advertising. Google Search, Gma…

I generally prefer AWS except for the good experience I've had with cloud run, but GCP getting shut down is not something I would worry about. These cloud services are highly profitable

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#47
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> cannot imagine what a significant argument would be to use AWS instead of GCP that outweighs the benefits and the seemingly integrated services. Confidence that it will continue to exist in the next 3-10 years?

What odds would you like to bet that GCP is going to be gone in 10 years?

If they do want to kill it, I can see them giving as little as a 5 year window before everything is shut down.

Odds? Nobody's a fortune teller, but it was still being subsidized by ads with 3B loss in its FY22[0 p. 70], only increasing 100M in profit despite cloud revenue growing from 19B to 26B overall [0 p. 66]. They're either going to need to increase costs or add more "killer" products with large margins if they want to become profitable.

0: https://abc.xyz/assets/d4/4f/a48b94d548d0b2fdc029a95e8c63/20...

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#48
Technology isn't a weakness with Google... never was. Most of their stuff is top-notch technology-wise. The problems are from a business-angle and being their customer.

Meaning, even if you're a F500 company you are an insignificant gnat on the windshield of the gigantic G-machine that makes its money elsewhere.

Now, I don't believe think they'd actually shut GCP down. Cloud is just too damn strategic in a post Y2k world.

Complain about Amazon if you wish, and there are many reasons to. They are not as tech-oriented and the task-master culture of Bezos is well-known by now. But at the very least they are sales and customer focused, and retail and cloud is where they make their money. So incentives are better aligned with them. Even if their customer service is not amazing, the fact that it actually exists is a large factor in their favor.

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#49
See Google/Alphabet's latest quarterly earnings.

There's a decent chance that in a few years GCP will be no more.

I had an argument with one of the biggest investors in Google a few years ago, in which I was predicting exactly this scenario. He didn't believe me.

Perhaps I was right after all.

GCP lost a ton of money since its inception. Its leadership is so far away from being able to run this business properly, that I would never recommend anyone to put all their eggs on GCP.

Plus, as your company scales, you should REDUCE, not increase, your cloud usage, in favor of a properly optimized on-prem.

Well, just my 0.02. What do I know, right?

Re: I think GCP is better than AWS (2020)

#50
My view is that there are areas where GCP is better and areas where AWS is better. AWS has a much bigger community, and better business continuity story. GCP has a better developer experience and more uniquely-amazing best-in-class products (e.g. Spanner, Cloud Run, BigQuery). In the end, I don't believe Google will shut down GCP.

At Coherence (withcoherence.com) - I'm a cofounder - we deliver a developer platform that lets use use either cloud in a developer-friendly way. It also gives you some protection against lock-in to either cloud.

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