Welcome to Understanding Google Cloud Security and Operations! In this module, you’ll meet the instructor, learn about the course content, and how to get started.

Organizations that adopt cloud technology will inevitably need to fundamentally change some of their business operations. The first of these is about financial governance. This module explains the core challenges organizations face when managing cloud costs and proposes a solution through three lenses: people, process, and technology. It also explains how to think about the total cost of ownership when using cloud services, before unpacking core Google Cloud cost management concepts. It ends by describing some best practices for effective cloud cost management.

This module covers the second way that businesses need to change their operations to work effectively inn the cloud: security. It examines a new cloud-first security model and explains how it differs from traditional on-premises IT security models. The module starts by defining a few fundamental terms related to security in the cloud. Then, it considers today’s top cybersecurity challenges and the most common threats to data privacy and security. After that, it uses the Shared Responsibility Model to illustrate how organizations can maintain data security and compliance on an ongoing basis. Finally, it looks at how Google Cloud equips organizations to control and manage access to data and resources through Cloud Identity.

The third operational shift that businesses must make in the cloud is re-evaluating how they monitor their IT services. This module starts by exploring IT operational challenges—specifically, how IT teams are traditionally structured, and why that structure prevents organizations from quickly delivering updates to services or fresh customer experiences. Next, it defines what DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering are, before using them as a framework for IT operational changes. Finally, the module examines Google Cloud resource monitoring tools and how they help organizations maintain control and visibility of their cloud environment.

This module provides a summary of the key points covered in each module and steps you can take to continue your learning.