Google Compute Engine vs VMware Cloud Foundation comparison

Google Compute Engine and VMware Cloud Foundation are leaders in the cloud infrastructure market, competing in flexibility and enterprise features. Google Compute Engine is favored for its flexibility and cost-effectiveness, making it preferable in areas of pricing and adaptability, while VMware Cloud Foundation excels in providing comprehensive features that offer better value for enterprise applications despite higher costs.

Features: Google Compute Engine integrates seamlessly with Google Cloud Platform services, allowing for customization of virtual machines, which includes operating ephemeral instances and managed instance groups that enhance cost efficiency and scalability. It simplifies processes with strong API integration and user-friendly deployment options. VMware Cloud Foundation simplifies data center management with automation, lifecycle management, and integration tools like the vSphere dashboard, excelling in handling private and hybrid cloud environments with a full-stack approach that reduces setup time.

Room for Improvement: Google Compute Engine can improve multi-region support, user interface aspects, and integration with non-Google systems, with licensing BYOL being particularly cumbersome and needing better SQL query support. VMware Cloud Foundation faces challenges with complex upgrade processes, integration with other VMware products, and high costs, with the need for better documentation, lifecycle management, and enhanced security features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Compute Engine is known for its ease of deployment in public cloud settings, while VMware Cloud Foundation offers broader deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid clouds. Google’s customer support has mixed reviews, with prompt responses but limited resolution. VMware provides comprehensive support that particularly benefits larger enterprises with robust private cloud capabilities.

Pricing and ROI: Google Compute Engine offers competitive pay-as-you-go pricing with ROI that includes cost savings of up to 90% for development and testing, though it may be expensive compared to AWS. VMware Cloud Foundation is expensive but provides cost savings through bundled licensing and feature-rich offerings. Both solutions display varied ROI, with Google Compute Engine suited for agile development and VMware delivering value through operational efficiency for complex enterprise environments.