GCP – Introducing Google Cloud Setup: Your guided pathway to a secure cloud foundation

Are you ready to unlock the power of Google Cloud and want guidance on how to set up your environment effectively? Whether you’re a cloud novice or part of an experienced team looking to migrate critical workloads, getting your foundational infrastructure right is the key to success. That’s where Google Cloud Setup comes in — your guided pathway to a secure cloud foundation and quick start on Google Cloud.

Google Cloud Setup helps you quickly implement Google Cloud’s recommended best practices. Our goal is to provide a fast and easy path to deploying your workloads without unnecessary configuration effort. Think of it as your expert guide, walking you through the essential first steps so you can focus on what truly matters: rapidly deploying your innovative applications and services. To help you get started without financial barriers, all components and service integrations enabled during the setup process are free or include some level of no-cost access.

Choose the foundation that fits your needs

We understand that every organization and project has unique requirements. That’s why Cloud Setup offers three distinct guided flows to choose from:

• Proof-of-concept: Designed for users who want to set up a lightweight environment to explore Google Cloud and run initial tests or sandbox workloads. This flow focuses on the minimum configuration to get you started quickly.

• Production: This flow is recommended for supporting production-ready workloads with security and scalability in mind. It aligns with Google Cloud’s best practices and is tailored for administrators setting up basic foundational infrastructure for production workloads.

• Enhanced security (Preview): Designed for organizations, regions or workloads with advanced security and compliance requirements, this flow defaults to more advanced security controls and is designed to help you meet rigorous requirements. Even this advanced foundation sets you up with a perpetual free tier up to certain usage limits.

Building blocks for a solid foundation

Cloud Setup guides you through a series of onboarding steps, presenting defaults backed by Google Cloud best practices. Throughout the process, you’ll also encounter key features designed to help protect your organization and prepare it for growth, including:

• Cloud KMS AutoKey: Automates the provisioning and assignment of customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK).

• Security Command Center: Provides security posture management for Google Cloud deployments including automatic project scanning for security issues such as open ports and misconfigured access controls.

• Centralized Logging and Monitoring: Enables you to easily set up infrastructure to monitor your system’s health and performance from a central location — critical for audit logging compliance and visualizing metrics across projects.

• Shared VPC Networks: Allows you to establish a centralized network across multiple projects, enabling secure and efficient communication between your Google Cloud resources.

• Hybrid Connectivity: Facilitates connecting your Google Cloud environment to your on-premises infrastructure or other cloud providers. This is often a critical step for workload migrations.

• Support plan: Enables you to quickly resolve any issues with help from experts at Google Cloud.

At the end of the guided flow, you can deploy your configuration directly via the Google Cloud console or download a Terraform configuration file for later deployment using other Infrastructure as Code (IaC) methods.

Experience the cloud faster and smarter

Organizations using Cloud Setup experience enjoy:

• Faster application deployment: By simplifying the initial setup, you can get your applications up and running more quickly, accelerating your cloud journey.

• Reduced setup effort: Our streamlined flow significantly reduces the number of manual steps, allowing you to establish a basic foundation with less effort.

• Greater access to Google Cloud’s full potential: By establishing a solid foundation quickly, you can more easily explore and leverage a wider range of Google Cloud services to meet your evolving needs and unlock greater value.

Ready to start your Google Cloud journey? Visit Google Cloud Setup today for a streamlined path to a secure cloud foundation. Let us guide you through the initial steps so you can focus on innovation and growth.

To learn more, visit:

• Cloud Setup documentation

• Cloud Setup overview (requires login)