While some people say you can find anything you’re looking for on the internet, this simply isn’t true. Ask any business owner who’s searched for a software solution, only to realize that no technology exists to satisfy their particular demand. What do you do in these situations? Well, you either pay someone to build a solution from scratch, or you develop a custom web application on your own. While you may think the latter sounds expensive, time-consuming, and impractical, Google App Engine makes it simple and streamlined.
What is Google App Engine?
While some people say you can find anything you’re looking for on the internet, this simply isn’t true. Ask any business owner who’s searched for a software solution, only to realize that no technology exists to satisfy their particular demand. What do you do in these situations? Well, you either pay someone to build a solution from scratch, or you develop a custom web application on your own. While you may think the latter sounds expensive, time-consuming, and impractical, Google App Engine makes it simple and streamlined.
What is Google App Engine?
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“Google App Engine is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that lets you build and run applications on Google’s infrastructure,” Google explains. “App Engine applications are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as your traffic and data storage needs change.”
As is apparent from Google’s own explanation of its service, App Engine is designed with simplicity in mind. It supports apps written in a four different programming languages, including Java, Python, PHP, and Go. This makes it easy for anyone with programming experience to build custom applications using the technologies they prefer. Some of the top features include:
- Automatic load balancing and scaling designed to meet real-time demand.
- Ability to schedule tasks based on triggering events, regular intervals, or specified times.
- Storage with sorting, queries, and transactions.
- Total integration with other APIs and existing Google cloud services.
For a complete overview of App Engine features, you can read through the comprehensive index of features. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about this incredible tool.
Top 3 Reasons to Use Google App Engine
But how exactly is App Engine useful in real-life settings and why would it benefit you to begin using this low-cost, time-sensitive solution? Ask around and you’ll commonly hear the following points:
- Cost-effective: The price – or lack thereof – is the biggest selling point. The free tier is incredibly generous and most small applications don’t need anything more. However, if you do find that you need more features, even the paid apps are cost-friendly. You only pay for the resources you use, and they’re relatively cheap. Best of all, you only get charged for your application when it handles requests. Talk about maximizing capital!
- No servers to maintain: With App Engine, you don’t have any reason or need to maintain a server. You simply upload your applications and they’re ready to go. Google takes care of the rest for you. This frees up your resources so they can be better utilized in other areas of your business.
- Fully integrated: One of the advantages that often flies under the radar is that App Engine is connected to Google’s many other products and services. App Engine, BigQuery, Compute Engine, and Cloud Storage all work together for your greater good.
It’s not just small businesses that put their trust in App Engine, though. Corporations as big as Best Buy find it to be a valuable resource. In the words of Gary Koeling, director of emerging platforms at Best Buy, “Developing apps on Google App Engine takes one-fourth to one-tenth of the resources and one-fourth of the time compared to building something ourselves.” As a result, Best Buy has been able to spend more time focusing on “the development and testing of new ideas.”
Putting it All Together
Ultimately, it comes down to the ease, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness of App Engine. This robust platform is designed to help you fully build and manage applications of every style, shape, and size. It eliminates the need to worry about costs, servers, and scaling. App Engine allows you to evolve as your needs grow. For small businesses and IT professionals, this is welcome news. Give App Engine a shot and you won’t regret it.
