Google Cloud Platform (GCP) now available

IT Services has recently expanded its public cloud offering with the addition of Google Cloud Platform (GCP), giving teams and researchers across the University who need flexible, scalable cloud computing even more choice.  

GCP complements our existing Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure service offerings, meaning we can now support a wider range of projects and user needs than ever before. 

What is Google Cloud Platform and who is it for? 

As a public cloud service provider, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) lets you run applications, analyse large datasets and develop AI-powered services without needing to buy, install or manage any hardware yourself. All GCP services run in the cloud and are available on demand, meaning you can scale the service up or down as your project needs change.

GCP is widely regarded as the leading platform for AI and machine learning workloads. With Vertex AI for example, researchers can build, train, and deploy machine learning models at scale without needing to manage underlying infrastructure, making it a practical option for research teams looking to explore or expand their use of AI.

We’ve worked with Telena (a Google partner) together with colleagues in our Identity and Access Management (IAM) team to simplify the login experience and ensure you can access resources in GCP securely using your existing University Single Sign-On (SSO) account.  

This integration with the University’s SSO service means that you can control who has access to your GCP project using existing University security groups, rather than creating and maintaining individual user accounts in GCP manually, making it easy to ensure the right users have access as your team grows or changes. You can find out more about University group management in this recent article about Entra ID.  

Security best practices are built in from the start, so you can focus on your project, not any back-end configuration. Should you need guidance along the way, the Cloud & Storage Services team is on hand to help you get started. 

Advantages of public cloud 

Some of the key advantages of using GCP, and the University’s public and private cloud services more broadly means in practice that you can:

• Scale up or down on demand - with elastic scalability you have no queues, no fixed limits, and no waiting for hardware 
• Access specialised hardware - including GPUs and TPUs for high-performance or AI-driven workloads 
• Get started in days, not weeks - no procurement delays, no complex installation or configuration 
• Pay only for what you use - no upfront capital expenditure on hardware 
• Eliminate idle hardware costs - no paying for expensive kit that sits unused between projects 
• Work securely from day one - with University security best practices built in and IT Services on hand to guide you through setup 

Under our wider Public Cloud service, IT Services offer help and support to get new projects up and running in GCP and can advise on how to make best use of the resources available.  

How much does the Google Cloud Service cost? 

The service is offered on a cost-recovery basis, meaning you only pay for the resources you actually use at Google’s standard rate. By consolidating spend across the University through a managed account, we aim to reduce costs over time and simplify recharging to individual teams and projects, reducing the administrative burden in your own area.  

Ready to get started? 

If you're planning a new project or looking to move existing workloads to the cloud, the Cloud and Storage Services team is here to help. We can advise you on the best solution for your needs and help you get set up quickly, providing you with support along the way. 

Please contact the Cloud and Storage Services team for more information.